A more thorough explanation:

Hostile possession is when someone occupies or possesses real property without the true owner's consent or permission. This action is considered hostile because it intends to claim property rights against the owner's right. The possessor's state of mind or belief about the property's ownership is not important in determining hostility.

Hostile possession is an essential element of adverse possession, which allows a person who possesses property owned by someone else to acquire the title to the property if certain conditions are met. These conditions include:

• Open and notorious use of the property, which gives the true owner notice of adverse possession
• Continuous possession for a statutory period (usually 10 years)
• Actual possession of the property as the true owner would
• Exclusive use of the property without sharing it with the true owner
• Hostilely claiming the right to the property

For example, if someone builds a fence on a piece of land that they believe is theirs but actually belongs to their neighbor, and they use and maintain that land for 10 years without the neighbor's permission, they may be able to claim adverse possession of the property.

However, adverse possession cannot be applied to government-owned property.