When can someone claim squatter’s rights in Colorado?

DENVER (KDVR) — If you have ever heard the term “squatter’s rights” come up in conversation, you may have wondered what they are and what they mean.

If you go looking through Colorado law, you won’t find the term “squatter’s rights” there, because the legal term is instead “adverse possession.”

All 50 states, including Colorado, have some sort of adverse possession law on the books, but not all of them work the same.

What is adverse possession?

Adverse possession is defined as possessing someone’s property in a way that is “open, hostile, exclusive, continuous [and] adverse to the claim of the owner,” according to Merriam-Webster .

Essentially, it is a way for someone to claim legal ownership over someone else’s property.

What are the squatter’s rights laws in Colorado?

In Colorado, there are two ways for someone to claim adverse possession. The first is by paying all the property taxes for the land and having what is known as a “color of title,” which is a title to property that is made in good faith but that isn’t a true title for one reason or another.

Under these circumstances, the person has to possess the property and pay the taxes for seven years before they can be considered the true owner.

The second way takes much more time and is a bit more complex.

Because adverse possession cases are decided on a case-by-case basis, many of the specific things required are dictated by precedent and not specified in the statutes.

However, there are a few things that are: For one, a person has to be in adverse possession of the property for at least 18 years before they can claim anything and have to prove all of the elements of the claim with “clear and convincing evidence.”

They also have to have a good faith belief that they were the true owners of the property.

Even if someone successfully proves their adverse possession case in court, the judge may require them to pay the property’s actual value to the original owners as well as any property taxes the owners paid over the 18 years.

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