North Carolina Adverse Possession Laws: Protecting Your Vacant Land from Squatters

Imagine you buy 50 acres of land in rural North Carolina. For years, you pay the taxes and plan to build a cabin there someday.

Then you discover a neighbor has been farming part of your property for the past decade. They’ve cleared trees, planted crops, and built a small barn, all without asking permission.

Under North Carolina law, if you don’t act soon, that neighbor could legally claim ownership of your land. No purchase necessary. No compensation paid to you.

This isn’t a far-fetched scenario. It’s called adverse possession, and it happens to landowners across the state every year.

Understanding how it works is your best defense against losing property you’ve worked hard to keep.

Don’t Get Caught Out by Adverse Possession

You might think that having a deed is enough to protect your property forever.

While a deed is important, North Carolina laws allow people to claim ownership if they use the land openly for a specific length of time.

This is especially risky for owners of vacant land who don’t live near their property or visit it very often.

It’s important to learn the rules so you can spot the warning signs of a squatter or a neighbor moving a fence.

Here are three key terms you should know:

• Color of Title: This is a legal term for a document that looks like a valid deed, but that actually has an error. If someone has this and stays on your land, the time they need to claim it drops from 20 years to just 7 years.
• Quiet Title Action: This is a special kind of lawsuit you file in court to prove that you’re the true owner of the land. It “quiets” any other claims to the property and clears up the title so you can sell it or pass it down to your kids.
• Hostile Possession: In the legal world, this doesn’t mean being mean or aggressive. It just means the person is using the land without your permission and in a way that goes against your rights as the owner.

Understanding specific legal terms like these will help you talk to a lawyer or a land professional if you run into a problem.

The Five Rules for Adverse Possession in NC

For someone to take your land in North Carolina, they have to meet five very specific tests.

If they miss even one of these requirements, their claim for the land will usually fail in court.

Rule #1: They’re Actual

The first rule is that the use must be actual. This means they have to be physically using the land, like farming it, building on it, or fencing it in.

They can’t just say they own it; they have to act like they own it every single day.

Rule #2: They’re Open and Notorious

The second rule is that the use must be open and notorious. This simply means they aren’t hiding what they’re doing.

Any neighbor or owner who walked by would be able to see that someone is using the property. It’s meant to give you a fair chance to notice them and tell them to leave.

Rule #3: They’re Exclusive

The third rule is that the use must be exclusive. This means the squatter is the only one using that specific part of the land.

If you are also using the land or if the general public uses it as a park, they can’t claim it’s theirs.

Rule #4: They’re Continuous

The fourth rule is that the use must be continuous. In North Carolina, they usually have to be there for 20 years straight without any big breaks.

If they leave for a few years and come back, the clock usually starts all over again at zero.

Rule #5: They’re Hostile

The final rule is that the use must be hostile. As we mentioned before, this just means they don’t have your permission to be there.

If you gave them a written lease or even told them they could hunt there, they can’t claim adverse possession since you gave them permission.

How Long Does a Squatter Need to Stay?

The timeline for these claims in North Carolina depends on whether the person has paperwork.

Most of the time, a person has to use your land for 20 years before they can try to claim it as their own. That’s a very long time, which gives you plenty of chances to check on your property.

Enter the “color of title”

Keep in mind that if a squatter has a “color of title” document, that timeline is much shorter. If they have a deed they believe is real, they only have to stay for 7 years.

This is why it’s so important to have your land surveyed when you buy it. You want to make sure no one else has a deed that overlaps with your boundaries.

Specific North Carolina Adverse Possession Laws

One interesting thing about North Carolina is that the state usually assumes you gave the person permission. The person trying to take your land has to prove they didn’t.

Unlike some other states, a squatter in North Carolina doesn’t have to pay the property taxes to win a claim. While paying taxes helps their case, it’s not a requirement like it is in Florida or California.

Protecting Your North Carolina Property Boundaries

The best way to protect your land is to be a visible and active owner.

Here are some simple ideas to help you be just that:

1. Explore the Property Regularly

You don’t have to live on the land, but you should visit it at least once or twice a year. Taking a walk around the edges of your property can help you spot any new fences or paths.

2. Hire an Overseer

If you can’t visit, you might want to hire a local person to keep an eye on things for you. A quick phone call once a season can save you a lot of heartache later.

3. Use Signs and Fencing

Putting up “No Trespassing” signs is a simple and cheap way to show you care about your boundaries. Make sure the signs are easy to see and follow the local laws for how they should be spaced out.

Fences are another great tool for keeping people off your land. Even a simple wire fence shows where your property ends, and the neighbor’s land begins.

4. Confront the Squatter

If you find someone on your land, the first thing you should do is talk to them calmly. They might honestly think they’re on their own property or that the previous owner gave them permission.

If they won’t leave, you should send them a formal letter through a lawyer. This creates a paper trail that shows you didn’t give them permission to stay.

What Is a Quiet Title Action?

If someone is making a claim against your land, you might need to go to court.

A quiet title action is the standard way to fix North Carolina’s adverse possession laws. It’s a way to get a judge to look at all the evidence and decide who really owns the property.

This process can be slow and expensive, but it’s often the only way to clear your title. Without a clear title, you won’t be able to sell the land or get a loan against it.

Steps to Obtaining a Quiet Title Action:

• You’ll need to gather all your old deeds, tax records, and any surveys you have.
• Your lawyer will use these to show the court that you’ve been the rightful owner all along.
• The court will also look at how the other person has been using the land.
• If they can’t prove all five of the rules we talked about, the judge will rule in your favor.

Real Life Example: The Miller Family’s 10-Acre Lot

Let’s look at a story to see how this works in the real world.

The Miller family inherited 10 acres of land in Wake County back in 2005. They lived in another state and didn’t visit the land for a long time.

A neighbor named Mr. Smith thought the back two acres of the lot belonged to him. He built a shed and started a garden on that part of the land in 2010.

In 2024, the Millers decided they wanted to sell the land and came to visit it. They saw Mr. Smith’s shed and garden on their property.

Since only 14 years had passed, Mr. Smith couldn’t claim the land through the 20-year rule. He also didn’t have any paperwork, so the 7-year “color of title” rule didn’t apply to him.

The Millers were able to ask him to remove the shed and move his garden. If they had waited until 2030, Mr. Smith might have been able to take those two acres for himself.

This shows why visiting your land every few years is so important. A simple visit saved the Millers thousands of dollars in lost property value.

Selling Your Vacant Land the Easy Way

Owning land should be a source of pride, not a source of constant stress.

If you find yourself worrying about squatters, struggling to visit regularly, or questioning whether paying taxes on land you don’t use still makes sense for your situation, you have options.

Selling land can be a long and confusing process, especially if title issues or adverse possession concerns have already cropped up. Some traditional buyers may back away from properties with clouded titles or boundary disputes.

If you’re exploring the possibility of selling, look for buyers who:

• Have experience handling complex title situations
• Can work with you on probate or legal issues if needed
• Understand North Carolina’s adverse possession laws
• Can provide a clear timeline for closing

At Front Porch Land Group, we specialize in purchasing vacant land across North Carolina and work with owners facing exactly these kinds of challenges. If you’d like to explore your options with no pressure, we’re here to have that conversation.