25 CFR § 162.371 - What will BIA do if a lessee remains in possession after a residential lease expires or is terminated or cancelled?

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t25/s162.371"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "25 CFR § 162.371 - What will BIA do if a lessee remains in possession after a residential lease expires or is terminated or cancelled?"
title_number: 25
title_name: "Indians"
section_number: "162.371"
section_name: "What will BIA do if a lessee remains in possession after a residential lease expires or is terminated or cancelled?"
chapter_name: "BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR"
subchapter_number: "H"
subchapter_name: "LAND AND WATER"
part_number: "162"
part_name: "LEASES AND PERMITS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "5 U.S.C. 301, R.S. 463 and 465; 25 U.S.C. 2 and 9. Interpret or apply sec. 3, 26 Stat. 795, sec. 1, 28 Stat. 305, secs. 1, 2, 31 Stat. 229, 246, secs. 7, 12, 34 Stat. 545, 34 Stat. 1015, 1034, 35 Stat. 70, 95, 97, sec. 4, 36 Stat. 856, sec. 1, 39 Stat. 128, 41 Stat. 415, as amended, 751, 1232, sec. 17, 43 Stat. 636, 641, 44 Stat. 658, as amended, 894, 1365, as amended, 47 Stat. 1417, sec. 17, 48 Stat. 984, 988, 49 Stat. 115, 1135, sec. 55, 49 Stat. 781, sec. 3, 49 Stat. 1967, 54 Stat. 745, 1057, 60 Stat. 308, secs. 1, 2, 60 Stat. 962, sec. 5, 64 Stat. 46, secs. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 64 Stat. 470, 69 Stat. 539, 540, 72 Stat. 968, 107 Stat. 2011, 108 Stat. 4572, March 20, 1996, 110 Stat. 4016; 25 U.S.C. 380, 393, 393a, 394, 395, 397, 402, 402a, 403, 403a, 403b, 403c, 409a, 413, 415, 415a, 415b, 415c, 415d, 416, 477, 635, 2201  3701, 3702, 3703, 3712, 3713, 3714, 3715, 3731, 3733, 4211; 44 U.S.C. 3101"
regulatory_source: "66 FR 7109, Jan. 22, 2001, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "162"
---


# 162.371 What will BIA do if a lessee remains in possession after a residential lease expires or is terminated or cancelled?

If a lessee remains in possession after the expiration, termination, or cancellation of a residential lease, we may treat the unauthorized possession as a trespass under applicable law in consultation with the Indian landowners. Unless the Indian landowners of the applicable percentage of interests under § 162.012 have notified us in writing that they are engaged in good faith negotiations with the holdover lessee to obtain a new lease, we may take action to recover possession on behalf of the Indian landowners, and pursue any additional remedies available under applicable law, such as a forcible entry and detainer action.