Eminent Domain and Residential Property in California

What compensation covers for a home

On a whole take, compensation is the fair market value of the house and the land, measured for the highest and best use the property could lawfully be put to. Comparable sales drive the number, so which sales an appraiser chose and how they were adjusted is the first thing to examine.

Partial takes on a residential lot

Most residential acquisitions are partial. A widening takes the front of the lot, a sound wall moves closer, a driveway is relocated. The value of the strip is rarely the main issue. Damages to the remainder are, and they turn on facts a homeowner knows better than an appraiser.

• Setback lost, so the house sits closer to the road than the zoning contemplated.
• Driveway relocated, regraded or narrowed.
• Mature landscaping, fencing, retaining walls or irrigation removed.
• Noise, headlights or a wall where a garden was.
• A remainder too small to rebuild on if the house were lost.

Relocation assistance

The California Relocation Assistance Act, Government Code sections 7260 to 7277, provides payments and advisory services to owners and to tenants who are displaced. These benefits are separate from just compensation for the property and are not deducted from it. Tenants have rights here even though they own nothing.

Proposition 99

Approved by California voters in June 2008, Proposition 99 limits the taking of an owner occupied residence for conveyance to a private party. It does not restrict acquisitions for traditional public projects such as roads, water and transit.