Compensation
Most California takings are partial. When an agency takes a strip, a corridor or an easement, the appraisal has two questions to answer rather than one.
On a partial acquisition, compensation is the fair market value of the part taken plus damages to the remainder, less any benefit the project confers on the remainder. Code of Civil Procedure section 1263.410 sets out the remainder analysis. An appraisal that values only the square footage taken has answered half the question.
An agency often takes an easement rather than fee title. You keep ownership and lose some use. The measure is the difference in the value of the property before and after the easement is imposed. A temporary construction easement is valued for the period it lasts, usually as rent for the area occupied, plus any damage left behind.
Sometimes what is left cannot be used for anything sensible. Where a remainder is too small, too oddly shaped or too poorly accessed to have real utility, an owner can ask the agency to acquire it as well rather than leave a fragment behind.
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Questions owners ask
No. On a partial take, compensation also covers damages to the remainder caused by the taking or the construction of the project.
A right for the agency to occupy part of your property during construction. It is compensated for the period it lasts, plus any damage left when it ends.
Where the remainder is an uneconomic remnant, an owner can ask the agency to acquire it. Whether it qualifies turns on the size, shape, access and use of what is left.
An increase in the value of the remainder caused by the project. An agency may offset benefits against severance damages, which is why how they are calculated matters.
Next step
Check whether the offer measured the remainder as well as the part taken.