Buying property in Sardinia can involve more than the seller, the price and the documents shown by the estate agent.
A house may have a neighbour using part of the garden. A rural property may include land cultivated by another family for decades. An access road may cross a parcel that has always been used but never formally transferred. An inherited house may be occupied by a relative who says, “this has always been ours.”
These situations can raise the issue of usucapione — the Italian legal concept broadly comparable to adverse possession.
For a foreign buyer, the key point is simple:
A registered title is essential, but it may not be the whole story if another person has possessed or used all or part of the property as if they were the owner for a long period.
Usucapione does not mean that every neighbour, tenant, caretaker or family member can automatically claim ownership. It does mean that long-term possession, boundaries, access routes and third-party occupation must be checked carefully before you sign a contract or transfer money.
Govoni Law assists foreign buyers purchasing property in Sardinia and throughout Italy. We review title, land-register records, third-party rights, occupation issues and contractual protections before buyers become legally committed.
What Is Usucapione?
Usucapione is a way in which ownership, or certain other property rights, may be acquired through possession over time.
Under Article 1158 of the Italian Civil Code, ownership of immovable property and other real rights of enjoyment may generally be acquired through continuous possession for twenty years. In certain circumstances, shorter periods can apply, including cases involving good-faith possession under a deed that was capable in principle of transferring ownership and was duly registered.
In English, the closest expression is usually adverse possession. But foreign buyers should not assume that Italian usucapione works exactly like the law of their own country.
The legal analysis depends on facts such as:
- Who possessed the property or land.
- What part of the property was actually used.
- Whether possession was public and visible.
- Whether it was peaceful and uninterrupted.
- Whether the person acted as an owner or merely used the property with permission.
- Whether possession was exclusive.
- How long the situation continued.
- Whether there was a formal title, lease, loan agreement or family arrangement.
- Whether any legal action, acknowledgement or interruption occurred.
A person does not become owner simply by saying that they have used a property for twenty years. A claim must be supported by evidence, and the legal position must be established through the appropriate legal route.
Why This Matters to a Foreign Buyer
A buyer may discover an usucapione risk only after seeing the property in person.
It can arise in situations such as:
- A neighbour uses part of the garden, driveway or agricultural land.
- A family member lives in the property but is not named as owner.
- A relative occupies an inherited house and says they have always maintained it.
- A seller has fenced land beyond the cadastral boundary.
- A path, driveway or route to the sea crosses neighbouring land.
- A farmer cultivates land included in the property sale.
- A garage, storage building or annex is used exclusively by someone else.
- The seller claims ownership, but another person has exercised possession for decades.
- A parcel is physically included in the property but absent from the title or cadastral documents.
- An abandoned property has been managed by another family for many years.
These facts do not automatically prevent a purchase.
But they can affect what you are buying, whether you will obtain vacant possession, whether boundaries are secure, whether access is protected and whether another person may later raise a claim.
The relevant question is not only:
“Who is registered as owner?”
It is also:
“Who has actually possessed, occupied, managed or used this property, land or access route — and on what basis?”
Possession Is Not the Same as Permission
One of the central distinctions in usucapione is the difference between possessing property as owner and using it with the owner’s permission.
For example, a tenant does not normally acquire property through usucapione simply because they have lived there for many years. A caretaker, family guest, borrower or person allowed to use a garden may also lack the required possession as owner.
But informal family arrangements can become legally difficult because the facts may be unclear.
A seller may say:
- “My brother has always lived in the annex, but he has no rights.”
- “My cousin uses the land, but it belongs to me.”
- “The neighbour only parks there occasionally.”
- “The family has shared the property informally for years.”
- “The access road has always been used by everyone.”
- “The house was left to me, even though the succession documents were never completed.”
These statements need documentary and factual verification.
The longer the arrangement has existed, the more important it is to understand whether it was based on permission, family tolerance, a lease, a right of way, co-ownership, inheritance or a claim of exclusive possession.
