Michigan Adverse Possession / Squatters' Rights (MCL 600.5801)

MCL 600.5801 sets the period of limitation for recovering possession of land. The statute provides graduated periods depending on how the defendant claims title, but "in all other cases under this section, the period of limitation is 15 years." Because the record owner's right to eject is extinguished once the limitations period runs, a possessor who holds the land adversely for the full 15 years can quiet title against the former owner. Michigan courts require that the possession be actual, open and notorious, exclusive, continuous and uninterrupted, and hostile (under a claim of right) for the entire 15-year term; these elements come from case law applying the statute. Shorter 5-year and 10-year periods apply to specific situations such as certain court-ordered or tax-related conveyances.

No specific statutory penalty. Adverse possession is a civil limitations and quiet-title matter resolved between the owner and the possessor in court (MCL 600.5801).