The Strip You Have Been Mowing
S.C. Code 15-67-210 and S.C. Code 15-3-340 — ten years of adverse possession, and without a deed only what is fenced and worked
A person who proves legal title is presumed to have possessed the land, and anyone else's occupation of it is treated as under and subordinate to that title, unless the land was held adversely to it for ten years before the suit began.
Ten years. No suit to recover land or its possession may be brought unless the plaintiff, or someone the plaintiff's claim comes through, was seized or possessed of it within ten years before the suit.
Without a deed, fenced or worked. Where the claim of title is not founded on a written instrument or a court's judgment, only the land actually occupied counts, and land is treated as possessed only when it has been protected by a substantial enclosure and usually cultivated or improved.
A claim under a deed or a judgment that turns out to be defective runs under its own section. Whether a particular use was adverse is a question for a court and a licensed South Carolina attorney.
Sources for this section (4)
- S.C. Code 15-67-210 — Presumption of possession; when occupation deemed under legal title
- S.C. Code 15-67-240 — Premises held adversely but not under written instrument or court judgment
- S.C. Code 15-67-250 — What constitutes adverse possession under claim of title not under written instrument
- S.C. Code 15-3-340 — Action by individual for recovery of real property
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Carolina attorney.