Squatters Rights in Louisiana: 30-Year Adverse Possession Law
Louisiana, following its civil-law tradition, requires 30 years of possession as owner, or 10 years for a possessor acting in good faith under 'just title.' Separately, a 2024 law made remaining on property more than 5 days after a notice to vacate a criminal offense.
Last reviewed July 8, 2026 — statutes and case law independently verified against official sources
Louisiana vs Neighboring States: Quick Comparison
- Statutory Period
- 30 years
- Tax Payment Required
- No
- Color of Title
- Required
- Expedited Removal Law
- Yes 2024–2025
- Statutory Period
- 10 years
- Tax Payment Required
- No
- Color of Title
- Not required
- Expedited Removal Law
- Standard process
- Statutory Period
- 15 years
- Tax Payment Required
- No
- Color of Title
- Not required
- Expedited Removal Law
- Yes 2024–2025
- Statutory Period
- 10 years
- Tax Payment Required
- No
- Color of Title
- Not required
- Expedited Removal Law
- Yes 2024–2025
Data verified for 2026. Laws subject to change, verify with official state statutes.
The Path to Adverse Possession in Louisiana
A visual summary of what a claimant must complete, start to finish.
How Adverse Possession Works in Louisiana
To claim ownership of property through adverse possession in Louisiana, a claimant must possess the land for 30 years while meeting the legal requirements established under state law.
Legal Basis and Statutory Period
Louisiana’s adverse possession law is codified under La. Civ. Code arts. 3473, 3486; La. R.S. 14:63 (as amended by Act No. 466 of 2024). The standard statutory period is 30 years of continuous, open, and hostile possession.
Property Tax Requirements
Louisiana follows civil-law 'acquisitive prescription' rather than a tax-based reduction: possession under just title and good faith shortens the period to 10 years.
Color of Title Rules
A 10-year period applies to possession in good faith under 'just title' (Louisiana's civil-law equivalent of color of title). Possession without just title and good faith requires 30 years.
Key Legal Requirements
- Corporeal possession as owner
- Open and notorious possession
- Continuous and uninterrupted possession
- Good faith and just title (for the 10-year period) or 30 years of possession without them
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Recent Law Changes in Louisiana
2024: Act No. 466 (SB 466), effective August 1, 2024, amended Louisiana's criminal trespass law so that remaining in or upon property more than 5 days after being served notice to vacate constitutes criminal trespass, defined 'squatter' in state law, allowed temporary restraining orders without notice in qualifying cases, and set penalties up to $2,500 and/or 12 years' imprisonment. This is a criminal-law change and does not alter the 10/30-year acquisitive prescription periods.
Louisiana Adverse Possession Procedures
Making an Acquisitive Prescription Claim
To establish acquisitive prescription in Louisiana, a claimant typically must:
- File an action to quiet title in the district court of the parish where the property is located
- Provide evidence meeting either the 30-year requirement under Civil Code Article 3486 (without need for just title or good faith), or the 10-year requirement under Civil Code Articles 3473-3475 (with just title and good faith)
- Demonstrate that possession was continuous, uninterrupted, peaceable, public, and unequivocal
- Present evidence such as witness testimony, photographs, surveys, tax receipts, and documentation of improvements
- Prove that possession was within visible, discernible bounds
- Establish that the possessor intended to possess as owner (animus domini), and if relying on the 30-year period, show any needed notice that possession became adverse if it began permissively or as a precarious possessor
- Obtain a court judgment recognizing legal title to the property
Louisiana's civil law tradition uses "acquisitive prescription," not the common-law term "adverse possession." As Boudreaux v. Cummings (2015) and 1026 Conti Holding v. 1025 Bienville (2023) show, Louisiana courts scrutinize precarious possession closely: use that began with the owner's tolerance or under a servitude generally cannot ripen into ownership without clear notice of adverse intent. Following a successful action, record the judgment with the parish recorder's office to establish clear title.
