In this article, Rian Dhillon explores the doctrine of adverse possession in the context of the housing shortage. The first chapter sets out the current problems with housing and the ways in which land law enables absenteeism. The discussion of the doctrine itself in the second chapter focuses on the place of adverse possession within the LRA 2002 framework. The interesting part of the dissertation is the way in which it demonstrates how current practice on adverse possession is rooted in deeper land law concepts and how justifications for reform could be similarly rooted in existing principles. In summation, the dissertation provides an account of the current ideologies of adverse possession and proposes ways in which this could be redressed by drawing on international examples.