When Virginia Takes Only Part of Your Property

Most Virginia takings are partial. A strip along the frontage can cost far more than the strip is worth.

Introduction

The strip is not the whole story

A partial taking acquires part of a parcel and leaves the rest with the owner. The land acquired is often narrow and its standalone value modest.

What matters is what the taking does to the property that remains. Setbacks, parking, drainage, frontage and access can all change, and Virginia treats damages to that residue as part of just compensation.

Quick answerValue the strip and you get one number. Value the property before and the residue after, and you often get a very different one.

Key topics

What a partial taking affects

Damages to the residue

The core of most Virginia partial taking claims.

Explore Access

Entrances, turning movements and frontage.

Explore Business operations

Parking, visibility and customer approach.

Explore Easement strips

Permanent and temporary corridors across a parcel.

Explore Valuation method

Before and after analysis rather than strip pricing.

Explore Highway and utility work

The projects that most often take strips.

Explore

How it works

The before and after approach

Value the whole property before

As it stood, at its highest and best use.

Identify the interest taken

The strip, the easement or both.

Value the residue after

In the condition the completed project leaves it.

The difference is the measure

Land taken plus damage to what remains.

Add access and profit losses

Where the facts support them in Virginia.

Property owner considerations

What owners often overlook

•A taking that removes required parking or setback can render a remaining lot far less usable.

•Drainage changes and new grades can affect land well beyond the strip acquired.

•A temporary construction easement has its own value and should be priced separately.

•A residue that can no longer be used as it was is not simply a smaller version of the same property.

Related resources

Where to go next

Remaining Property

Damages to the residue explained.

Frequently asked questions

Is a narrow strip worth arguing about?

Often yes. The value of the strip is rarely the largest part of a partial taking claim.

What are damages to the residue?

The reduction in value of the property you keep, caused by the taking and the project.

Does Virginia use a before and after method?

Valuation of partial takings commonly compares the property before the taking with the residue afterwards. How it is applied is fact specific.

Work out how this applies to your property

Tell us what is happening and we will point you to the Virginia resources that fit your situation.

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