Defending Against Acquisitive Prescription
Louisiana property owners can protect against acquisitive prescription claims by:
- Regularly inspecting property boundaries
- Posting "No Trespassing" signs around the property perimeter
- Maintaining accurate property surveys and documentation
- Providing written permission for any allowed use of the property, which creates a "precarious possession" that cannot lead to acquisitive prescription
- Keeping property tax payments current
- Taking legal action against unauthorized users before the statutory period expires
- Documenting property visits and inspections
- Filing an action to interrupt prescription if encroachments are discovered
Any action that interrupts the continuity of possession will restart the statutory period and prevent an acquisitive prescription claim from maturing. A neighborly gesture, like letting someone use a path or driveway, does not by itself start the clock toward a claim, per Boudreaux v. Cummings (2015).
Removing Unauthorized Occupants
Louisiana provides property owners with several options for removing unauthorized occupants:
- Law enforcement assistance: for clear cases of trespassing, request assistance from law enforcement under Louisiana's criminal trespass laws (La. R.S. 14:63, as amended by Act No. 466 of 2024)
- Eviction process: file a rule for possession (eviction) with the appropriate court
- Attend the hearing, typically scheduled within 3-5 days
- Obtain a judgment of eviction if the court rules in your favor
- Have the sheriff execute the judgment to remove the unauthorized occupants
Property owners can also file a possessory or petitory action to assert their ownership rights. Louisiana law prohibits "self-help" evictions such as changing locks, removing doors, or shutting off utilities. Act No. 466 of 2024 strengthened La. R.S. 14:63's criminal trespass provisions specifically to address unauthorized occupancy of residential property.
La. Civ. Code arts. 3473, 3486; La. R.S. 14:63 (as amended by Act No. 466 of 2024)
View Official State Statute ↗Notable Louisiana Adverse Possession Cases
Boudreaux v. Cummings (2015)
2014-C-1499 (La. 5/5/15), 167 So. 3d 559
A family had used a pathway and gate across their neighbors' land since at least 1948, and continued using it even after the neighbors asked them to move the passage to a more convenient spot in 1969 and helped rebuild the fence around it. When a new owner later locked the gate, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that because the neighbors' cooperative, tolerant behavior implied permission, the family's use was a 'precarious' one that could never ripen into a servitude by acquisitive prescription, no matter how many decades it continued, unless the family had clearly notified the owner that their use had become adverse.
Heirs of John Beckwith, LLC v. Sims (2021)
2020-CA-0476 (La. App. 4 Cir. 2021)
In a dispute over land that had passed through a tax sale, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit addressed whether a sale that didn't actually transfer ownership, because the seller lacked good title, could still count as 'just title' for the shorter 10-year acquisitive prescription period. The court held that just title does not have to come from the true owner, reasoning that requiring an unbroken chain back to the real owner would defeat the entire purpose of the shorter prescriptive period, which exists precisely to protect good-faith purchasers who rely on a facially valid sale.
1026 Conti Holding, LLC v. 1025 Bienville, LLC (2023)
2022-C-01288 (La. 3/17/23), 350 So. 3d 175
Neighbors in the French Quarter both claimed a small 50-foot-square lot; one side had used it for years but had originally acquired that use through a servitude granted as part of their purchase of neighboring lots, making them 'precarious possessors' presumed to hold on the true owner's behalf. The Louisiana Supreme Court held that acquisitive prescription never runs in favor of a precarious possessor unless they clearly communicate adverse intent to the owner, and because there was no evidence of such notice here, the thirty-year claim failed and the opposing neighbor instead was recognized as owner through ten-year acquisitive prescription.
