Connecticut allows title by adverse possession only after open, visible, exclusive and uninterrupted possession for 15 years under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 52-575; prescriptive easements require the same 15 years under Sec. 47-37. A squatter without that long possession is a trespasser removable through summary process or entry-and-detainer proceedings.
Under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 52-575, title by adverse possession is 'accomplished by an open, visible, and exclusive possession uninterruptedly for a 15-year period.' Courts require possession that is hostile and under a claim of right, actual, open, notorious, exclusive and continuous for the full fifteen years. Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 47-37 applies the same 15-year rule to prescriptive easements (adverse use), barring rights unless the use 'has been continued uninterrupted for fifteen years.' A squatter who has not met these elements has no ownership claim and is a trespasser; owners remove them through summary process (Sec. 47a-23) or an entry-and-detainer action under Sec. 47a-43. Self-help removal is not permitted.
An owner may not use force to remove an occupant; self-help can trigger entry-and-detainer liability under Sec. 47a-43, including restoration of possession, double damages and attorney's fees. Removal must go through the courts.
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