Utah adverse possession requires continuous occupation and claim of land for seven years AND payment of all taxes levied and assessed on it during that period (Utah Code 78B-2-208, 78B-2-214). Because squatters virtually never pay the property taxes, successful squatter claims are extremely rare.
Utah Code 78B-2-208 presumes the legal title holder has been in possession and that any occupation is subordinate to that title; the presumption is rebutted only 'by a showing that the property has been held and possessed adversely to the legal title for at least seven years.' Utah Code 78B-2-214 adds the tax requirement: adverse possession 'may not be established unless it is shown that the land has been occupied and claimed continuously for seven years, and that the party and the party's predecessors and grantors have paid all taxes which have been levied and assessed upon the land.' Both conditions must be met, so a claimant must occupy continuously for seven years and pay every property tax during that period, defeating nearly all squatter claims.
No specific statutory penalty. A squatter who fails the seven-year-plus-taxes test acquires no title; the record owner recovers possession through an eviction or quiet-title action, and a holdover occupant may face unlawful detainer treble damages.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
South Jordan, UT
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