This Bill of Rights applies to any attempt by the government or a private entity to take your property. The

contents of this Bill of Rights are prescribed by the Texas Legislature in Texas Government Code Sec. 402.031

and Chapter 21 of the Texas Property Code.

1. You are entitled to receive adequate compensation if your property is taken for a public use.

2. Your property can only be taken for a public use.

3. Your property can only be taken by a governmental entity or private entity authorized by law to do so.

4. The entity that wants to take your property must notify you about its interest in taking your property.

5. The entity proposing to take your property must provide you with an assessment of the adequate

compensation for your property.

6. The entity proposing to take your property must make a good faith offer to buy the property before it

files a lawsuit to condemn the property.

7. You may hire an appraiser or other professional to determine the value of your property or to assist you

in any condemnation proceeding.

8. You may hire an attorney to negotiate with the condemning entity and to represent you in any legal

proceedings involving the condemnation.

9. Before your property is condemned, you are entitled to a hearing before a court-appointed panel that

includes three special commissioners. This specialized hearing panel must determine the amount of

compensation the condemning entity owes for the taking of your property. The commissioners must also

determine what compensation, if any, you are entitled to receive for any reduction in value of your

remaining property.

10. If you are unsatisfied with the compensation awarded by the special commissioners, or if you question

whether the taking of your property was proper, you have the right to a trial by a judge or jury. If you are

dissatisfied with the trial court's judgment, you may appeal that decision.

Eminent Domain is the ability of certain entities to take private property for a public use. Private property can

include land and certain improvements that are on that property.

Private property may only be taken by a governmental entity or private entity authorized by law to do so.

Your property may be taken only for a public use. Eminent domain cannot be used to take your property for

economic development purposes, except for limited exceptions provided by law.

Your property cannot be taken without adequate compensation. Adequate compensation includes the market

value of the property being taken. It may also include certain damages, if any, to your remaining property

caused by the acquisition itself or by the way the condemning entity will use the property.

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The taking of private property by eminent domain must follow certain procedures. First, the entity that wants to

condemn your property must notify you about its interest in acquiring your property. Second, before a

condemning entity begins negotiating with you to acquire your property, it must send this Landowner's Bill of

Rights statement to the last known address of the person in whose name the property is listed on the most recent

tax roll.

Third, the condemning entity must make a good faith offer to purchase the property. The condemning entity’s

offer must be based on an investigation and an assessment of adequate compensation for the property. At the

time the offer is made, the governmental condemning entity must disclose any appraisal reports it used to

determine the value of its offer to acquire the property. You have the right to either accept or reject the offer

made by the condemning entity.

If you and the condemning entity do not agree on the value of the property being taken, the entity may begin

condemnation proceedings. Condemnation is the legal process for the taking of private property. It begins with

a condemning entity filing a claim for your property in court. If you live in a county where part of the property

being condemned is located, the claim must be filed in that county. Otherwise, the claim can be filed in any

county where at least part of the property being condemned is located. The claim must describe the property

being condemned, the intended public use, the name of the landowner, a statement that the landowner and the

condemning entity were unable to agree on the value of the property, and that the condemning entity provided

the landowner with the Landowner’s Bill of Rights statement.

After the condemning entity files a claim in court, the judge will appoint three landowners to serve as special

commissioners. These special commissioners must live in the county where the condemnation proceeding is

filed, and they must take an oath to assess the amount of adequate compensation fairly, impartially, and

according to the law. The special commissioners are not authorized to decide whether the condemnation is

necessary or if the public use is proper. After being appointed, the special commissioners must schedule a

hearing at the earliest practical time and place and provide you written notice of that hearing.

You are required to disclose to the governmental condemning entity, at least ten days before the special

commissioners' hearing, any appraisal reports used to determine your opinion about adequate compensation for

the property. You may hire an appraiser or real estate professional to help your determine the value of your

private property. You may also hire an attorney regarding these proceedings.

At the hearing, the special commissioners will consider evidence on the value of the property, the damages to

remaining property, any value added to the remaining property as a result of the project, and the uses to be made

of the property being taken.

After hearing evidence from all interested parties, the special commissioners will determine the amount of

money to be awarded as adequate compensation. You may be responsible for the costs if the Award is less than

or equal to the amount the condemning entity offered before the condemnation proceeding began. Otherwise,

the condemning entity will be responsible for the costs. The special commissioners will give a written decision

to the court that appointed them. That decision is called the "Award." The Award must be filed with the court

and the court must send written notice of the Award to all parties.

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After the Award is filed, the condemning entity may take possession of the property being condemned, even if

either party appeals the Award of the special commissioners. To take possession of the property, the

condemning entity must either pay you the amount of the Award or deposit the amount of the Award into the

registry of the court. You have the right to withdraw the deposited funds from the registry of the court.

If either you or the condemning entity is dissatisfied with the amount of the Award, either party can object to

the Award by filing a written statement of objection with the court. If neither party timely objects to the Award,

the court will adopt the Award as the final judgment of the court. If a party timely objects to the special

commissioners' Award, the court will hear the case in the same manner as other civil cases.

If you object to the Award and ask the court to hear the matter, you have the right to a trial by judge or jury. The

allocation of costs is handled in the same manner as with the special commissioners’ Award. After that trial,

either party may appeal any judgment entered by the court.

A condemning entity may file a motion to dismiss the condemnation proceeding if it decides it no longer needs

your property. If the court grants the motion to dismiss, the case is over and you are entitled to recover

reasonable and necessary fees for attorneys, appraisers, photographers, and for other expenses incurred to the

date of the hearing on the motion to dismiss.

You may also file a motion to dismiss the condemnation proceeding on the ground that the condemning entity

did not have the right to condemn the property, including a challenge as to whether the property is being taken

for a public use. If the court grants your motion, the court may award you reasonable and necessary fees for

attorneys, appraisers, photographers, and for other expenses incurred to the date of the hearing or judgment.

If you are displaced from a residence or place of business, you may be entitled to reimbursement for reasonable

expenses incurred while moving personal property from the residence or relocating the business to a new site.

You are not entitled to these relocation costs if they are recoverable under another law. If you are entitled to

these costs, they cannot exceed the market value of the property being moved and can only be reimbursed for

moving distances within 50 miles.

If private property was condemned by a governmental entity, and the purpose for which the property was

acquired is canceled before the 10th anniversary of the date of the acquisition, you may have the right to seek to

repurchase the property for the fair market value of the property at the time the public use was canceled. This

provision does not apply to property acquired by a county, a municipality, or the Texas Department of

Transportation.

The information in this statement is intended to be a summary of the applicable portions of Texas state law as

required by HB 1495, enacted by the 80th Texas Legislature, Regular Session. This statement is not legal advice

and is not a substitute for legal counsel.

Further information regarding the procedures, timelines and requirements outlined in this document can be

found in Chapter 21 of the Texas Property Code.