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Compensation questions often depend on the property, the acquisition, and the impact on the remaining property.
Just compensation is not a single figure pulled from a table. It is the sum of what California law says an owner has lost. On a whole take that is the fair market value of the property. On a partial take it is the value of the part taken plus damages to the remainder, less any benefit the project confers on the remainder.
Fair market value is the price a willing buyer and a willing seller would agree on, neither under compulsion to act, both fully informed of the property uses and of the market, with the property exposed for a reasonable time. It is measured for the highest and best use the property could lawfully be put to, not necessarily the use it has today.
Most states do not compensate a business for goodwill lost to a taking. California does. Code of Civil Procedure section 1263.510 makes loss of goodwill compensable where the owner proves the statutory elements, which include that the loss is caused by the taking and cannot reasonably be prevented by relocating or by taking steps a reasonably prudent person would take.
Goodwill is proved with financial records. Several years of tax returns, profit and loss statements and customer data are the evidence. Start assembling them early rather than after an offer arrives.
The California Relocation Assistance Act, Government Code sections 7260 to 7277, provides payments and advisory services to owners and tenants displaced by a public project. These benefits are separate from just compensation for the property and are not deducted from it.
The agency pays for its own. Code of Civil Procedure section 1263.025 allows an owner to be reimbursed for an independent appraisal up to a statutory cap, currently 5,000 dollars. Where a case goes to trial, section 1250.410 can shift litigation expenses, including appraisal and attorney fees, to the agency when its final offer was unreasonable and the owner final demand reasonable.
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Questions owners ask
It is measured by fair market value at the applicable valuation date, for the highest and best use the property could lawfully be put to. On a partial take, damages to the remainder are added and project benefits may be offset.
Yes, where the elements of Code of Civil Procedure section 1263.510 are met. California is one of the few states that allows it.
The loss in value to the property you keep, caused by the taking or by the construction of the project on the part taken.
Relocation assistance under the California Relocation Assistance Act covers eligible moving and reestablishment costs. It sits alongside just compensation rather than inside it.
The valuation date is fixed by statute and depends on how the case proceeds. Because it fixes the market conditions that apply, it is one of the first things to confirm.
Next step
Check the offer you received against what California compensation is meant to include.