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The holder of property rights may enforce them by bringing an action in the courts. An owner of property is entitled to assert and enforce any of their ownership rights against any other person who interferes with them, for example, by recovering possession of their property from another person who cannot claim a better right to possession (such as a lessee). Rights of enforcement also exist for holders of other property rights, such as the right to possession by a non-owner. Establishing property rights may also provide a defence to an action brought by another person.
The first requirement of any such action or defence is to prove the existence of the property right relied on. This can be done in various ways. In some cases, there will be documentary evidence of title. In other cases, there will be entries in registers. Actual possession of property also raises an inference that the possessor is entitled to be in possession, a principle that underlies the well known saying that ‘possession is 9/10ths of the law’. Possession can only be disturbed by another person if they are able to establish, in court, a better right to possession.
A person who is able to establish that they have real rights in property can ask the courts for different kinds of relief, depending on the circumstances. Click on the list below for more details.
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