Under D.C. squatters rights, a person occupying someone else’s property can only claim legal ownership after 15 continuous years of meeting every element of adverse possession, and until that threshold is crossed the owner retains full rights to remove them through the D.C. Superior Court. There is no shortcut for the owner, and no self-help remedy. Removal runs through a civil case, a court-issued Writ of Restitution, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
When a Squatter Can Actually Claim Your Property
D.C. Code § 12-301 gives a property owner 15 years to bring an action to recover land. Once that window closes against someone who has occupied the property the entire time while meeting the legal test, the owner loses the right to reclaim it.1D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 12-301 – Limitation of Time for Bringing Actions Fifteen years is one of the longer statutory periods in the country, and the occupant carries the entire burden of proof.
The clock only runs when all five elements are satisfied at the same time:
- Actual possession. The person uses the property the way an owner would — living in a house, maintaining the yard, farming the land. Occasional visits do not count.
- Open and notorious. The use is visible enough that a reasonably attentive owner would notice. Hidden occupation cannot support a claim.
- Exclusive. The occupant controls the property alone, not alongside the public or the true owner.
- Continuous. No significant gap for 15 years. Leaving for months and coming back resets the clock.
- Hostile. The occupant is there without the owner’s permission. The word has nothing to do with aggression; a holdover tenant staying with the landlord’s informal blessing is not hostile.
Courts look for concrete evidence that the occupant treated the property as their own for the full period: fencing, improvements, paid upkeep. Drop one element for any meaningful stretch and the claim fails. There is no partial credit.
The Vacant Lot Exception Owners Should Know
D.C. Code § 16-1113 creates a separate rule for unimproved land. Normally proving adverse possession of a vacant lot is hard because there is no house to live in. The statute solves that for the claimant: fencing or enclosure is not required if the person paid the property taxes, was the only one exercising control over the lot, and did so for at least 15 years before the owner sued.2D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 16-1113 – Action to Recover Vacant and Unimproved Lots Those conditions are treated as the equivalent of physical enclosure.
If you own an undeveloped parcel in the District and someone else has been paying the tax bill and managing the lot for 15 years while you did nothing, that person has a real path to taking the title. Keeping your property taxes current on vacant land is not just a financial matter. It is one of the strongest defenses you have.
Government Property Is Off the Table
No one can acquire District-owned or federally owned land through adverse possession, no matter how long they occupy it. Sovereign immunity blocks the claim entirely. In a city where the federal government holds a significant share of the real estate, this is a meaningful boundary on the doctrine.
Can the Police Remove a Squatter?
Sometimes, but often not. D.C. Code § 22-3302 makes it a misdemeanor to enter or remain in a private building without permission, carrying up to 180 days in jail and a fine.3D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 22-3302 – Unlawful Entry on Property On paper, that gives officers authority to act. In practice, D.C. police often treat occupancy disputes as civil and send the owner to court.
The reason is proof. If someone has been inside for weeks, has their belongings there, and claims a right to stay, officers responding to a call cannot sort out competing stories on the sidewalk. They do not want to remove a person who might turn out to be a tenant with legal protections. Your odds of a criminal response rise sharply if you can show the deed on the spot, demonstrate that no lease exists, and point to evidence of forced entry or a broken lock. Without that, expect to be told to hire a lawyer.
Removing a Squatter Through D.C. Superior Court
When police will not act, Superior Court is the route. The first decision is which branch to file in, because that depends on who the occupant is.
If the person once had a lease or rental agreement that expired or was terminated, the case belongs in the Landlord and Tenant Branch. If the person never had any legal right to be there — no lease, no oral agreement, no prior relationship — the owner brings an ejectment action in the Civil Division under D.C. Code § 42-3210.4D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3210 – Action in Ejectment, When Proper Filing in the wrong branch wastes weeks.
