Legal Definitions - good-faith improver

A good-faith improver is an individual who makes significant enhancements or additions to real estate, genuinely and reasonably believing they are the rightful owner or have a legal right to occupy the property. This belief must be sincere and based on what a reasonable person would consider valid information at the time the improvements were made. If it later turns out they were mistaken about their ownership or occupancy rights, the law may provide remedies, such as allowing them to recover the value of their improvements from the true owner or, in some cases, to remove the improvements.

• Example 1: Boundary Mistake

  Sarah purchases a suburban home and decides to build a new, elaborate garden shed in her backyard. She consults an old property survey she found with the house documents and measures what she believes to be her property line. Based on this, she constructs the shed. A year later, her new neighbor conducts a professional survey before building a fence, which reveals that Sarah's shed actually extends three feet onto the neighbor's undeveloped lot. Sarah is a good-faith improver because she genuinely and reasonably believed the shed was entirely on her property when she built it, relying on what she thought was accurate information.

• Example 2: Defective Title

  Michael buys a seemingly vacant plot of land through a real estate agent, receives a deed, and begins construction on a small vacation cabin. He invests significant time and money into the project, believing he is the sole legal owner. Several months into construction, a distant relative of the original owner comes forward with a previously unknown will and clear legal documentation proving they have a superior claim to the land due to a flaw in the chain of title that was not apparent during Michael's purchase. Michael is a good-faith improver because he purchased the property and made substantial improvements under the reasonable, but ultimately mistaken, belief that he held valid ownership.

• Example 3: Misunderstood Easement

  A local community group, "Green Spaces," believes they have a permanent easement to use and improve a small, neglected corner of a private park for a community garden, based on an old, informal agreement with a previous park owner. They invest in clearing the land, installing raised garden beds, and building a small tool shed. The current park owner, who recently inherited the property, discovers the garden and informs Green Spaces that the informal agreement was never legally binding and they do not have a valid easement. Green Spaces acted as a good-faith improver because they reasonably, though mistakenly, believed they had a legal right to occupy and improve the land based on the historical understanding.