Ford v. Handy (2024)
No. 55,475-CA (La. App. 2 Cir. 4/10/24)
In a family dispute over a one-acre parcel, a possessor pointed to a 1972 conveyance as his 'just title' and argued he had otherwise held the land in good faith and continuously for over a decade. The Louisiana Second Circuit affirmed that he had satisfied all the requirements of Civil Code article 3475's ten-year acquisitive prescription, underscoring that just title alone isn't enough, and good faith alone isn't enough either, but the two together for the full 10 years is sufficient to transfer ownership even against the interests of family members.
Frequently Asked Questions About Louisiana Adverse Possession
How long must someone occupy my property in Louisiana to claim acquisitive prescription?
Louisiana recognizes two timeframes: 30 years without just title or good faith (Civil Code art. 3486), or 10 years if the claimant has just title and is in good faith (Civil Code arts. 3473-3475). The "30-day squatter's rights" claim is a myth - no one can gain ownership rights to your property after just 30 days of occupation.
What is "just title" in Louisiana acquisitive prescription law?
"Just title" is a written document, valid in form and filed in the public records, that would transfer ownership of the specific property but for some defect. Louisiana courts have held that just title doesn't need to come from the true owner — as in Heirs of John Beckwith, LLC v. Sims (2021), a sale that failed to actually convey ownership can still count as just title, since requiring an unbroken chain back to the real owner would defeat the purpose of the shorter 10-year period.
What constitutes "good faith" for Louisiana acquisitive prescription?
Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 3480, a possessor is in good faith when they reasonably believe, based on objective circumstances, that they are the owner of the property. This is assessed at the moment possession begins, and a reasonable but mistaken belief about ownership can still qualify, as illustrated in Ford v. Handy (2024).
Can I legally remove squatters from my property in Louisiana?
Yes, but you must follow legal procedures. For clear cases of trespassing, you can request law enforcement assistance under La. R.S. 14:63, which Act No. 466 of 2024 strengthened. Otherwise, you must use Louisiana's eviction process (a rule for possession) or file a possessory action. "Self-help" methods like changing locks or cutting off utilities are illegal in Louisiana and could result in liability for the property owner.
Can someone claim acquisitive prescription against government-owned land in Louisiana?
No. Louisiana law exempts land owned by the state, the federal government, parishes, municipalities, and other public entities from acquisitive prescription claims, which matters given how much land in Louisiana is held by government and public bodies.
What is a "precarious possessor" in Louisiana law, and why does it matter so much?
A precarious possessor holds property with the owner's permission or on the owner's behalf, such as a tenant, borrower, caretaker, or someone using a servitude granted by the owner. Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 3477, acquisitive prescription never runs in favor of a precarious possessor. Louisiana courts have applied this strictly: in Boudreaux v. Cummings (2015), even a neighborly, tolerated use of a pathway for over 60 years was found to be precarious, and in 1026 Conti Holding v. 1025 Bienville (2023), decades of use under a servitude likewise failed to ripen into ownership because there was no clear notice given that the use had become adverse.
Do Louisiana police have the authority to remove squatters directly?
Yes, in a specific sense — Louisiana's Act No. 466 of 2024 (effective August 1, 2024) amended the criminal trespass statute, La. R.S. 14:63, to make it a crime for an occupant to remain on property for more than five days after being served the written notice to vacate used to start an eviction (under Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure arts. 4702-4703), or after being told to leave by the owner. That means once an owner serves that formal notice and five days pass without the squatter leaving, law enforcement can arrest and remove the person for criminal trespass rather than the owner having to wait out a full civil case, with penalties that can include fines and jail time. If the occupant has any ownership, lease, or possessory claim, however, police won't act, and the owner must instead file a Rule for Possession (eviction) with the appropriate city, district, or justice of the peace court; after judgment, the occupant gets 24 hours to leave voluntarily or the sheriff (not municipal police) forcibly removes them under warrant, and disputes over ownership itself proceed as a possessory or petitory action. Self-help removal by the owner remains illegal in all cases.
This information is provided for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Adverse possession claims are highly fact-specific. Consult a licensed attorney in the relevant state before relying on this information.