Valuation
Partial takings, and why they are harder than total ones
A total taking asks one question: what was the property worth. A partial taking asks four, and three of them involve judgement about property the owner still holds.
The larger parcel
The question that is settled before any valuing begins
Before anything can be valued, the appraiser must decide what the property is. Where an owner holds several tracts, the answer determines whether harm to the adjoining tract is inside the claim or invisible to it.
The test is usually stated as three unities. Unity of ownership: the tracts are held by the same party in the same capacity. Unity of use: they are used together as one economic unit, or the market would treat them as one. Contiguity: they adjoin, though some jurisdictions relax this where the use plainly integrates separated parcels.
Unity of use does most of the work. Two adjoining lots in the same name, one a restaurant and one a rented house, may well be separate parcels. A farm split by a public road, worked as one operation, is usually one parcel despite the gap.
Common shapes
How partial takings typically damage a remainder
Frontage strips
Road widening removes a band along the front. Buildings end up closer to traffic, parking is lost and setback compliance can fail.
Access changes
The driveway moves, a median closes a turn, or a commercial entrance becomes right in and right out only.
Severed remnants
The taking cuts a parcel in two and leaves a piece too small, too narrow or unreachable to be used for anything.
Grade separation
The new road sits above or below the old level, so the remainder no longer meets it conveniently.
Corridor easements
A pipeline or transmission line crosses the middle, restricting building over the route.
Utility relocation
Wells, septic fields, irrigation lines or storage must be moved to make the remainder work again.
Uneconomic remnants
When the agency must buy what is left
| Situation | Usual treatment |
|---|---|
| Remainder too small to meet minimum lot size | Often acquired as an uneconomic remnant rather than left with the owner |
| Remainder landlocked by the taking | Generally acquired, or access must be provided |
| Remainder usable but worth substantially less | Retained by the owner, with severance damages paid |
| Remainder worth more because of a special benefit | Retained, with offset rules that vary by state |
Under the Uniform Relocation Act and most state statutes, an agency that would otherwise leave an owner with an uneconomic remnant must offer to acquire it. An owner who is left with a piece of land that cannot be used should raise this early.
Questions about partial takings
They are only taking ten feet. Why would that be worth arguing about
Because the damage is not proportional to the area. Ten feet of frontage can remove the parking a shop depends on, put a building inside a setback or make a turning movement impossible for delivery vehicles.
Can I refuse to sell just part
Generally no. The power of eminent domain extends to partial acquisition. What is negotiable is the amount, and in some cases whether the agency should take the whole instead.
Should I ask them to take the whole property
Where the remainder is genuinely unusable, yes, and the uneconomic remnant rule may require it. Where the remainder remains usable, the answer is usually severance damages rather than a full acquisition.
How is the part taken valued
Not separately, in the standard method. The before and after difference captures it along with any damage. Reports usually allocate the difference afterwards for presentation.
Get a valuation question answered
If an offer has arrived and the number does not match what you believe the property is worth, the appraisal behind it is the place to look. Start with the pages below.