The complaint has to describe the property in detail and lay out when the unauthorized occupancy began and why the person has no legal right to stay. You will attach the deed and property tax records to establish ownership. Once filed, you arrange service of process. Superior Court rules require the papers to be delivered by someone at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case.5District of Columbia Courts. Superior Court Rule 4 – Service of Process Most owners hire a professional process server, typically $60 to $100.
If the occupant does not respond, you can ask for a default judgment. One extra step is mandatory first: a sworn affidavit stating whether the occupant is an active-duty servicemember. Federal law under 50 U.S.C. § 3931 requires it in every case where the defendant has not appeared. If you cannot determine military status, you must say so under oath, and the court may appoint an attorney to represent the absent party.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments Skip the affidavit and the judgment can be voided.
If the occupant fights the case, a judge schedules a hearing. Both sides present evidence: photographs, witnesses, ownership documents. The strength of your paperwork is what carries the day.
The Writ of Restitution and the U.S. Marshals
Winning the case does not let you change the locks. The court then issues a Writ of Restitution, which is the formal authorization for physical removal.7United States Marshals Service. Procedures for Evictions – Writs of Restitution In the District, the U.S. Marshals Service is the only body that can carry out an eviction. Not private contractors, not Metropolitan Police.
The writ stays valid for 75 days. The Marshals schedule the eviction at least 14 days after receiving the writ, and no later than seven days before it expires. You or someone representing you has to be at the property on the scheduled date, with a locksmith ready to work immediately. If you are more than ten minutes late, the Marshals can cancel.
Weather can push the date. The Marshals will not perform an eviction when the National Weather Service forecasts temperatures below 32°F at National Airport, or when precipitation is falling at the property.8D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3505.01 – Evictions If delays push the eviction past the 75-day life of the writ, you have to get a new one and pay new fees. Between the court schedule, the Marshals’ window, and weather, the full process from filing to physical recovery usually takes several months.
Handling Belongings Left Behind
D.C. Code § 42-3505.01a sets strict obligations around personal property. At least 21 days before the eviction, you have to deliver written notice confirming the date and warning the occupant that anything left behind will be considered abandoned seven days after removal.9D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3505.01a – Personal Property of Deceased or Evicted Tenants
After the eviction, the former occupant has seven days (excluding Sundays and federal holidays) to retrieve their belongings. You must give at least 16 hours of access over no more than two days, during business hours, and you cannot charge rent or storage fees for that period. You are responsible for exercising reasonable care over the items in the meantime. Once the seven days end, whatever remains is legally abandoned and you can dispose of it. You cannot dump it in an outdoor public space; it has to go to a licensed disposal facility or a lawful receptacle.
Follow the statute and you are immune from civil liability for loss or damage to abandoned property. Cut corners and you invite a lawsuit.
Why Not to Change the Locks Yourself
Changing the locks, shutting off the water, or hauling belongings to the curb is illegal in D.C. Code § 42-3505.01 is explicit: no one can be evicted from a rental unit except through a court order executed by the U.S. Marshals.8D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3505.01 – Evictions D.C. courts have held owners who perform self-help evictions liable for both actual and punitive damages. The exposure from an illegal lockout can easily exceed what the proper court process would have cost.
Preventing a Squatter Problem
Every element of an adverse possession claim depends on the owner doing nothing. Routine attention breaks the chain. Monthly inspections of a vacant property cut against the continuous and exclusive requirements. Documented visits — dated photos, logged entries — create evidence that the property was never abandoned.
On a vacant property, reinforced locks, motion-activated lighting, and cameras serve two purposes. They deter entry, and if someone does get in, recorded footage makes it much easier to get police to treat the matter as criminal trespass instead of a civil dispute.
Pay the property taxes. The vacant-lot rule in § 16-1113 treats tax payment as a powerful signal of who actually controls the land. If you stop paying and someone else starts, you have handed them one of the central pieces of a claim. And if you want to let someone use the property, do it in writing. A signed license agreement defeats the hostile element outright, because the occupation is no longer without your permission.