bomneedhelp77 (owner) 03 July 2015

Adverse posession of leased land

We are 8 building lessees in a bldg. The bldg and land was leased to us for 50 (since 1950) years with optional extension clause of another 50. Midway through the first lease the lessor did not collect rent and was untraceable . Since 1990 we have been staying in the premises without paying any lease rent. Someone who entered the building as tenant encroached on the common land around the same time and fenced it and claimed it as his. Now the original lessor has shown up in 2015. Can we ( original lessees) claim that we are staying by virtue of adverse posession ? Can the encroacher claim adverse posession ? In this case who can claim title to the land the lessor, the lessees or the encroacher ?

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Dr J C Vashista (Advocate) 03 July 2015

A lesee/tenant will remain tenant on oral or written agreement through out tenancy irrespective of its tenure, rate, collection/payment of rent and issuance of receipt. The lesee/tenant is only holding possession of the premises but not the title, claim or interest.

The concept of adverse possession and law governing the subject matter is totally different to that of Lease & Licence laws. A lesee/tenant cannot become owner, in any case.

Consult a local lawyer for further advise and proceeding.

bomneedhelp77 (owner) 04 July 2015

Thank you Dr Vashista for your response.

If the encroacher entered the premises as a lessee . He then denies the existence of a lease agreement and then encroaches on the common premises can he claim adverse posession ?

I understand your point when you say that once a person enters the property as a lessee or a tenant he cannot claim adverse posession.

Physical structures like gates and garages have been created but we don't see any new registration with the Municipality or registrar's office. How can we verify that the encroacher has any legal documents to support his encroachment ?