Caretakers and long-vacant flats: adverse possession, the 12-year rule and what the Supreme Court has said

Rules and rates as of 22 October 2026.

Many families own a flat they do not live in. It may be in a home town, bought for retirement, or left behind after a job move or a move abroad. Someone is often asked to look after it: a caretaker, a relative, a neighbour with the keys. A common fear follows: after 12 years, can that person claim the flat?

The short answer is that the law does let long, hostile possession defeat an owner, but a caretaker who is there with your permission is in a very different position. This explainer sets out the rule, what two Supreme Court judgments say, and the records that protect you. It is not legal advice. If someone is already disputing your possession, see a lawyer quickly.

The rule: Article 65 and section 27

The Limitation Act, 1963 sets time limits for going to court. Two provisions matter here.

• Article 65 of the Schedule: a suit "for possession of immovable property or any interest therein based on title" must be filed within twelve years, counted from "when the possession of the defendant becomes adverse to the plaintiff".
• Section 27: once that period ends for a suit for possession of any property, the owner's "right to such property shall be extinguished".

Put together: if someone holds your property adversely to you for 12 years and you do not sue, you lose not just the right to sue but the property itself. This is what lawyers call adverse possession.

Two details are easy to miss. The clock starts only when the other person's possession becomes adverse, not when they first move in. And a different period applies to some owners: Article 112 gives the Central and state governments thirty years for their suits.

What adverse possession needs

In Ravinder Kaur Grewal v Manjit Kaur (Civil Appeal 7764 of 2014, Supreme Court, 2019), the court collected earlier rulings on what a person claiming adverse possession must prove. Among them:

• possession that is "nec vi, nec clam, nec precario", that is, "peaceful, open and continuous" (quoting the Karnataka Wakf Board case);
• an intention to hold the property as owner, since "the mere assertion of title by itself may not be sufficient";
• the exact date from which possession became exclusive and hostile, and that the hostility was communicated to the real owner;
• and, in a line the court quoted, "Long possession is not necessarily adverse possession".

The judgment also held that a person who has completed 12 years of adverse possession can go to court as a plaintiff on that basis, not only use it as a defence. It relied on section 27 to say the owner's right is extinguished when the period ends.

Why a caretaker is different

The Latin phrase "nec precario" means "not by permission". A caretaker is there because you permitted it. That is the heart of Maria Margarida Sequeria Fernandes v Erasmo Jack de Sequeria (Civil Appeal 2968 of 2012, Supreme Court, 21 March 2012). In paragraph 101 the court said:

• "No one acquires title to the property if he or she was allowed to stay in the premises gratuitously."
• "Caretaker, watchman or servant can never acquire interest in the property irrespective of his long possession."
• "The caretaker or servant has to give possession forthwith on demand."

The court also said that once the owner shows title, it is for the person resisting to give detailed particulars of their right to stay. And it repeated that even a trespasser in settled possession cannot be removed except through the law. So you still go to court if someone refuses to leave. You cannot change the locks on an occupied flat yourself.

The risk for an owner is not the caretaking itself. It is the day the relationship changes: the caretaker stops acknowledging you, claims to own the flat, or you stop being able to prove the arrangement ever existed. From then, the occupier will argue, possession became adverse.

Worked example: counting the years

Suppose you live in Bengaluru and own a flat in your home town. From June 2015 you pay a caretaker ₹8,000 a month by bank transfer to live in and look after it.

• Your paper trail. Six years of payments is 72 × ₹8,000 = ₹5,76,000, in 72 separate bank entries. Each entry is evidence that the caretaker was there for you, not against you.
• The break. On 15 August 2019 the caretaker writes to you saying the flat is now his and stops taking payments. If a court accepts that his possession became adverse that day, the 12 years would run to 15 August 2031 (15 August 2019 + 12 years).
• Where you stand today. From 15 August 2019 to 22 October 2026 is about 7.2 years (2,625 days ÷ 365.25). The deadline has not passed, but a suit for possession should not wait.

Compare how the start date can shift in other situations. These dates are illustrative. In each case a court decides when, if ever, possession became adverse.

Situation	Possible start of adverse possession	12 years end
Paid caretaker who keeps acknowledging you	None while permission lasts	Clock not running
Caretaker openly claims ownership in writing	15 August 2019	15 August 2031
Stranger breaks in and occupies an empty flat	1 March 2020	1 March 2032
Relative allowed to stay free, later refuses to leave	30 June 2022 (date of refusal)	30 June 2034

Keeping your title safe

1. Put the arrangement in writing. A short signed letter or agreement saying the person stays as caretaker, on your behalf, and will leave on request.
2. Pay through the bank. Salary or expenses by transfer, not cash. Keep the statements.
3. Keep the bills in your name. Property tax, electricity and society maintenance in the owner's name, paid by you, are further proof of possession.
4. Visit, or send someone, and keep a record. Dated photos and messages show you have not abandoned the flat.
5. Inform the society. A letter to the housing society naming the caretaker as your representative helps.
6. Act on the first sign of a claim. A letter claiming ownership, a refusal to leave, or a changed lock is the moment to see a lawyer. Do not wait for the 12 years to run.

The short version

• Twelve years of hostile, open, continuous possession, unchallenged, can extinguish an owner's title under Article 65 and section 27.
• A caretaker who holds the flat with your permission is not in adverse possession. The Supreme Court has said such a person acquires no interest however long they stay.
• Your protection is evidence of that permission, and prompt action when it is denied.