Landjepik: mapping encroachment on municipal land

Individuals who occupy and fence someone else's land become owners of this land 20 years later if the owner does not claim the land in the meantime. Legal experts call this form of ownership acquisition prescription. Prescription can have very nasty consequences if the land seized belonged to the government. The land is then no longer available for infrastructure, such as cables and pipes, sidewalks, bike paths and roads. However, there was no research yet on how and in what contexts government land is seized by citizens and how often this happens.

The Gratama Foundation awarded a grant to Björn Hoops to conduct empirical research on this issue and explore what solutions might exist to better protect government land from prescription. Hoops, along with student assistants, analyzed inventories of land use in five municipalities. He estimated that 8% of households in the Netherlands are illegally using municipal land. On average, this concerns 20 to 40 m2, which were previously often green strips and sidewalks belonging to the municipality.

As possible solutions, Hoops raised, among other things, the abolition of prescription of government land. In a comparative law follow-up study for municipalities, provinces and water boards, Hoops concluded that this would be the best solution for protecting government land from prescription.

Duration of the project

2017 - 2018

Awarded grant

15,208 euros, obtained from the Gratama Foundation

Contact person at our Faculty

Prof. mr. dr. B. (Björn) Hoops

Websites with additional information