Understand
The power, in plain terms
Government may take private property for public use, and must pay for it. That sentence contains the whole of it, and each part of it has been argued over for two centuries.
Three requirements
What makes a taking lawful
Authority
The entity must hold the power, either as a sovereign or by delegation from a legislature. Highway departments, cities, school districts, utilities and pipeline companies commonly hold it.
Public use
The taking must serve a public purpose. Courts read this broadly, and many states narrowed it by statute after the Kelo decision in 2005, particularly for economic development.
Just compensation
The owner must be paid. This is the element genuinely open to argument, and it is where nearly all condemnation disputes actually live.
Vocabulary
Eminent domain, condemnation, inverse condemnation
Eminent domain is the power. Condemnation is the legal process that exercises it against a particular property. Inverse condemnation is a claim by an owner that government action has taken or damaged property without any formal proceeding, for example by flooding it or cutting off its access.
Condemnation also has a second, unrelated meaning: a building official declaring a structure unsafe and unfit for occupancy. No compensation is paid in that case and nobody is buying anything. If that is what brought you here, condemned buildings is the page you want.
Forms
What a taking can consist of
| Form | What happens to you |
|---|---|
| Total taking | The whole property is acquired and you move |
| Partial taking | Part is acquired and you keep a remainder |
| Permanent easement | You keep title, specified rights pass to the agency permanently |
| Temporary easement | Use of an area during construction, then returned |
| Access control | The right of access to a road is extinguished along a line |
| Inverse condemnation | Nothing is formally taken, but government action has had that effect |
Basic questions
Can a private company do this
In many states yes, where the legislature has delegated the power. Pipelines, electricity transmission companies and some utilities commonly hold it, usually after a regulator has approved the project.
Can they take my house for a shopping centre
That is the Kelo question. The Supreme Court held in 2005 that economic development can be a public use, and more than forty states then restricted such takings. Whether it is possible depends on your state.
What if the project never happens
Some states let an owner repurchase property not used for the stated purpose within a period. The provisions are narrow and vary, and it is worth asking about where a project is abandoned.
Is this the same as the government seizing property for a crime
No. That is forfeiture, it is a penalty, and no compensation is paid. Eminent domain is an acquisition and compensation is constitutionally required.
Find the site that answers your question properly
This is a starting point. The detailed answers live on the sites built for each question, and on the site for your state.