Can they expel me from an abandoned plot of land that I've used for more than 25 years?

Our law provides for the possibility of acquiring ownership of a property when it has been owned for a long time by a certain person: this is called usucaption.

When my parents were young, they started planting some vegetables in an abandoned field that adjoins our house.

For more than 25 years they have maintained and used the field without being told, even building a small warehouse to store some seeds and equipment.

Last month, our neighbours appeared in the field to say that the field is theirs and that they are demanding that it be abandoned immediately. Our neighbours have always seen my parents using the field and have never said anything. Can they evict my parents?

Our law provides for the possibility of acquiring ownership of a property when it has been owned for a long time by a certain person: this is called usucaption.

In order for usucaption to occur, there must be, on the one hand, de facto power over the property, i.e. there must be a stable use of the property, and, on the other hand, an intention of ownership, i.e. the usucapient (the person who intends to benefit from this right) must act as if they were already the true owner of the property.

What's more, for there to really be a right to acquire by adverse possession, given that the property in question is immovable, the law imposes certain time limits.

In the case in point, given that, as far as we know, there is no title of acquisition or registration of mere possession, usucaption can only take place after 15 years (if the possession is in good faith) or 20 years if the possession is in bad faith.

It should be noted, although this does not seem to be the case, that if the possession was constituted with violence or taken by stealth, the usucaption periods only start to run from the moment the violence ceases or the possession becomes public.

This being the case, it is believed that a legal action can be brought to recognise the right of ownership over the land, and it is defensible to say, in the absence of any other explanation, that it was acquired by adverse possession.