Landlord took off to mexico I have lived here for 3 years can I file for adverse possession?

Have you been paying rent this whole time? Who to - or how have you been paying it ?

To the land lords nephew.. paid by check or money order

I have been sending to landlords nephew.. checks or money orders.. and they won't answer my messages about security deposit

According to this then you have no rightful claim to the property.


Hostile or adverse use of the property – The disseisor entered or used the land without permission. Renters, hunters or others who enter the land with permission are not hostile. The disseisor's motivations may be viewed by the court in several ways: Objective view—used without true owner's permission and inconsistent with true owner's rights. Bad faith or intentional trespass view—used with the adverse possessor's subjective intent and state of mind (mistaken possession in some jurisdictions does not constitute hostility). Good faith view—a few courts have required that the party mistakenly believed that it is his land. All views require that the disseisor openly claim the land against all possible claims.

You have no adverse possession claim to the property.

It does not work like that, you are still a renter, just lost the landlord, IF you would have moved into the home without the owners knowledge or permission and been living there, but even then it is longer than 3 years

Not only does adverse possession take years (7, 10, or more, depending on the state), but you are dreaming if you think a mortgage lender or the town property tax dept won't be taking it long before you ever could.

I would never send money orders for rent; too hard to know if they are cashed, and cashed by the recipient intended for.
I would also write to the nephew demanding a written contract.