Rural Land, Boundaries and Access Routes
Usucapione risk is particularly relevant where a property includes rural land, woodland, agricultural plots, olive groves, slopes, access roads or large gardens.
In Sardinia, it is common for the visible use of land to be more complicated than a listing suggests.
A property may include:
- A garden maintained by a neighbouring family.
- A track used by several properties.
- Agricultural land cultivated by someone other than the registered owner.
- A fence that does not match cadastral boundaries.
- A wall, gate or driveway built across another parcel.
- A private-looking path that is actually shared or disputed.
- Land treated as part of a house for many years but not included in the title.
A cadastral map is essential, but it is not a substitute for verifying actual possession, access and boundaries on the ground.
Where a physical survey is required, a local geometra, architect or engineer should verify the property’s real configuration, boundaries and relationship with neighbouring parcels.
The legal review should then establish whether the title, land-register records, cadastral documents and actual use are consistent.
Can a Neighbour Claim Part of the Property?
Possibly, but not automatically.
A neighbour who parks in an area, crosses land occasionally or uses a portion of a garden with permission does not necessarily acquire a property right.
However, a more serious issue may arise where a person has openly, exclusively and continuously treated part of the property as their own for a long time.
Examples may include:
- A neighbour who has fenced, cultivated and maintained a parcel for decades.
- A person who has built or maintained structures on another person’s land.
- A family member who has occupied a house alone as if they were sole owner.
- A neighbouring owner who has exercised exclusive control over a driveway or access route.
- A person who claims an easement, such as a right of passage, through long-standing use.
Boundary disputes and claims of usucapione can overlap, but they are not identical. A dispute about where the boundary lies is different from a claim that another person has acquired ownership through long possession.
A 2021 decision of the Tribunal of Cagliari illustrates that an usucapione argument raised in a boundary-regulation dispute requires careful analysis of the actual uncertainty over the boundary and of the exclusive possession needed for an adverse-possession claim.
For a buyer, this is exactly why physical boundaries, cadastral maps, title documents and actual use should all be reviewed before signing.
Buying an Inherited Property with an Occupant
Inherited property is one of the contexts in which usucapione risk can become more complicated.
A house may have been left by a parent or grandparent. One heir may have remained in the property for decades while other heirs moved abroad, lost contact or never completed the succession process.
This may create questions about:
- Who became owner after the death.
- Whether succession and land-register steps were completed.
- Whether all heirs agree to sell.
- Whether an occupant is an heir, tenant, usufructuary or informal possessor.
- Whether the occupant claims exclusive possession against other heirs.
- Whether family arrangements were documented.
- Whether the property can be delivered with vacant possession.
An heir’s possession does not automatically become exclusive possession against other heirs merely because that person has lived in the property. The facts, conduct and evidence matter. The Tribunal of Sassari has addressed the principle that possession continues in the heir under Article 1146 of the Civil Code, illustrating why inherited-property possession must be analysed carefully rather than assumed from occupation alone.
For a buyer, the safest approach is to clarify title, succession, occupation and possession before an offer becomes binding.
What Evidence May Matter?
A potential usucapione claim is fact-specific. Relevant evidence may include:
- Title deeds and land-register records.
- Cadastral maps and historical plans.
- Historical aerial photographs.
- Fences, walls, gates and physical boundaries.
- Utility bills and tax documents.
- Receipts for maintenance, farming or construction.
- Witness statements.
- Correspondence between families or neighbours.
- Lease agreements, loan-for-use agreements or permissions.
- Legal notices or prior disputes.
- Mediation records or court proceedings.
- Proof that possession was interrupted or challenged.
A buyer does not need to solve every possible theoretical dispute before making an offer. But visible signs of long-term third-party use should never be ignored.
If a claim exists, if an occupant refuses to leave, if boundaries are unclear or if a route is not clearly included in the title, the risk must be assessed before the buyer pays.
