It seems like there is some abandoned land in SL. What happens to that land?

[Lexie Linden]

I saw some land that seemed to be empty for a really long time.  I'm wondering if it is abandoned.  If it is, what happens to it?

[Ayana Auer]

Land that is owned by a valid account is not abandoned even if it appears to be unused. If you are able to find the Resident's name in Search, there is a good chance that the land is not abandoned. Please bear in mind that many Residents have annual accounts and it may take many months for the account status to change even if they have chosen to leave or use another account. Land will not be reclaimed simply due to inactivity.

To abandon your land:

1. Right-click on the land you own and select About Land.
   The About Land window opens.
2. In the General tab of the About Land window, click Abandon Land.

When land is abandoned:

Ownership of abandoned land reverts immediately to Governor Linden and changes its name to "Abandoned Land", at which point it enters a queue for processing.  The Land Team processes abandoned land by cleaning it of objects and generally making it ready to sell.  They then decide whether it should be sold at auction, made into protected land, or sold to a neighboring Resident.

 

 

The KB article about this topic is here.https://support.secondlife.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=4417&task=knowledge&questionID=4570

[Prokofy Neva]

If you see land inworld that appears to be abandoned:

 

1. Click to find the owner or group and its officers, and see if any of them are missing from the People List. That's an indication that they may be gone from SL.

 

2. If they are still in SL, they may not have payed tier for a long time and the land may be reclaimable.

 

3. File a ticket with Support indicating the exact coordinates and ask Linden Lab to check whether it is abandoned. Usually Lindens answer within 3-7 days on such abandoning questions, and if they can put it on the auction, they will.

 

4. Then be sure to keep a hawk eye on the auction, because the Lindens often get the land turned around quickly, i.e. in days and not months. Then you can bid on it if it is of interest, or perhaps buy it later inworld if a land dealer bids and gets it.

 

5. It's always a good idea to check with all your neighbours to see if any of them are bidding on the auction just to save the land for the neighbourhood, just to make sure you won't be bidding against each other needlessly.