Eminent Domain and Takings

Eminent domain is the government's power to take private property for public use, and a taking is any government action that affects property so heavily that it counts as a taking. The Fifth Amendment sets the basic limits. Federal, state, and local governments use this power, and courts decide whether it was used properly.

People usually bring questions about what counts as a public use and what payment an owner is owed. They ask how a full taking differs from a regulation that only limits how land can be used. They also ask how owners can challenge a taking, and how disputes over value are settled.