How to Identify an Usucapione Risk During a Viewing
Foreign buyers should pay attention to details that may not appear in the listing.
Questions worth asking include:
- Who uses this driveway, path, garden or land?
- Is every fence shown on the cadastral map?
- Does the neighbour have a key, gate access or a parking arrangement?
- Who maintains the land?
- Has anyone lived in the property or annex recently?
- Is there a tenant, caretaker, relative or former owner?
- Does anyone use the pool, storage room, garage or outbuilding?
- Are there shared wells, water tanks, roads or parking areas?
- Has there ever been a boundary or access dispute?
- Does the seller have written evidence of vacant possession?
- Are all visible buildings and land parcels included in the title?
If the answers are vague, contradictory or based on “everyone has always done it this way,” do not treat that as reassurance.
Treat it as a reason for further legal and technical verification.
What Legal Due Diligence Should Check
Where an usucapione risk may exist, legal due diligence should be tailored to the property and the facts.
Depending on the transaction, the review may include:
- Ownership title and chain of title.
- Land-register searches for registered rights and disputes.
- Cadastral maps, plans and parcel references.
- Boundaries and included land.
- Easements and access rights.
- Current and historic occupation.
- Inheritance, co-ownership and family arrangements.
- Existing leases, usufruct rights or rights of residence.
- Court proceedings, mediation or known disputes.
- Relevant planning and building documentation.
- The proposed offer, reservation agreement or preliminary contract.
- Contractual conditions protecting the buyer if title, boundaries or possession are not clear.
The purpose is to establish whether the buyer is acquiring the property described in the listing, with clear title, secure access and the ability to obtain possession.
What Happens if the Risk Is Found Before Signing?
Finding a potential usucapione or possession issue before signing is not necessarily bad news.
It means that the buyer still has options.
Depending on the facts, the appropriate response may be to:
- Request additional documentation.
- Obtain a technical boundary survey.
- Ask the seller to clarify title or access rights.
- Require vacant possession before completion.
- Make the contract conditional on a defined legal result.
- Require the seller to settle a dispute.
- Adjust the purchase price to reflect a clearly identified risk.
- Walk away if the position cannot be made secure.
The buyer’s strongest position is before signing a binding offer and before transferring a deposit.
After completion, resolving a dispute may require time, expense and litigation.
What Govoni Law Does for Foreign Buyers
Govoni Law assists foreign buyers considering property in Sardinia and elsewhere in Italy where title, occupation, boundaries, access rights or long-term possession require careful review.
Depending on the transaction, our Full Legal Due Diligence service may include:
- Review of ownership and title history.
- Land-register checks for mortgages, liens, easements and disputes.
- Review of cadastral records, plans and available land documentation.
- Identification of title gaps, missing documents and third-party risks.
- Review of inheritance, co-ownership, occupation and family arrangements.
- Review of proposed contracts and payment terms.
- Contractual protections linked to possession, access, boundaries or seller obligations.
- Written advice in English on whether to proceed, renegotiate, seek further verification or walk away.
- Coordination of legal points with the notary and technical professionals where required.
We do not treat a claim of “we have always used it” as a substitute for title.
Your Next Step
If you are considering a property in Sardinia where a neighbour, relative, tenant, farmer or other person uses part of the house, garden, land, driveway or access route, do not assume that the issue will disappear after completion.
Before signing or paying, send us:
- The property listing and full address.
- The proposed offer, reservation agreement or preliminary contract.
- The title deed and available land-register documents.
- Cadastral plans, maps and parcel references.
- Details of any person occupying or using the property.
- Information on boundaries, access roads, land use or past disputes.
- The proposed payment schedule and timeline.
We will assess what the available documents show, what requires further verification and whether Full Legal Due Diligence is appropriate before you commit.
A property may have been used in the same way for decades. That does not mean the legal position is clear.