Authorities have said that a centuries-old legal doctrine is being abused and misused by squatters trying to take over abandoned houses in South Florida.

It has been further reported that the concept of adverse possession, going back to Renaissance England, allowed people to take over abandoned farmland and cottages provided they would live there and pay the taxes.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported on Sunday that officials say that concept is being used by trespassers, swindlers and squatters to claim ownership of foreclosed or vacant houses.

One owner of a rental property, Antonio Vurro, discovered in February someone had moved in and had changed the locks.

Vurro said in a recent interview, "There were boxes all over the place and a mattress in each room,. This is not right. It's my house.''

The Sentinel also said that the occupant, Fitzroy Ellis, allegedly told Vurro he was entitled to take over the house because it was abandoned. Authorities disagreed, and Ellis, 64, is now in the Broward County Jail charged with six counts of grand theft.

The newspaper further said that county records have shown Ellis formed a company called Helping Hands Properties Inc., through which he allegedly tried to claim 48 properties in Broward County including a $1 million house in Coral Springs. (With Inputs from Agencies)