What are squatters’ rights in New York?
In New York, a person who occupies real property without the owner’s permission can gain title by adverse possession only after ten years of occupancy that is adverse, under claim of right, open and notorious, continuous, exclusive and actual. A squatter is not a tenant: the law defines a squatter as a person who enters or intrudes on real property without the permission of the person entitled to possession and keeps occupying it without title, right or permission. An owner removes a squatter through a special proceeding in court, after serving a ten-day notice to quit. Until that period has run, a person occupying property without permission has no claim to its title. This is N.Y. RPAPL §§ 501, 711, 713; CPLR § 212.
| What | New York |
|---|---|
| Adverse possession period | 10 years |
| Removing an unauthorized occupant | Through a court proceeding, after notice |
Source
N.Y. RPAPL §§ 501, 711, 713; CPLR § 212
Read the statute in the New York Consolidated Laws (New York State Senate): nysenate.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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The same question in other states
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