Louisiana Squatters Rights: Adverse Possession and How Removal Actually Works
How long adverse possession takes in Louisiana, whether there is a fast-track removal law, and what you legally can and cannot do about an unauthorized occupant. Last reviewed August 2026.
The question that decides everything: is the occupant a squatter or a tenant? Anyone who ever had permission to be there — a former tenant, someone who paid you rent even once, an ex-partner of your tenant on the lease — is generally a tenant in the law's eyes and must go through the eviction process. Louisiana's squatter rules below apply to true trespassers only.
How long does adverse possession take in Louisiana?
Louisiana is a civil-law state and does not use common-law adverse possession; the equivalent doctrine is acquisitive prescription. An occupant who possesses in good faith under a just title — a deed or similar act that would have transferred ownership had it come from the true owner — can acquire an immovable in 10 years under La. Civ. Code arts. 3473 through 3475, while a possessor with neither good faith nor just title needs 30 years of possession under art. 3486. In either case the possession must be continuous, uninterrupted, peaceable, public, and unequivocal. A squatter who simply moved in has no just title, so the realistic bar is 30 years, and the owner interrupts prescription by filing suit or retaking possession.
How to remove a squatter in Louisiana
The baseline route is the summary eviction of an occupant: serve a written notice to vacate under La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 4701 and 4702, then file a rule for possession, and after judgment the sheriff, constable, or marshal executes a warrant of possession. Since August 1, 2024, Act 652 (SB 466) gives owners two faster levers: a squatter — defined in La. R.S. 14:63 as anyone who remains on property with no right of possession, ownership, occupancy, or valid lease interest — commits criminal trespass by refusing a lawful possessor's direction to vacate, and any occupant who remains more than five days after being served a notice to vacate also commits criminal trespass. R.S. 14:63(K) additionally lets an owner or good-faith possessor petition for a temporary restraining order and injunction against the trespasser, with violations punished as contempt. That means police can treat a true squatter as a criminal matter instead of waving it off as civil, but the occupant-eviction rule remains the safe path whenever the person's status is unclear.
Squatter or tenant? Why it matters
Anyone who ever held a lease — written or oral — or occupied with the owner's consent is a lessee or occupant who must be removed through the art. 4701 eviction process, not through the criminal-trespass or TRO route. The R.S. 14:63 squatter definition reaches only people who lack any right of possession, ownership, occupancy, or a valid lease interest, so a holdover tenant, a roommate the tenant let in, or someone who paid you any rent is outside it. Guessing wrong exposes the owner to a wrongful-eviction claim.
What you absolutely cannot do
Against a tenant or occupant, Louisiana prohibits self-help: no lock changes, utility shutoffs, or removing belongings without a judgment of eviction and a warrant of possession executed by the sheriff, constable, or marshal under La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4734. Doing it anyway is wrongful eviction, breaching the warranty of peaceable possession and exposing the owner to damages and an emergency injunction. The narrow exception in art. 4731(B) allows retaking premises the owner reasonably believes abandoned after the required notice.
Recent changes to the law
Act 652 of 2024 (SB 466), effective August 1, 2024, amended La. R.S. 14:63 to retitle it "Criminal trespass; squatters," defined a squatter as anyone remaining on property without a right of possession, ownership, occupancy, or valid lease interest, and made it criminal trespass for an occupant to remain more than five days after service of a notice to vacate or for a squatter to refuse a lawful possessor's direction to leave. It also enacted R.S. 14:63(K), letting owners and good-faith possessors obtain a temporary restraining order and preliminary or permanent injunction against the trespasser, enforceable by contempt.
What Louisiana property owners get wrong
Owners get the vocabulary wrong first: searching Louisiana law for "adverse possession" finds nothing useful because the doctrine is acquisitive prescription, and the 10-year figure that circulates online applies only to possessors with good faith and just title — a squatter with no deed needs 30 years. The second mistake is using the new criminal-trespass route against a holdover tenant or anyone who once had permission; that person is an occupant who must go through the art. 4701 eviction. Finally, the five-day notice clock excludes legal holidays in most parishes, so it runs longer than five calendar days.
The law itself
Frequently asked questions
How long does a squatter have to stay in Louisiana to claim ownership?
Thirty years in almost every real squatter case. Louisiana's acquisitive prescription lets a possessor with good faith and a just title (a deed-like document) acquire an immovable in 10 years under Civil Code arts. 3473-3475, but a squatter who simply moved in has neither, so art. 3486's 30-year prescription applies — and the possession must be continuous, uninterrupted, peaceable, public, and unequivocal the entire time.
How do I remove a squatter in Louisiana?
Serve a written notice to vacate under Code of Civil Procedure arts. 4701-4702, then file a rule for possession in the parish court; after judgment the sheriff, constable, or marshal executes the warrant of possession. Since Act 652 of 2024 you can also direct a true squatter to leave and involve police, because refusing now constitutes criminal trespass under R.S. 14:63, and you can seek a TRO and injunction under R.S. 14:63(K).
Does Louisiana have adverse possession?
Not by that name. As a civil-law state Louisiana uses acquisitive prescription instead: 10 years for a good-faith possessor with just title, 30 years for everyone else. The elements differ from common-law adverse possession, so out-of-state guides that talk about "hostile and notorious" possession do not map cleanly onto Louisiana law.
Can police remove a squatter in Louisiana?
Since August 1, 2024, yes — if the person is genuinely a squatter. Act 652 made it criminal trespass under R.S. 14:63 for a squatter to remain after a lawful possessor directs them to leave, or for any occupant to remain more than five days after service of a notice to vacate, so police can arrest rather than deferring to civil court. If the person claims a lease or once had permission, expect police to stand down and require the art. 4701 eviction process.
Keep reading
Vacant units attract squatters. Documented ones repel them.
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Start Free TrialThis page is general information, not legal advice. Squatter, trespass, and adverse possession law turns on specific facts — verify against the official statute text linked above, and talk to a local attorney or law enforcement before acting.