Guide to Florida Eminent Domain Law

• Eminent Domain Process
  1. Eminent Domain Authorities
  2. Public Notice and Eminent Domain
  3. History of Eminent Domain
• Your Property Rights
  1. Bert J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights Protection Act
  2. Littoral Property Rights in Florida
  3. Florida Law Prevents Eminent Domain Abuse
  4. High Speed Rail & Eminent Domain
  5. Eminent Domain for Water Level Projects
  6. Inverse Condemnation and Loss of Access
• Challenging the Government
  1. Reasons for Government Taking Property
  2. Condemning Authorities
  3. Stimulus Money
  4. FDOT
  5. Law Changes
  6. Sewer & Water Projects
  7. Florida Real Estate Trends 2010 and Beyond
• Eminent Domain Definitions
  1. What is Eminent Domain?
  2. Unitization: Eminent Domain?
  3. Types of Property Subject to Eminent Domain
  4. What does Public Purpose mean?
  5. What is Considered a Taking?
  6. What is Partial Taking?
  7. What is Inverse Condemnation?
  8. International Owners of Florida Property
  9. Mineral Rights in Eminent Domain
• Getting Full Compensation
  1. How is Fair Market Value Determined
  2. What Constitutes Full Compensation
  3. Severance Damages
  4. Eminent Domain and Severance Damages
  5. Determining Eminent Domain Values
  6. Eminent Domain for Conservation
  7. Eminent Domain Business Damages
  8. Condemnation and Inverse Condemnation
  9. Inverse Condemnation vs. Public Nuisance
  10. Prejudgment Interest and Eminent Domain
  11. School Districts' Use of Eminent Domain
  12. Small Businesses and Eminent Domain
  13. Foreclosure and Eminent Domain
  14. Eminent Domain for I-95 Overland Bridge Project
  15. HUD Housing and Eminent Domain
  16. Zoning and Eminent Domain
• Hiring an Eminent Domain Attorney

Florida Law Prevents Eminent Domain Abuse

Florida

If you have been paying attention to the news, you have probably heard about a number of eminent domain abuses being perpetrated in other states. In New York, for example, you may have heard about the multi-billion-dollar corporate charity known as the Atlantic Yards project. In the ostensible name of "public good" property is being taken from homeowners and small business owners and given to a billion-dollar corporation for pennies on the dollar. Or you may have heard about the situation in Mount Holly, New Jersey, where developers have been uprooting residents of the Gardens neighborhood and handing their land over to Philadelphia developer Keating Urban Partners, which hopes to put in higher-priced townhouses, apartments, and a business center. This use of eminent domain is an abuse of the concept of "public good." Fortunately, Florida Law prohibits this use of eminent domain.

Prohibited Uses of Eminent Domain

First of all, Florida law prohibits the use of eminent domain to transfer property from one private owner to another private owner, except in cases where the land will be used for infrastructure projects, including roads, utilities, and common carrier systems. Eminent domain also cannot be used to eliminate blight, slums, or public nuisances. If a municipality is trying to take your property for any of these reasons, you have the right to fight the taking.

Full Compensation

Another way Florida law protects you from eminent domain abuse is by forcing municipalities to give you full compensation for your property. Full compensation means getting fair market value for the property itself. In Florida, you are allowed to argue that the value of your property should be considered taking into account its "highest and best use," which may generate revenue far above its current use. In fact, it should be equal to or greater than the use to which your property will be put by the developer to whom it might be given. This means that municipalities cannot "condemn low and give high"--they must pay you the full cost of your property, making many of these development projects prohibitively expensive.

True Public Good

Florida law ensures that eminent domain is used only for true public good, and that private sector projects live up the only standard by which they can be considered public good: they have the potential to generate enough revenue to justify buying land at its full value.

If your property is being threatened by eminent domain, at the Florida Property Rights Law Firm we have the experience to fight unjust takings and ensure that if your property must be taken you will receive the compensation you deserve. Please contact us today for a consultation.