Just Compensation in Texas and How Property Is Valued

What adequate compensation means

Adequate compensation under the Texas Constitution is paid in money and measured by market value. It is not what the land is worth to you, not what you paid for it, and not what it would cost to replace. It is what the market would pay.

Whole taking

When the entire property is acquired, compensation is its market value at the applicable date, valued for the highest and best use it could lawfully be put to.

Partial taking

When only part is acquired, Texas uses the before and after method. The value of the whole tract immediately before the taking is compared with the value of the remainder immediately after, with the project in place. The difference is the compensation.

What is included

• The market value of the part acquired.
• Damage to the remainder caused by the taking or the project built on the strip.
• Improvements attached to the realty: fences, pens, wells, roads, structures.
• The effect on access to and from the remainder.
• Restrictions an easement places on future use of the strip.

What is generally not included

Texas is narrower than some states here. Moving costs, business interruption and lost profits are treated restrictively, and the position depends heavily on the facts and how a claim is framed. Sentimental value, the fact that you did not want to sell, and the inconvenience of the process are not compensable.

Do not assume a category is recoverable because another state allows it. Confirm the Texas position with an attorney before you build an expectation on it.

Proving the number

Compensation is proved with appraisal evidence. The entity must obtain a certified written appraisal to support its final offer under section 21.0113. Landowners commonly obtain their own, particularly where the remainder analysis is the point in dispute.