Squatters on Your Land: How to Legally Get It Back

What should you do if squatters (paracaidistas) have invaded your land? Three things, in this order: document the invasion the same day, file a criminal complaint for dispossession (despojo) with the Fiscalía, and, in parallel, start the civil route (an interdicto de recuperar la posesión if less than a year has passed, or a juicio reivindicatorio if more than a year has gone by). What you should not do is remove them yourself by force: the Constitution (art. 17) prohibits taking justice into your own hands, and an improvised eviction can turn you from victim into defendant. This guide explains each route, the deadlines that matter, how long things really take, and how to keep an invaded lot from becoming a years-long problem.

The first 24 hours: what to do and what not to do

In an invasion, time works against you for a practical reason: the sooner you react, the easier it is to prove the dispossession is recent, and in some prosecutor's offices flagrancy or recent dispossession allows the authorities to step in without waiting for a trial. Do this before anything else:

1. Document everything: dated photos and video of what has been built (shacks, sheet-metal roofing, foundations), of the people if it is safe to do so, and of any forced entry points. If there is a notary public (notario público) nearby, a notarized record of facts (acta de hechos) carries a lot of weight as evidence.
2. Gather your papers: escritura registered in the Registro Público de la Propiedad, paid predial (property tax) receipt, survey plan or boundary survey (deslinde), and, if you have it, the original purchase contract. If you don't have these in order yet, see how to verify that a deed (escritura) is legitimate.
3. File a complaint the same day with the Ministerio Público (next section).
4. Consult a civil and real-estate attorney to decide on the civil route in parallel.

Criminal route: complaint for dispossession

Occupying someone else's property on one's own authority, with violence, by stealth, by threat, or by deceit is the crime of despojo (dispossession). It is provided for in the Federal Criminal Code (art. 395) and, for the typical cases, in each state's criminal code; in Mexico City, for example, it appears in art. 237 of the Código Penal para el Distrito Federal. The elements and penalties vary from state to state, but the logic is the same: the crime protects possession, which is why the Ministerio Público will ask you to show that you occupied the land, or had the right to occupy it, before the invasion.

How to file the complaint

• Go to the state Fiscalía or Procuraduría where the land is located (for federal land, to the FGR).
• Bring your escritura, predial receipt, ID, photos, and the notarized record of facts. Ask that it be recorded since when and how the occupation occurred.
• Request protective measures or provisional restitution of the property. In several states, the Ministerio Público can order provisional restitution when you establish your right and the dispossession is recent.
• Follow up in writing: a complaint with no follow-up is easily shelved.

Realistic expectations: the criminal route can be fast if there is flagrancy or a very recent dispossession, but it slows down when the squatters have been there for months or years, have the backing of an organization, and the prosecutor's office decides "this is a civil matter." That is why you shouldn't rely on it alone.

Civil route: interdicto and juicio reivindicatorio

The civil route doesn't punish the squatter: it gets your land back. There are two paths, and the difference between them is how quickly you act.

Interdicto de recuperar la posesión

This is the fast-track proceeding for someone who has been dispossessed. In most state civil procedure codes it must be filed within one year after the dispossession. It only decides who was in possession and who displaced whom, not who ultimately owns the property, which is why it is shorter. If you win, the judge orders possession returned to you. Check the exact deadline in your state's code: it is easy to lose.

Juicio reivindicatorio

This is the action of an owner who is not in possession against whoever holds the property without a right to it. Here ownership itself is at issue: your registered escritura against nothing (or against the squatter's dubious document). It is longer, with evidence, land-survey experts, and possible appeals, but it has no one-year deadline. The outcome is a judgment ordering delivery of the property and, if necessary, enforcement with the help of the police.

Measures worth requesting from the start

• Preventive annotation of the lawsuit (anotación preventiva de la demanda) in the Registro Público de la Propiedad, so no one can buy the land "in good faith" from whoever is occupying it.
• Precautionary measures (medidas cautelares) to stop them from continuing to build or selling off lots.
• Land-survey expert report that locates your parcel with coordinates. A good boundary survey and measurement of the land keeps you from losing the case because you can't show exactly which part was invaded.

