Fraudulent Adverse Possession Claims in Jamaica: When Squatting Is Used as a Legal Weapon

• Fraudsters plant false witnesses to give evidence of decades-long occupation that never occurred
• Fabricated affidavits of occupation used to support adverse possession applications at the NLA
• Limitation of Actions Act bars actions after 12 years, making early challenge essential
• Registered titles under the RTA are harder but not impossible to defeat by adverse possession
• Rural and overseas-owned parcels most vulnerable due to absence of regular physical inspection

Adverse possession is a doctrine under the Limitation of Actions Act that bars a registered proprietor from recovering land if a squatter has been in open, continuous, and exclusive occupation for twelve or more years without the owner’s permission. The doctrine exists to resolve situations where land has been treated as abandoned for so long that it would be unjust to disturb the occupier. In Jamaica, however, the adverse possession process has been systematically exploited by fraudsters who construct false evidence of long occupation to claim land from owners who are very much alive and interested in their property. The fabricated evidence typically takes the form of statutory declarations sworn by friends or associates of the claimant, asserting that they have personally observed the claimant in occupation for the requisite period. In some instances, attorneys have been implicated in preparing these declarations knowing them to be false, an offence under both the Registration of Titles Act and the Perjury Act.

How Fraudulent Possession Claims Are Mounted

The mechanics of a fraudulent adverse possession claim require the claimant to demonstrate that their occupation was actual, open, and inconsistent with the owner’s continued use. To satisfy these requirements, fraudsters may erect a temporary structure on the land, cultivate a small area, or install a fence and then seek witness evidence that these activities have persisted for many years. Where the genuine owner has not physically inspected the property regularly — a common situation with inherited rural land or overseas-owned parcels — countervailing evidence of the owner’s actual use during the claimed period is difficult to produce. The National Land Agency accepts adverse possession applications supported by statutory declarations but is required to give notice to the registered proprietor and to any mortgagee. This notice requirement is a critical safeguard, but it depends on the NLA having current contact details for the registered owner. Owners who have not updated their registered address are at particular risk of notices going astray.

Defeating a False Adverse Possession Claim

An owner who receives notice of an adverse possession application should respond promptly with a formal objection, supported by any available evidence of their own use, maintenance, or acknowledgment of ownership during the period in question: payment receipts for works on the land, photographs, correspondence with neighbours, or evidence that the alleged occupier was actually present only recently. The objection triggers a hearing at the NLA at which both sides present evidence. Where the adverse possession claim is grounded in fabricated declarations, a criminal complaint for perjury and fraud should be lodged with the JCF simultaneously. Owners with registered titles should also maintain a caveat against the property to receive immediate notification of any dealings. The best long-term protection is periodic physical inspection of all owned land, particularly in rural parishes, so that any encroachment can be discovered and legally challenged before any limitation period runs.