The answer is “sort of”, according to a recent report by ABC News.
It cites a convoluted case of a tenant who remained renting a house for 50 years after the landlord died. When the tenant died, a developer noticed the house vacant and after a quick reno and lock change, he shrewdly flipped it back out to rent for a further 17 years.
When the original owner’s family realised they’d been dudded of a potential inheritance, they took the developer to court.
At this point, the law proved to be a proverbial ass for the family, who held they had a right to boot out the developer but they hadn’t done so within the statutory time limit of 12 years.
So the developer won the house title and sold it for a cool $1.4 million.
The moral of the story? In very rare cases you could luck yourself a free home, but the chances of someone failing to notice a house sitting vacant in a modern Australian city is perhaps nil.
Still, it’s nice to know where you stand should you find yourself a freebie.
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