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Compensation depends on the property, on how much of it is being acquired, and on what the project does to what remains.
Adequate compensation under Article I Section 17 is measured in money, at market value, as of the date the law fixes for your case. For a whole taking that is the value of the property. For a partial taking Texas uses the before and after method, and that single choice drives almost every dispute that follows.
Market value is the price the property would bring when offered for sale by one who desires to sell but is not obliged to, and bought by one who desires to buy but is under no necessity of buying. It is measured for the highest and best use the land could lawfully be put to, not only the use it has today.
When only part of the tract is acquired, the measure is the market value of the whole immediately before the taking, against the market value of the remainder immediately after, with the project in place. The difference is the compensation. It covers the strip and the harm to what is left in one figure.
An appraisal that prices only the acres taken has answered half the question. The remainder analysis is the other half, and on working land it is usually the larger half.
Remainder or severance damages capture the loss in value to the land you keep. A tract cut in two, a pasture separated from its water, a building site with a corridor across it, or a remainder too small or too oddly shaped to use as before.
Access is part of the value of land. A closed or relocated driveway, a raised median that removes turning movements, a frontage road or a grade change that lengthens the approach can all reduce what a tract is worth, particularly a commercial one.
An easement leaves you holding title while transferring a right of use. The measure is the difference in value before and after the easement is imposed. What you can build, plant, store or cross over the strip afterwards is set by the easement terms, which is why those terms carry real money.
Where a business operates on the property, the taking can reach the business as well as the land. What is recoverable depends on the facts and on how the claim is framed, and it is an area where Texas law is narrower than some owners expect. Treat any figure you are quoted as something to verify rather than assume.
The entity pays for its own, and section 21.0113 requires a certified written appraisal to support the final offer. Landowners commonly commission their own appraisal, especially on partial takings of working property, because the entity appraiser rarely understands how the land is actually used.
By property
The same measure applies to every owner. What changes is which part of it carries the money.
Start with your situation
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.
ExploreRelated resources
More Texas resources are on the way. New guides publish every week.
Common questions
By market value, for the highest and best use the land could lawfully be put to. On a partial taking, by the before and after method comparing the whole tract before with the remainder after.
The loss in value to the land you keep, caused by the taking or by the project built on the part acquired. On working land they are frequently larger than the value of the acres taken.
This is narrower in Texas than in some states and depends heavily on the facts. Treat any figure you are quoted as something to verify with a Texas attorney rather than assume.
Not in every case. On a partial taking of a ranch, farm or commercial site, an independent appraisal is often what changes the number, because it captures how the land is actually used.
The valuation date is set by law 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 Texas compensation is meant to cover.