Texas Eminent Domain Resources
Understand the eminent domain process in Texas, explore property owner rights, and learn about issues that may affect property, access and compensation.
Start here
Select the situation that best describes where you are in the process.
Learn what the notice may mean and what information you may want to review.
ExploreSituation 02Understand how property acquisition through eminent domain may begin.
ExploreSituation 03Explore questions related to property valuation and compensation.
ExploreSituation 04Learn about issues property owners may consider when they disagree with an offer.
ExploreProject types
In Texas the entity behind the project matters as much as the project itself. A pipeline company, a utility and TxDOT each acquire land differently.
Property types
A quarter acre lot and a four thousand acre ranch raise different questions. Start with the category that fits yours.
Your rights
Texas gives landowners a set of procedural protections that begin before an offer is ever made. The Landowner Bill of Rights, prepared by the Office of the Attorney General, must accompany the initial offer, and Chapter 21 of the Property Code sets out what must happen next.
The Landowner Bill of Rights, the initial written offer and what must accompany them.
The certified written appraisal that must support a final offer, and your own.
The part taken, damages to the remainder, and what the commissioners may award.
What an easement grants, what it restricts, and the terms that are negotiable.
Texas landowners
Land acquisition and infrastructure projects raise different issues for large properties, ranches, farms and rural land. Acreage, access, water and the shape of what remains usually matter more than the strip itself.
Livestock crossings, water, fencing and the working shape of the remainder.
Explore LandownerIrrigation, equipment access, growing seasons and permanent plantings.
Explore LandownerRecreational value, hunting leases and future development potential.
Explore LandownerMultiple tracts, several projects at once, and cumulative impact.
ExploreCompensation
In Texas, compensation for a partial taking is measured by the before and after method: what the whole tract was worth before, against what the remainder is worth after.
The process
Most Texas acquisitions pass through the same seven stages. Some resolve at the offer. Others run to a special commissioners hearing and beyond.
An entity plans a project and identifies the tracts it needs.
A right of way agent makes contact and asks for survey permission.
An appraiser values the part sought and the effect on the remainder.
The initial written offer arrives with the Landowner Bill of Rights.
A final offer follows, supported by a certified written appraisal.
A petition is filed and special commissioners hold a hearing.
The award stands, or a party objects and the case goes to court.
Project impact
Eminent domain is rarely just about losing ground. The chain below is where most of the value sits, and where most offers fall short.
A pipeline, line or roadway is routed across the county.
Your tract sits on the alignment, in whole or in part.
Gates, drives and crossings move or disappear.
Grazing, cultivation, building and future plans change.
What the land is worth before and after is no longer the same.
The difference between those two figures is the question.
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Common questions
The power belongs to the state, counties, cities, school districts and other governmental bodies, and it also extends to certain private entities that the Legislature has authorised, including common carrier pipelines and electric utilities. Whether a private company genuinely qualifies is a question that can be tested. The Texas Supreme Court set the standard in Texas Rice Land Partners v Denbury Green Pipeline in 2012.
Texas uses the before and after method. Compensation is the value of the whole tract before the taking, compared with the value of the remainder after it, taking account of the project as it will be built. That difference captures both the strip taken and the damage to what you keep.
A pipeline company that qualifies as a common carrier can condemn an easement. Common carrier status is not established by ticking a box on a permit form. Under the Denbury standard there must be a reasonable probability that the line will serve the public by transporting product for one or more customers who will retain ownership.
By appraisal. Before an entity may make a final offer under section 21.0113 of the Property Code, it must obtain a written appraisal from a certified appraiser, and the final offer must equal or exceed that appraisal amount. Landowners commonly obtain their own appraisal as well.
If negotiation does not produce agreement, the entity files a petition and the court appoints three special commissioners, who hold a hearing and make an award. Either party may object to that award. The objection is due on or before the first Monday following the twentieth day after the commissioners file their findings, and a timely objection converts the case into an ordinary lawsuit.
An acquisition transfers title, so the land is no longer yours. An easement leaves you holding title but gives the other party a right to use a defined strip, usually permanently, with restrictions on what you can build, plant or store there. The compensation analysis differs, and so do the terms worth negotiating.
Section 21.0113 requires an initial written offer, then a final offer made on or after the thirtieth day following it, supported by a written appraisal from a certified appraiser, in an amount equal to or greater than that appraisal, with at least fourteen days for the owner to respond. Failing these steps has consequences for the condemnor.
Entities commonly request permission to enter and survey before making an offer. The terms of that entry, including timing, scope, notice and repair of any damage, are frequently negotiated rather than simply granted.
Next step
Explore Texas specific resources based on your property type, the project affecting it, and the stage of the process you have reached.