VI. Limitation period
A claim for trespass to land must generally be brought within 12 years from the date on which the cause of action accrued, in accordance with section 7(1) of the Limitation Ordinance (Cap. 347). Time begins to run from the moment the trespass first occurs, not from the date the plaintiff discovers it.
In the case of a continuing trespass, such as an unauthorised structure that remains on the land, an encroachment that is never removed, or goods left on the land without consent, a fresh cause of action arises each day the interference continues, so that the 12-year period runs separately from each fresh act of trespass. This means that even if the earliest acts of trespass are time-barred, the plaintiff may still recover damages for the period falling within 12 years immediately before the date of the claim.
Where the trespass has continued unchallenged for a sufficient period, the trespasser may additionally rely on adverse possession under the Limitation Ordinance: once a person has been in factual possession of the land with the requisite intention to possess for 12 years, the paper owner’s title is extinguished and the adverse possessor acquires a title of their own.
A plaintiff should therefore act promptly upon discovering a trespass, as unreasonable delay may not only bar recovery for past acts but, in the case of prolonged physical occupation, may ultimately result in the permanent loss of title to the land itself.
