What are squatters' rights in Trinidad and Tobago?

The 16-year rule

An owner has 16 years to sue for the land, counted from when the right to sue first arose, usually when the owner was dispossessed or stopped being in possession (Real Property Limitation Act (Chapter 56:03), ss 3, 4(a)). When the 16 years end, the owner's title is extinguished (s 22). A Real Property Act title is subject to "any rights subsisting under any adverse possession" (Real Property Act (Chapter 56:02), s 45).

There are two extensions. If the owner was a child or of unsound mind when the right to sue arose, they can still sue within 8 years after that ends or they die (whichever comes first), even if the 16 years have passed, but never more than 30 years after the right arose (Real Property Limitation Act, ss 16–17). If the owner was deprived of the land by a concealed fraud, time runs only from when the fraud was, or with reasonable diligence could have been, discovered, although this does not help against a good-faith buyer for value who took no part in the fraud and, when buying, neither knew nor had reason to believe that it had been committed (s 21).

The squatter must prove "a sufficient degree of physical custody and control" of the land, and an intention to exercise it "on one's own behalf and for one's own benefit", for the whole period (Lares v Lares [2020] UKPC 19, para 3).

Family, friends and tenants

"[P]ossession is not normally adverse if it is enjoyed by a lawful title or with the consent of the true owner" (Ramnarace v Lutchman [2001] UKPC 25, [2001] 1 WLR 1651, para 10). So a relative or friend living there with your permission does not usually start the clock, with these exceptions:

• Tenant at will. An occupier let into possession on an open-ended basis may be a tenant at will. That tenancy is treated as ended after 1 year, so the 16 years then run although the occupier stays with your consent (Real Property Limitation Act, s 8).
• Periodic tenant with no written lease. While the tenancy continues, time runs from the end of the first period or the last rent received, whichever is later (s 9). But if you end the tenancy with a valid notice to quit, time runs from the day the notice expires (Garcia v Arima Door Centre Holding Co Ltd [2023] UKPC 31, para 13).
• Co-owners. A co-owner or co-heir who has exclusive control for their own sole benefit, without the others' consent, can bar them after 16 years (s 14; Lares, para 4).

Getting a paper title

For Real Property Act land, the squatter applies by summons to a High Court judge for a vesting order, posting a copy on the land at least 14 days before the hearing. If satisfied, the judge may vest the land in the squatter (Real Property Act, ss 49–56).

For old-law land, the squatter can apply to bring it under the Act on a title claimed by possession, posting a notice on the land for at least 21 days before the deadline for objections (s 18).

State land

The State Suits Limitation Act 2018 (Act 8 of 2018), in force since its assent on 22 June 2018, bars the State from suing to recover land that a person has held for 30 years before the claim is filed (s 2(1)). If the occupier gives notice and proves exclusive possession for the 16 years before the claim, the State cannot win without proving its title (s 4). It does not apply to forest reserves and protected areas, land declared environmentally sensitive, or land "identified by the State for a public purpose" (s 3).

The State Land (Regularisation of Tenure) Act (Chapter 57:05) protects from ejectment, subject to its conditions, a squatter occupying a house on State land (with up to about 5,000 square feet of land) that was built, or being built, before 1 January 1998 (ss 2, 3(a), 4(1)). Applications for a Certificate of Comfort were due within 1 year of the Act's commencement on 28 October 1998, or a further year if late (ss 11(2), 12). The certificate does not create an interest in land, only a personal right not to be ejected (s 11(1)(b)).

Steps for owners

1. Inspect the land regularly, and bring any claim well within 16 years. A letter or a visit does not stop time (Real Property Limitation Act, ss 3, 11).
2. If you let someone use the land, put the terms in writing. A written acknowledgment of your title, signed by the occupier and given to you or your agent before the 16 years have run, restarts the 16 years (ss 15, 22).
3. Do not use force. Using force, threats or intimidation to enter premises in someone else's lawful possession (for example, a tenant, or a squatter whose 16 years have already run) to expel them, without a court order or other lawful authority, is an offence (Trespass Act (Chapter 11:07), s 5A). Whether an occupier's possession is lawful is often the very question in dispute, so get a court order. A squatter who refuses to leave when asked, or who uses force to keep possession, may also commit an offence (ss 4, 5B). But a magistrate cannot decide a trespass case in which a question of title arises (s 9), so a disputed claim usually goes to the High Court.