Which route fits your case

They aren't mutually exclusive: the usual approach is to combine a criminal complaint with a civil action. This table summarizes when to use each one.

Ejido land, communal land, and land without escrituras

The strategy changes depending on the type of property:

• Ejido or communal land: disputes over agrarian rights and possession of parcels are resolved in the Tribunales Agrarios, not in a civil court. First, find out whether the ejido assembly ceded or allotted the land. If you are about to buy or regularize ejido land, read ejido land: risks and how to regularize it.
• Land with irregular paperwork: if your title is weak (a purchase by assignment of rights, a private contract), your case is harder because the squatter can challenge your ownership. It pays to regularize at the same time: see how to spot irregular land and how to regularize a property without escrituras.
• Federal zone (beach, riverbeds, rights-of-way): the invasion is an administrative and federal matter; the competent authority is federal, not a local judge.
• Inherited and no succession opened: if the land is still in the name of a deceased relative, open the succession (sucesión) first; without it, your standing to sue gets complicated.

The risk of losing your land to usucapión

This is why you shouldn't let the years go by. Usucapión (positive prescription, similar to adverse possession) allows someone who possesses a property peacefully, continuously, publicly, and as if they were the owner to eventually become its owner with the passage of time. In civil codes the periods are usually five years with good faith and ten with bad faith (for example, in the Código Civil Federal), though each state sets its own. Violent or clandestine possession doesn't run in the squatter's favor, but a late claim with no lawsuits pending makes it easier for their lawyer to argue the possession was peaceful. If you want to understand how it works from the possessor's side, read usucapión or positive prescription.

The practical takeaway: a complaint and a lawsuit filed in time interrupt the story the squatter wants to tell.

How to prevent an invasion

Most invasions happen on vacant lots with no fencing, whose owners live far away and don't visit. With a small outlay you can cut the risk considerably:

• Wall or fence the perimeter and post a sign with your name and phone number.
• Visit often and keep a record (dated photos). If you can't, hire a trusted neighbor or a security service. The same logic applies to houses left empty most of the year.
• Keep your predial paid up and hold on to the receipts: they show there is an active owner.
• Have the boundary survey and the registered escritura in the Registro Público, not just a private contract.
• Check the land before buying it with the legal checklist for buying land: many "inherited" invasions already existed at the time of purchase.

If you've already decided you don't want to carry the risk, you can also sell the land quickly or explore land with clean paperwork to buy with peace of mind.

Frequently asked questions

Can I remove the squatters myself?

No. The Constitution prohibits taking justice into your own hands, and a violent eviction can lead to complaints against you for damages, threats, or assault. The right approach is to report the dispossession and pursue the civil route so an authority orders the property handed over.

How long does it take to recover invaded land?

It depends on the route and the case: with flagrancy or recent dispossession, some prosecutor's offices achieve restitution in weeks; an interdicto takes months, and a juicio reivindicatorio can last one or several years with appeals. The earlier you act, the shorter the road.

After how many years do I lose my land if someone occupies it?

Usucapión requires periods that, in many civil codes, run from five to ten years, along with peaceful, continuous, and public possession. There is no magic deadline that applies the same way across the whole country; check your state's civil code and, above all, make your claim in time to interrupt that possession.

What documents do I need to file a lawsuit?

Escritura registered in the Registro Público, predial receipt, ID, survey plan or boundary survey, photos and video of the invasion, a notarized record of facts, and the complaint filed with the Ministerio Público. The more documents you have, the stronger your lawsuit.

What happens if the squatter has already built a house?

Building on the land doesn't give them ownership. If they lose the case, the judge can order the property handed over, and the rules on what was built depend on the civil code and on whether the squatter acted in good or bad faith. A lawyer should assess whether it also makes sense to claim damages and demolition.