A resident from St Mary now faces eviction after squatting on a property for several years.

The man says he has been living on the land for the last nine years and has planted many fruit trees on it. "When I went to live on the land, there were no trees on it and I began planting many fruit trees and other crops on the land," he said.

"The land is about an acre and I even built a two-bedroom house on it. My neighbours say they are very proud of the way I have farmed the land and I have been earning money off the land.

"It is my only source of income, because I cultivate the land, sell the crops which are mainly vegetables. Some of the fruit trees are bearing now and I sell the fruits to vendors. "Well, it was to my surprise that last year a woman came to my home and told me that the land belonged to her father who is planning to give it to one of his cousins. I told her that the land was in bushes and I was the one who cleared it and have been living on it since that time. I told her it was the first time that someone was coming to tell me that the land belonged to someone.

"She came back the next week and gave me a notice to get off the land within three months or her father was going to come to Jamaica and take out a court order against me.

"Six months have passed since that time and I have not heard from her or her father. I have not moved off the property, because some of my friends have informed me that they cannot just come and remove me from the land. "One of my friends said that, although I do not have any papers for the land, I could go to the Titles Office in Kingston and apply for a title. He said he was in the same situation that I am in and he applied and got a title for the property on which he was now living.

"I would really like to know if I have a legal right to the private land I now occupy.

private land

The fact you have been living on the land for only nine years does not give you a legal right to the property and you could be evicted.

A person who has been squatting on private land can obtain possession of the property, but it depends on the length of time the person has occupied the land.

The law states that a person can apply for a title under adverse possession once he can show that he has been living on private property, uninterrupted for more than 12 years.