Eminent Domain in Florida: Your Rights When Property Is Taken

What Happens When the Government Needs Your Property

Central Florida keeps growing, and growth means new roads, interchange rebuilds, toll lanes, drainage projects, and utility lines. Sometimes a project needs private land, either a whole parcel or a strip along the front of a lot. Eminent domain is the government’s power to take that property for public use, and Florida law gives property owners strong protections when it does. Knowing the process helps you respond to that first letter from FDOT, a county, or an expressway authority without leaving money on the table.

Short version: Florida’s Constitution allows private property to be taken only for a public purpose and with full compensation. Before suing, the condemning authority must send a written notice and offer, give you at least 30 days to respond, and provide its appraisal within 15 business days if you ask. If the case goes to court, a 12-person jury decides compensation. That includes the value of what’s taken and, for partial takings, damage to the rest of your property. Some business owners can also claim business damages. The government generally pays your reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, including appraisal fees. Attorney’s fees are based on how much more you receive than the last written offer made before you hired a lawyer. Property taken by eminent domain generally can’t be handed to a private developer, apart from exceptions like roads and utilities. Displaced residents on federally funded projects also get relocation help and at least 90 days’ notice before having to move.

Florida’s ground rules

Public purpose and full compensation: Article X, Section 6 of the Florida Constitution allows private property to be taken only for a public purpose and with full compensation paid to each owner.
No transfers to private developers: The Florida Constitution limits transferring property taken by eminent domain to a private person or business to narrow cases set by the Legislature. Florida Statute 73.013 allows transfers for roads and other public transportation rights-of-way, common carriers, utilities, and public infrastructure. If the property is no longer needed within 10 years, the original owner gets a chance to buy it back.
Who can take property: The state, counties, cities, and certain authorities and utilities that the Legislature has given condemnation power. In Central Florida, that can include the Florida Department of Transportation, regional expressway authorities, counties, cities, and utility providers.

How the process usually unfolds

Stage	What happens	Key rules
1. Project planning	The agency identifies parcels it needs, often years ahead, and holds public meetings	Value changes caused only by knowledge of the project aren’t counted in compensation
2. Notice and offer	You receive a written notice describing the project and your parcel, plus a written offer	Sent by certified mail or personal delivery; it must explain your rights, including fees and costs
3. Presuit negotiation	You can request the appraisal, maps, and plans, negotiate, or mediate	At least 30 days to respond before suit; appraisal within 15 business days of your request
4. Lawsuit	If there’s no deal, the agency files a condemnation case in circuit court	The agency pays your reasonable attorney’s fees and costs
5. Quick-take (sometimes)	The agency asks the court for early possession and deposits its good-faith estimate of value	Title passes when the deposit is made; compensation is still decided later
6. Trial or settlement	A 12-person jury decides compensation, unless the case settles first	Value is set as of the trial date or the date title passed, whichever is earlier

Based on Florida Statutes Chapters 73 and 74. Acquisitions can settle during presuit negotiation without a lawsuit.

What you can be paid for

Under Florida Statute 73.071, compensation can include:

The property taken: The value of the land and any improvements being acquired.
Severance damages: In a partial taking, damage to the property you keep. A strip taken from the front of a lot can mean lost parking, a worse driveway, a smaller buildable area, or reduced access, any of which can lower the remainder’s value.
Business damages: Available in limited cases. The business must have been established for more than 5 years, operate on the remaining adjoining land, belong to the same owner, and be damaged by a partial taking. For right-of-way takings, a business owner must submit a good-faith damages offer within 180 days after being notified, or the claim can be struck.
Mobile home relocation: The owner of a mobile home can recover reasonable removal or relocation costs, up to the home’s replacement value, whether or not they own the land. See buying a manufactured home in Florida.

For road, canal, levee, and water control projects, any increase in value to your remaining property can offset severance damages, but never the value of the land actually taken.

Attorney’s fees and costs

Florida law makes the condemning authority pay the property owner’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs in an eminent domain case, including reasonable appraisal fees, under Florida Statute 73.091. Fees are also recoverable if the case settles during presuit negotiation.

Under Florida Statute 73.092, attorney’s fees are based on the “benefits achieved,” the difference between the final judgment or settlement and the last written offer made before you hired the attorney. The fee is:

33% of the first $250,000 of benefit.
25% of the benefit between $250,000 and $1 million.
20% of any benefit above $1 million.

For example, if a lawyer helps raise an offer by $100,000, the government pays a $33,000 fee on top of the higher compensation. Because fees are measured from the last offer before you hired counsel, the timing of that first offer matters. Read the notice’s description of your fee rights before you respond.

If you have to move

When a project displaces a home or business, relocation assistance is separate from compensation for the property. On federally funded projects, the federal Uniform Act requires that displaced people get at least 90 days’ notice before they must move. It also provides moving expense payments and replacement housing payments for homeowners and eligible tenants, with replacement homes verified as decent, safe, and sanitary. FDOT runs a relocation program that interviews each affected household and business and allows appeals of eligibility and payment decisions. Tenants can be eligible for relocation help even though they don’t own the property.

Practical steps if you get a notice

Don’t ignore it, and don’t sign right away. Note the response deadline, which is at least 30 days.
Request the appraisal, maps, and plans. The agency must provide the appraisal within 15 business days. The plans show exactly what’s being taken, including driveway, drainage, and access changes.
Document your property. Gather photos, surveys, permits, recent improvements, leases, and for businesses, financial records.
Consider talking to an eminent domain attorney before negotiating, since the fee structure means the government generally pays reasonable fees.
Tell your lender and insurer. Your mortgage may give the lender rights to part of the proceeds, and coverage may need adjusting after a partial taking.

Buying near a planned road widening? Check the FDOT and county work programs before you buy, since a planned project can affect future access and value. See Central Florida toll roads and transit, Florida zoning explained, and buying vacant land in Florida. A taking can also change your property’s assessed value, so see how to appeal your property tax assessment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, but only for a public purpose and with full compensation, under Article X, Section 6 of the Florida Constitution. The condemning authority must also follow presuit notice and negotiation rules before filing suit.

The condemning authority generally pays your reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, including appraisal fees. Fees are based on how much more you receive than the last written offer made before you hired the attorney.

At least 30 days after receiving the written notice before the authority can file suit. You can request the appraisal, which must be provided within 15 business days.

Generally no. Florida law bars transferring condemned property to private parties except for specific uses such as roads, common carriers, utilities, and public infrastructure, or when the property is no longer needed and the original owner gets a chance to buy it back.

You can be compensated for the land taken plus severance damages, meaning the loss in value to the property you keep. Some business owners can also claim business damages if the business has operated more than five years on the remaining land.

Sources

This article is for general informational purposes only and isn’t financial, legal, insurance, or tax advice – for guidance specific to your situation, talk to a licensed professional.