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Summary: Under current law, individuals can claim ownership of property without holding a title through adverse possession. According to the committee bill analysis, "adverse possession is a legal means of obtaining property without holding title to the land through peaceful and continuous possession." Some have interpreted this broadly as a means to essentially steal other people’s property by squatting. Some people have tried to frivolously apply the law to steal homes when residents temporarily leave them vacant.
SB 947 would change a claim of adverse possession or the attempt to assume ownership through adverse possession as no longer a defense against burglary.
Analysis: SB 947 would protect private property rights by making it more difficult for people to use adverse possession as a means of taking property from another person. We support SB 947.