It can, if your neighbor goes well beyond what you allowed. The Appeals Court upheld a ruling that neighbors who were given limited permission to turn their cars around on part of an owner’s land, but then used it as their own yard for more than twenty years, became the owners of that land by adverse possession. This is an unpublished Appeals Court decision under Rule 23.0, which courts may cite as persuasive but not as binding precedent.
What happened
Two families owned side by side lots in Uxbridge. For years the owner let the people next door use a small area of his land at the end of their driveway, a turnaround, for parking and turning. Both sides knew the turnaround belonged to the owner. When new neighbors bought the house next door in 1994, the owner let them keep using the turnaround as long as it was not abused. He never gave permission to use the grass strip behind it.
From the time they moved in, the new neighbors treated the turnaround and the strip behind it as their own. They put up a basketball hoop, stored large items, and repaired vehicles there. Behind the turnaround they mowed, put in a small fence, set up a dog kennel, and made other changes. In 2017 they repaved the driveway, including the turnaround. The owner objected, hired a surveyor, and sued for trespass. The neighbors counterclaimed for title. After a trial and a view of the land, a Superior Court judge gave the neighbors title.
What the court decided
The Appeals Court affirmed in Johnson v. Holbrook, No. 24-P-479 (Mass. App. Ct. July 18, 2025) (Rule 23.0 decision).
The basic rule. To win land by adverse possession, a person must prove use that is actual, open, notorious, exclusive and nonpermissive for twenty years. The burden is on the person claiming the land, and it covers every element. Lawrence v. Concord, 439 Mass. 416 (2003). The twenty year period comes from G.L. c. 260, § 21.
Going past the permission made the use adverse. Permission usually defeats a claim, because the heart of nonpermissive use is the lack of the owner’s consent. Totman v. Malloy, 431 Mass. 143 (2000). But here the judge believed the owner’s own account: he allowed parking and turning, nothing more. The neighbors used the turnaround as if they owned it outright. The court compared this to past cases where a basketball hoop and upkeep of the area around it supported adverse possession. Mancini v. Spagtacular, LLC, 95 Mass. App. Ct. 836 (2019). Use that goes beyond the scope of the permission can count as adverse.
Putting up with it is not permission. The owner did not stop the broader use, but tolerating someone’s use is not the same as granting permission. Rotman v. White, 74 Mass. App. Ct. 586 (2009).
The use was open and notorious. The owner said he never noticed the changes behind the turnaround, partly because of trees. That did not matter. The judge found the changes were obvious to anyone looking, and photos and video backed that up. Open use gives the owner constructive notice, whether or not the owner actually learns of it. Lawrence, 439 Mass. 416. Reasonable supervision would have included walking past the trees to check on that part of the property.
What this means for you
If you are the owner, a friendly arrangement with a neighbor can cost you land if you do not keep an eye on it. A spoken “go ahead and turn around there” is limited to what you said. If the neighbor starts using the area for much more, and you let it go on for twenty years, the law may treat that extra use as hostile to your ownership. Not looking is not a defense. A court will ask what a reasonably attentive owner would have seen.
If you are the neighbor, this case shows that past permission does not always sink a claim. What matters is what you actually did with the land, how visible it was, and whether it went beyond the permission given. You still carry the burden of proving every element for the full twenty years.
Both sides should know these cases turn on the facts the trial judge believes. Here the owner’s own testimony about the narrow scope of his permission helped the neighbors. Appeals courts rarely overturn those findings.
What to do now
- If you let a neighbor use part of your land, put the permission in writing, describe exactly what is allowed, and say it can be revoked.
- Walk your whole property, including areas behind trees or fences, and photograph any new structures, fences, paving or storage.
- If a neighbor’s use grows beyond what you allowed, object in writing right away and consider a survey.
- If you have used a neighbor’s land as your own for many years, gather dated photos, receipts and witness names before raising a claim.
- Get legal advice before you repave, build or fence near a boundary line.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. These cases move on short deadlines.
