ABSTRACT
Possessory title confers a good title upon the holder and is enforceable against the entire world except for the true owner. In some cases, however, possessory title over land can be held for such a long period of time that the true owner is precluded under the limitations of actions legislation from bringing an action to recover possession of that land. Such a prohibition effectively results in the possessor acquiring what is called an ‘adverse possession’ of the land. There are a number of justifications for imposing a limit upon the length of time that land owners may take in exercising their proprietary rights when dispossessed, the first and most important being that it is in the public interest to encourage certainty and predictability in land ownership. Where a person has taken possession of land to the exclusion of the real owner, and made that land his home for a significant period of time without interruption, the possessors should be entitled to a certain peace of mind. If the owner has failed to enforce proprietary title against such possessors, whether it be due to negligence or mere tardiness, public interest requirements favour the possessor against the owner so that the owner loses the right to regain possession. This reasoning is well highlighted in the classic words of Sir Thomas Plumer MR in Marquis Cholmondeley v Lord Clinton (1820) 2 Jac & W 1; 37 ER 527, p 577: ‘It is better that the negligent owner who has omitted to assert his right within the prescribed period should lose his right than that an opening should be given to interminable litigation.’
