Legal Definitions - dispossessor

A dispossessor is an individual or entity that removes another person or entity from the possession, control, or occupancy of property, such as land, a building, or personal belongings. This removal can occur through various means, including legal processes like eviction or foreclosure, or through illegal actions like theft or wrongful occupation.

• Example 1: Illegal Removal of Personal Property
  Imagine a scenario where a thief breaks into a parked car and drives it away. The thief is the dispossessor because they have unlawfully taken possession and control of the vehicle, thereby depriving the rightful owner of their property.

• Example 2: Legal Removal from Real Estate (Eviction)
  Consider a landlord who, after a tenant repeatedly fails to pay rent and ignores legal notices, obtains a court order for eviction. When the landlord then legally changes the locks and prevents the tenant from re-entering the apartment, the landlord acts as the dispossessor. This is a legal form of dispossession, as it follows established legal procedures to remove someone from property they no longer have a right to occupy.

• Example 3: Unlawful Occupation of Land (Squatting)
  Suppose a vacant plot of land, owned by a private individual, is taken over by a group of people who build makeshift shelters and begin cultivating a garden without the owner's permission. In this situation, the group of people are dispossessors because they have taken physical possession and control of the land, effectively removing the rightful owner's ability to use or occupy their property, even if the owner was not actively using it at the time.