Natural Law Solution To The Housing Crisis

I am reading Norman Cantor's Medieval History and came across a trend he points out from the violent 900s...  as Europe began to organize, churchmen with large holdings (read the book to find out how they got them in the first place) would rent out lands the churchmen could not profitably work themselves to peasants.  Cantor suggests this practice gave an idea to the dukes and kings, who in turn perfected the practice into enfeoffment. (I have his 1969 edition, which is not available on amazon, but his updated edition is.  Read the reviews.)

Natural law says what you can work is yours.  The flipside would be what you cannot work is not yours.  That is to say if you have something to which you have title, and you cannot profitably work it, it is free to be homesteaded by someone who can.  Now the law does not work that way, but perhaps it should.

We actually recognize people legally assuming unused real estate in USA property law, what we call adverse possession.  Say you and I have contiguous lots, and one day I put a barn on your lot, which you cannot and do not use.  I do not have your permission.  Everyone can see what I am doing, and you should notice.  Well after ten years (in most jurisdictions), that portion I am using is mine, it is not yours anymore.  In fact, even if you continue to pay property taxes, it is not yours.

Adverse possession developed in common law to settle the problem of title disputes, it is not a means of land reform or redistribution.  But why not use it as such?  For example, banks are sitting on a large portion of 19 million empty homes in USA, make a law if you live in a house for a year under adverse possession, it is yours, free and clear.  Of course this would introduce chaos, but we have chaos now.  What it would do is allow taxpayers to get something for the bailout money we forked over on these houses, and lower property values and taxes possibly enough to clear the decks enough to restart the economy.

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