Acquisitive Prescription of Immovable Property

Caring for another person’s property, paying taxes or maintaining a fence does not by itself make the user its owner. Acquisitive prescription requires possession and the statutory conditions. The owner need not be unknown.

Possession and time periods

Under Article 68 of the Ownership Act, possession means exercising physical control over an asset, personally or through another person, as one’s own. It differs from holding it for another person, for example under a lease. The start, nature, continuity and any interruption of possession must be established.

Article 79 provides a general period of ten years’ continuous possession for immovable property. The five-year period applies to possession in good faith. Under Article 70, this requires a legal basis capable of transferring ownership and lack of knowledge that the transferor is not the owner or that the prescribed form is defective. Merely believing “I thought the land was mine” does not qualify a person for the five-year period.

If the area used differs from the title document, the boundaries, cadastral information and acquisition documents must first be checked. For co-owned or inherited property, the basis on which other people’s shares are used must also be examined. The period is not determined solely by how many years the property has been maintained.

State and municipal property

Article 86 excludes public state or municipal property from acquisition by prescription. Private state or municipal property is a different category requiring examination of special rules and the history of suspension of prescription. Constitutional Court Decision No. 3 of 24 February 2022 in case No. 16/2021 declared the provisions on the prolonged moratorium unconstitutional. This does not automatically transfer ownership of every such property; an individual timeline is required.

How is acquisition documented?

Where sufficient written evidence is unavailable, Article 587(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure provides for a notarial inquiry involving three witnesses designated under the statutory procedure, preferably neighbours. The competent notary assesses all the conditions. A declaratory notarial deed records the recognised right; issuing and registering it cannot replace missing possession or an unexpired period.

The deed can be challenged in court. A person facing a title claim must arrange a defence and present evidence; a deed holder should not assume that they can never be required to prove their allegations.

What should you prepare?

• notarial deeds, contracts and inheritance documents;
• cadastral sketches, plans and information on boundaries and property status;
• a timeline of use, correspondence, photographs and witness details;
• state or municipal ownership records, if any;
• claims received, statements of claim and court decisions.

Tomovi Law Firm can assess the documents, applicable period and appropriate means of protection.

Sources: Ownership Act, Articles 68–70 and 79–86; Code of Civil Procedure, Article 587; Constitutional Court Decision No. 3/2022.