Practice Areas

• Condemnation

Condemnation is the legislative, administrative or judicial process and procedure whereby real property, usually a structure, is deemed legally unfit for occupancy or continued existence due to its physical defects or for other causes, such as use of the property for illegal purposes. It is the legal process by which a governmental body exercises its right of “eminent domain” to acquire private property for public uses, such as redevelopment or highways. A condemnation may be brought when a negotiated sale is unable to be agreed upon. The government may take the property at the time of suit if it deposits money with the court in the amount of the government’s appraisal.

The term “condemnation” is used to describe the formal act of the exercise of the power of eminent domain to transfer title to the property from its private owner to the government. This use of the word should not be confused with its sense of a declaration that property is uninhabitable due to defects. The latter usually does not deprive the owners of the title to the property condemned but requires them to rectify the offending situation or have the government do it for the owner at the latter’s expense.

Condemnation via eminent domain indicates the government is taking ownership of the property or a lesser interest in it, such as an easement. In most cases, the only thing that remains to be decided when a condemnation action is filed is the amount of just compensation, although in some cases the right to take may be challenged by the property owner on the grounds that the attempted taking is not for a public use, or has not been authorized by the legislature, or because the condemner has not followed the proper procedure required by law.

Call or email the law office of Boyette, Cummins & Nailos, PLLC, for your free consultation. We will sit down with you and discuss all of your options regarding your real estate needs.