How many years must you occupy a house to become its owner in Venezuela?

Twenty years of posesión legítima, even without title or good faith (art. 1.977 of the Código Civil). It is ten years, counted from registration, if it was acquired in good faith with a registered title that is not void for a defect of form (art. 1.979).

Can a tenant acquire the house by usucapión?

Not while possessing in the owner's name. Art. 1.961 of the Código Civil says that whoever holds the thing in another's name can never acquire it by prescription, unless their title changes for a cause coming from a third party or through their own opposition to the owner's right.

Does a título supletorio make me the owner of the land?

No. Art. 937 of the Código de Procedimiento Civil always safeguards the rights of third parties, and ownership by prescription requires a lawsuit against those who appear as owners in the Registro (arts. 690 and 691).

What documents does a prescripción adquisitiva lawsuit require?

A certification from the Registrador with the first name, surname and address of those who appear as owners or holders of real rights, and a certified copy of the respective title (art. 691 of the Código de Procedimiento Civil). According to the Sala de Casación Civil of the TSJ, the certificación de gravámenes is a different document and does not replace it.

Can ejido land be acquired by usucapión?

Not while it is ejido. The Ley Orgánica del Poder Público Municipal declares the assets of the municipal public domain, ejidos among them, inalienable and not subject to prescription, unless the Concejo Municipal removes them from the public domain (arts. 133 and 134).

How does the owner interrupt prescription?

With a lawsuit registered or served before the period expires, with an attachment served on the possessor, or when the possessor acknowledges the owner's right (arts. 1.969 and 1.973 of the Código Civil). There is also natural interruption if the possessor ceases to enjoy the thing for more than one year (art. 1.968).

Usucapión in Venezuela: periods and rules

Occupying a house for years does not automatically make anyone its owner. The Código Civil (Civil Code; Gaceta Oficial No. 2.990 Extraordinario, July 26, 1982) allows ownership to be acquired by prescripción (prescription), also called usucapión, but it requires a specific kind of possession, a time period and, for it to appear in the Registro (property registry), a final judgment that is recorded there (protocolizada).

What the Código Civil says: 20 years or 10 years

Art. 796 includes prescription among the ways of acquiring ownership. Art. 1.952 defines it as a means of acquiring a right "por el tiempo y bajo las demás condiciones" (through the passage of time and under the other conditions) set by law, and art. 1.953 sets the central condition: "Para adquirir por prescripción se necesita posesión legítima" (acquiring by prescription requires posesión legítima, or lawful possession).

Case	Period	Article
Posesión legítima, even without title or good faith	20 years	1.977
Acquisition in good faith with a duly registered title that is not void for a defect of form	10 years, counted from the registration of the title	1.979

Art. 1.977 sets twenty years for real actions (acciones reales) "sin que pueda oponerse a la prescripción la falta de título ni de buena fe" (without lack of title or of good faith being raised against the prescription). The short period of art. 1.979 serves, for example, someone who bought in good faith and registered, but from someone who was not the true owner. Art. 788 defines a good-faith possessor as one who possesses as owner "en fuerza de justo título" (by virtue of a justo título, a just title), that is, a title capable of transferring ownership even if it is flawed, as long as the possessor is unaware of the flaw. Art. 789 presumes good faith: whoever alleges bad faith must prove it.

Other rules for counting time:

Prescription is counted in whole days (art. 1.975) and is completed at the end of the last day of the period (art. 1.976).

An heir continues the possession of the person they inherit from, and someone who acquires by particular title can add to their own possession that of the person who transferred it to them (art. 781).

What posesión legítima is

Art. 772 defines it this way: possession "es legítima cuando es continua, no interrumpida, pacífica, pública, no equívoca y con intención de tener la cosa como suya propia" (is lawful when it is continuous, uninterrupted, peaceful, public, unequivocal and with the intention of holding the thing as one's own). If any of those conditions is missing, the time does not count toward prescription.

The same title of the Code rules out several cases:

Acts that are "meramente facultativos" (merely optional) and those "de simple tolerancia" (of mere tolerance) do not establish posesión legítima (art. 776).

Neither do violent or clandestine acts, although possession can begin once the violence or clandestinity ends (art. 777).

Possession of things that cannot be acquired as property has no effect (art. 778), and prescription does not run against things that are outside commerce (art. 1.959).

Tenants and occupants with permission cannot acquire by prescription

Art. 1.961 is categorical: whoever holds or possesses the thing in the name of another, and their heirs by universal title, "no pueden jamás prescribirla" (can never acquire it by prescription). There are only two exceptions: that the title of their possession changes for a cause coming from a third party, or through the opposition they themselves have made to the owner's right. Art. 1.963 adds that no one can change for themselves "la causa y el principio de su posesión" (the cause and origin of their possession).

