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Simple English definitions for legal terms
good-faith improver
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A quick definition of good-faith improver:
A good-faith improver is someone who makes changes to a piece of land or property, believing that they are the rightful owner or occupant. If they are later found not to be the owner, they may be able to recover the value of their improvements or remove them. Improvements can be anything that adds value or usefulness to the property, like a new building or landscaping. There are different types of improvements, like those that benefit the public or those that are necessary to prevent property from deteriorating. A valuable improvement is one that adds permanent value to the property, while a voluntary improvement is only for decoration.
A more thorough explanation:
A good-faith improver is a person who makes improvements to real property while believing themselves to be the owner or lawful occupant. They must have a reasonable belief that they have the right to make the improvements. If the true owner is identified, the improver may be entitled to recover the value of the improvements or remove them.
- John buys a piece of land from a person who he believes is the rightful owner. He builds a house on the land, but later discovers that the person he bought the land from did not have the legal right to sell it. When the true owner is identified, John may be entitled to recover the value of the house he built or remove it.
- Sarah rents a commercial space and installs new lighting fixtures. She later discovers that the landlord did not give her permission to make the improvements. Sarah may not be entitled to recover the value of the improvements because she did not have a reasonable belief that she had the right to make them.
These examples illustrate how a good-faith improver must have a reasonable belief that they have the right to make improvements to the property. If they do not have this belief, they may not be entitled to recover the value of the improvements.