Understand
Fewer rights on whether, more on how much
Owners usually overestimate their ability to stop a taking and underestimate their ability to change the amount. Both misjudgements cost money, and the second costs more.
You generally have
Rights that are real
To be paid just compensation
Constitutionally guaranteed, federally and in every state. The amount is a question of evidence.
To see the basis for the offer
In federally assisted acquisitions, a written statement of the basis. Many states impose a similar duty.
To negotiate
The first offer is an opening position. Negotiation is expected and most acquisitions settle above it.
To your own appraisal
You may commission an independent valuation and put it forward. It is the usual way a disagreement becomes a negotiation.
To a determination
If you cannot agree, a court or commission decides, with evidence from both sides.
To relocation assistance
Where you are displaced, a separate statutory programme applies with its own benefits.
You generally do not have
Rights owners assume and do not hold
A right to refuse
If the authority and public use are sound, the taking proceeds whether you agree or not.
A right to stop the project
Route decisions are made during planning and environmental review, well before individual owners are contacted.
A right to be paid what it is worth to you
Value peculiar to the owner is excluded by the definition of fair market value.
A right to recover your costs
In most states each side bears its own. A minority shift fees where the award beats the offer by a margin.
A right to keep possession until paid
In quick take states possession can follow a deposit, long before the amount is settled.
A right to compensation for inconvenience
Disruption, lost time and the trouble of moving fall outside the valuation.
The practical consequence
Spend your effort where it changes the outcome
Owners who concentrate on whether the taking is lawful generally lose, slowly and expensively. The power is broad, public use is read generously, and procedural challenges rarely change anything.
Owners who concentrate on the amount generally do better, because valuation involves judgement at half a dozen points and judgement can be wrong. The same energy, directed at the appraisal rather than at the principle, produces a different result.
This is not resignation. It is the observation that the second fight is winnable and the first usually is not, and that the two consume the same resources.
Questions about rights
Can I refuse to let them onto my property
For survey, many states permit entry with notice regardless. For an appraisal inspection you can refuse, and it almost always produces a lower valuation. Attending is better than either.
Do I have a right to a lawyer
You may always retain one. There is no right to one provided at public expense, as there is in criminal matters.
Can they take more than they need
The taking should be limited to what the project requires, and excess condemnation is restricted in many states. It is a point worth raising, particularly on easement widths.
What if they take part and leave me something unusable
Most states require the agency to offer to acquire an uneconomic remnant. Raise it early rather than after a figure is agreed.
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.