The Strip You Have Been Mowing
Code Civ. Proc. 325 — five years, enclosed or cultivated, and every tax paid
In California, an action to recover real property cannot be maintained unless the plaintiff or a predecessor was seized or possessed of it within five years before the action. The person with legal title is presumed to have possessed it, and anyone else's occupation is deemed subordinate to that title unless it was held adversely for five years.
Taxes, every year. Adverse possession is not established under any section of the code unless the land was occupied and claimed for five years continuously and the claimant and predecessors timely paid all state, county and municipal taxes levied and assessed on it for those five years, shown by certified records of the county tax collector.
| The claim | Land counts as possessed when it is |
|---|---|
| The claimFounded on a written instrument or judgment | Land counts as possessed when it isUsually cultivated or improved; protected by a substantial enclosure; or used for fuel, fencing timber, pasturage or the occupant's ordinary use |
| The claimNot founded on one | Land counts as possessed when it isProtected by a substantial enclosure, or usually cultivated or improved, and only the land actually occupied |
The statute sets the time. What kind of possession counts beyond what the statute itself says comes from California court decisions, which this page does not quote. Whether a particular strip of land has changed hands, and how to bring or answer an action over it, are questions for a licensed California attorney.
Sources for this section (6)
- Code Civ. Proc. 325 — Possession not under a written instrument; payment of taxes
- Code Civ. Proc. 318 — Recovery of real property; seizin within five years
- Code Civ. Proc. 321 — Possession presumed in the holder of legal title
- Code Civ. Proc. 322 — Adverse possession under a written instrument or judgment
- Code Civ. Proc. 323 — Possession under a written instrument or judgment; what counts
- Code Civ. Proc. 324 — Adverse possession not under a written instrument
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed California attorney.