The government of most countries has the authority to acquire private properties, such as lots, lands, patents, copyrights etc. if they find it beneficial in the public interest. They have the authority to do so even if the owner doesn’t give their consent by compensating them at the fair market value of the property in return. The owners however have the right to file a suit in case they find the compensation inadequate.
When the government takes private property in the public interest, the owner has the right to pursue inverse condemnation. They can do so if the property was taken against their consent and they are not satisfied with the compensation. They can also inverse condemn the relevant authority if the property gets damaged in the course of public use and is no longer suitable for the owner to enjoy the entitlement.
No owner enjoys letting the government take their property without their consent. However, to prevent the unjust taking of properties, various measures have been introduced to compensate the owners. Some of the key features of Inverse Condemnation are:
The doctrine under which a government acquires the power to take private property is called Eminent Domain.
The government can take property only if it is beneficial to the public interest.
The condemning authority must declare a taking when acquiring a property under eminent domain.
If the condemning authority does not declare eminent domain while taking property, but it still limits or restricts the owner access to it, it is still considered physical taking. The owner has the right to pursue inverse condemnation if compensated inadequately or not compensated at all.
If the government does not take property but passes a new rule or regulation which limits or restricts the owner’s access to their belongings, property or lot, it is called regulatory taking.
Any regulation passed that significantly reduces the value of the property and the owner will be under-compensated if they decide to sell it entitles them to inverse condemn the relevant authority.
The burden of proving such a taking lies on the plaintiff. They must also be able to prove whether the taking is partial or full.
In certain special situations, no taking happens. However, the citizen may face damages to their property due to the actions of the police while chasing criminals. Although rare, it still entitles them to seek damages through legal measures.
