People who occupy a property without permission are either trespassers or squatters, and there are legal differences between the two.

Trespassers are considered to be committing a crime, while squatters have intent to claim ownership of said property they're occupying.

Matt Fleishman, a Charlottebased attorney, defines a trespasser as someone who goes onto your property for a short period of time without trying to get ownership. Those people can be arrested, Fleischman says.

"A squatter, or adverse possession, is civil in nature," he said. "This is a claim of ownership on the property. So if you have a squatter claiming ownership, the police don't do anything with that. So if you have somebody, for example, who has overstayed their welcome and you want them out, you can call the police, but they'll say it isn't a crime, there's nothing for us to do with it."

Fleishman said the process of claiming adverse possession or squatting, rarely happens and is known to take a long time, and North Carolina has clear guidelines about squatters' rights. Decadeslong requirements, in fact.

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