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Can you explain the concept of “chazakah” in Jewish law in regard to property?
by Rabbi Yossi Marcus
If a person occupies a field for three years, and the original owner does not say a thing, and then one day the neighbor says, “Hey, this guy took my field!”—the occupier is believed to say that he bought the field and lost the sales contract.
The logic is that if the original owner had not sold it, he would not have allowed three years to go by without protesting. One year—he might overlook it. Even two years is still temporary so he might not bother protesting. Three years is a “chazakah”—permanent.
(Important note: This does not mean that the three-year occupation acquires the land for the occupier. Rather, the three-year occupation buttresses the claim that the occupier bought the field three years ago and lost his contract.)
This law is discussed at length in the
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