The questions Virginia property owners ask most often, answered plainly.
It is the power of government, and of bodies the General Assembly has authorised, to take private property for a public use on payment of just compensation.
The Commonwealth and its agencies, including the Virginia Department of Transportation, together with localities and certain authorised entities such as utilities. Each must act within the powers granted to it.
You can decline an offer. Where the taking is authorised and the condemnor proves public use, declining moves the question of compensation to the court rather than stopping the acquisition.
Eminent domain is the power. Condemnation is the legal proceeding through which the power is exercised.
Article I Section 11 of the Constitution of Virginia was amended to strengthen owner protections. It places the burden of proving public use on the condemnor with no presumption in its favour, and it brings lost profits and lost access expressly within just compensation.
Article I Section 11 excludes takings where the primary use is private gain, private benefit, private enterprise, increasing jobs, increasing tax revenue or economic development.
No. Virginia is unusual here. The condemnor must prove public use and the court does not presume it.
The value of what is taken, plus damage to the residue where only part of the property is acquired, and expressly including lost profits and lost access following the 2012 amendment.
The land you keep after a partial taking. Its value before and after the project is a separate question from the value of the strip acquired, and frequently a larger one.
Article I Section 11 brings lost profits within just compensation. What must be shown to establish them is governed by the statutes and the case law, so take advice on your own facts.
No. It is the valuation the condemnor relies on to support its offer. Owners commonly obtain their own, particularly where damage to the residue is in issue.
Title 25.1 Chapter 2 requires a bona fide effort to purchase before condemnation proceeds. In practice that means contact, an appraisal and a written offer.
Under Title 25.1 Chapter 3 a certificate of take or a certificate of deposit allows the interest to vest and work to begin while the amount of compensation is still being determined.
They are filed in answer to the petition and set out what you dispute. Timing rules apply, so take advice early rather than close to a deadline.
Commissioners or a jury determine compensation where the parties cannot agree, following a pretrial settlement conference.
It varies with the project and with how far apart the valuations are. Do not rely on a general timeline. Confirm any deadline that applies to you with a licensed Virginia attorney.
Requests to enter and survey are common before any offer. It is reasonable to ask what is proposed, how long it will take and to have the request in writing.
Not before you understand what it is. An entry agreement, a right of way agreement and a deed all do different things.
Where a public body has taken or damaged property without a proceeding, inverse condemnation is the route owners use. Raise it promptly and in writing.
Often yes. Small takes in poor positions can cause the largest proportionate damage to the residue.
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