A letter arrives from a government agency. The agency needs part or all of your property for a road project, utility corridor, or other public infrastructure. Attached is an offer. The agency expects a response. Receiving that letter raises immediate questions. Does the government have the right to take your property? Is the offer fair?… Read more »
A property owner purchases land with a valid government permit in hand. The owner confirms with the relevant agency that the planned use is authorized. Development proceeds. Then, nearly two years after a voter-enacted growth-control measure takes effect, the government reverses course. It announces that the project had been prohibited since the day the measure… Read more »
A neighbor begins clearing land near your property line, and you believe the work is about to cross onto your property. A utility company shows up to install infrastructure you believe goes beyond what its easement allows. Someone has started using your private road without permission, and they show no sign of stopping. In each… Read more »
An easement gives someone a limited right to use another person’s property. When the government holds that right, the property owner still owns the underlying land. What the government can do on that land is defined by the easement’s terms and applicable law, not by what the government eventually decides it wants to do. The… Read more »
Government regulations can restrict what a property owner may build, develop, or do on private land. Most restrictions do not rise to the level of a constitutional taking. Some, however, may go so far that they interfere with property rights to an extent that requires compensation. That raises an important question when the restriction is… Read more »
When a county charges a property owner with illegal grading, the consequences can be serious. A notice of violation can affect how an owner uses the land. It can also lead to enforcement proceedings, fines, or corrective-action requirements. Property owners facing enforcement may need to decide whether to accept the government’s position or challenge it…. Read more »
Two of the most common remedies in California property disputes are quiet title actions and partition actions. Both involve ownership. Both may end up in court. But they address entirely different problems and follow different legal frameworks. A quiet title action resolves a disputed claim to ownership. A partition action divides property among co-owners who… Read more »
California cities and counties have long used growth control measures to limit the pace of residential and commercial development. Some impose annual caps on building permits. Others establish urban growth boundaries beyond which development is restricted or prohibited. A few use voter-approved moratoriums that freeze approvals for defined periods. Taken together, these measures can significantly… Read more »
Property taxes in California do not reset to market value automatically each year. Proposition 13, adopted by California voters in 1978, limits how quickly assessed values rise while a property stays in the same hands. But when ownership changes, that protection generally does not transfer to the new owner. The assessor reassesses the property at… Read more »
Housing projects across California face a familiar problem. Local agencies change zoning rules mid-project. Design standards multiply with each review. Hearings get continued indefinitely. A project that once looked straightforward can quickly become a moving target. SB 330, the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, was designed to stop that cycle. The law limits many of… Read more »
