Occupancy, << OK yuh puhn see, >> is a legal method by which a person or nation acquires title to (ownership of) something that no one else owns. This method can also be used to acquire something that has been abandoned or for which no owner can be located. Occupancy usually refers to taking possession of real property (land and anything built on that land) through a process known as adverse possession.
To gain title to real property by occupancy, a person or nation must take possession of the property with the intention of keeping it. Typically, the property must be occupied continually, openly, and exclusively for a specified period of time. A primary purpose of the law in allowing occupancy and adverse possession is to reward those who use land productively. For example, British settlers claimed Bermuda for Britain by occupancy in 1609. At that time the islands had no other inhabitants.
