Intentional Interference with Land

The first section of this book concentrated on negligence and the elements of the tort of negligence. This chapter, however, will deal with a different and less common tort, that of trespass to land or intentional interference to land. Intentional interference to land relates to the entitlements that landholder or landowner have in relation to maintaining exclusive possession of their land. Put simply, a trespass to land may occur when a person or thing that does not have exclusive possession of the land enters the land or dwelling unlawfully. Note that the plaintiff does not need to own the land or the title to the land to have exclusive possession. The most obvious example of possession as opposed to ownership is renting a house or unit. In this case, even though the renter or lessee does not own the property he or she still has exclusive right to possession of the property. The lessee (or landlord) does not have possession rights to the property while the lease is current but they do have ownership rights. In essence, the cases and legislation that are referred to in this chapter try to strike a balance between allowing people to maintain exclusive possession of their property while allowing restricted rights to private property to the public as a whole.