What are squatters’ rights in Louisiana?
In Louisiana, ownership of land may be acquired by possessing it for 30 years, with no need for a title or good faith. Louisiana calls this acquisitive prescription. The period is 10 years when the possessor also has good faith and just title. Without a title, possession reaches only the land that was actually possessed. Louisiana’s criminal trespass statute defines a squatter as any person who remains in or upon property to which the person lacks a right of possession, ownership, occupancy or a lease interest, and it is criminal trespass for a squatter to stay after a lawful possessor directs them to vacate verbally, by written notice or by posted signs. An owner may also ask a court for an injunction: the owner’s affidavit that a person with no legal interest in the property is denying the owner its use is enough for a temporary restraining order without notice, and no security is required. Until that period has run, a person occupying property without permission has no claim to its title. This is La. Civ. Code art. 3486; La. Civ. Code art. 3475; La. Civ. Code art. 3487; La. R.S. 14:63; La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3601; La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3603.
| What | Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Adverse possession period | 30 years |
| Removing an unauthorized occupant | Through a court proceeding, after notice |
Source
La. Civ. Code art. 3486; La. Civ. Code art. 3475; La. Civ. Code art. 3487; La. R.S. 14:63; La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3601; La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3603
Read the statute in the Louisiana Laws (Louisiana State Legislature): legis.la.gov.
Checked against the statute on November 13, 2026.
This is a summary of the published procedure, not legal advice. Courts, local rules and the facts of a tenancy change what applies, and a defect in a notice or a filing can end a case. Have a lawyer review anything before it is served or filed.
How Seayora uses this rule
Seayora does not file, serve or appear in an eviction, and is not anybody’s lawyer. When a tenant has stopped paying, it lays out these steps for the property’s own state and city with the statute beside each one, holds back any step that would come too early, keeps an append-only record of the case — and shows the resident what would end it, legal-aid links included.
Guides on this rule
- Squatters’ Rights by State: Adverse Possession and Removal — How long adverse possession takes in 51 states, what the statutes require, and which states let law enforcement remove a squatter without an eviction case.
Compare this rule in every state
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- Every Louisiana rule on one page
The same question in other states
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- District of Columbia
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