The tenant, the caretaker or the relative who was lent the house hold it in the owner's name. The Code calls this holding the thing "a título precario" (on a precarious basis) (art. 1.962, which mentions lessees and depositaries). In addition, someone who began possessing in another's name is presumed to keep doing so, unless proven otherwise (art. 774). That is why living twenty years as a tenant adds no time toward usucapión.

The lawsuit required by the Código de Procedimiento Civil

Ownership by usucapión is declared in a lawsuit, regulated in arts. 690 to 696 of the Código de Procedimiento Civil (Code of Civil Procedure):

The claim is filed before the Juez de Primera Instancia en lo Civil (civil judge of first instance) of the place where the property is located (art. 690).

It must be brought against all the persons who appear in the Oficina de Registro (registry office) as owners or holders of any real right over the property (art. 691).

The claim must be accompanied by a certification from the Registrador (registrar) with the first name, surname and address of those persons and a certified copy of the respective title (art. 691).

The defendants are summoned and an edicto (public notice) is published calling to the proceedings everyone who believes they have rights, who must appear within the fifteen days following the last publication (art. 692). To be admitted, they must attach reliable proof of their right (art. 695).

The answer to the claim is given within the twenty days following the summons of the last defendant, and the rest follows the ordinary procedure (art. 693).

The final and enforceable judgment that grants the claim is recorded (protocolizada) in the Oficina de Registro (art. 696).

The Registrador's certification is not the same as the certificación de gravámenes (lien certificate). In ruling RC.000065 (February 22, 2018), the Sala de Casación Civil (Civil Cassation Chamber) of the TSJ (Supreme Court) reiterated that the art. 691 certification "no debe confundirse con la certificación de gravámenes" (must not be confused with the lien certificate) and that, if the requirements of that article are not met, the claim must be declared inadmissible. It also specified that this certification must name those who "actualmente aparecen como propietarios" (currently appear as owners) in the Registro.

Why a título supletorio is not enough

A título supletorio (court-issued supplementary title) makes no one an owner. It comes from justificaciones para perpetua memoria (perpetual-memory proceedings) (arts. 936 and 937 of the Código de Procedimiento Civil): the judge declares that certain justificaciones o diligencias (evidence or steps taken) are enough "para asegurar la posesión o algún derecho" (to secure possession or some right), but always "quedando en todo caso a salvo los derechos de terceros" (with the rights of third parties safeguarded in every case). It is not a lawsuit against whoever appears as owner in the Registro, nor a declaration of ownership. We explain it in the guide on bienhechurías and título supletorio.

Ejidos and public land

Property in the public domain is inalienable (art. 543 of the Código Civil). The Ley Orgánica del Poder Público Municipal (Organic Law of Municipal Public Power; Gaceta Oficial No. 6.015 Extraordinario, December 28, 2010) includes ejidos (municipal land) among the assets of the municipal public domain (art. 133) and declares those assets "inalienables e imprescriptibles" (inalienable and not subject to prescription), unless the Concejo Municipal (municipal council) removes them from the public domain with the vote of three quarters of its members (art. 134).

As long as a plot of land is ejido, occupying it for decades does not make it the occupant's property. For ejidos, art. 134 refers to that law and to the municipal ordinances, and art. 147 only allows them to be transferred for housing, productive uses or uses of public interest according to the ordinances, so the route is the one the alcaldía (city hall) sets. The case of the State's bienes patrimoniales (patrimonial assets) is different: art. 1.960 of the Código Civil does subject them to prescription, as it does private individuals' property.

If you are the owner: how prescription is interrupted

The Código Civil provides for two forms of interruption (art. 1.967):

Natural: when, for any reason, the possessor ceases to enjoy the thing for more than one year (art. 1.968).

Civil: by a lawsuit, even if it is filed before a court without jurisdiction, or by a decree or act of embargo (attachment) served on the possessor (art. 1.969). For the lawsuit to interrupt prescription, a certified copy of the libelo (complaint) with the order to appear authorized by the judge must be registered at the corresponding Office before the period expires, unless the defendant has been summoned within that period. The summons is treated as not made if the plaintiff withdraws or lets the proceeding lapse, or if the defendant is absolved (art. 1.972). There is also civil interruption when the possessor acknowledges the owner's right (art. 1.973).

Art. 548 allows the owner to reivindicar (recover through an ownership claim) the property from any possessor or holder. What the owner must not do is remove the occupant on their own: art. 783 allows someone who was dispossessed to ask, within the year, to be restored to possession, "aunque fuere el propietario" (even if it was the owner) who dispossessed them. If the occupant is a tenant, the route is different: see the guide on eviction from a rented home.

Each case depends on dates, documents and evidence that only a lawyer can assess: consult one before suing or responding to a lawsuit.

Usucapión in Venezuela: when an occupant becomes the owner