Eminent Domain Texas Rules: A Homeowner's Calendar From First Offer to Hearing

A letter arrives saying a project needs your land, or a strip of it. That letter starts a process with fixed dates, and the eminent domain Texas rules in Chapter 21 of the Property Code spell many of them out. This guide puts those dates in order so you know what you should receive, what you should send, and when each window closes.

We quote the sections so you can check them yourself. Read this alongside advice from a real estate attorney.

What do the eminent domain Texas rules require before a lawsuit?

An entity that can condemn property still has to try to buy it first. Section 21.0113(a) says it "must make a bona fide offer to acquire the property from the property owner voluntarily." The statute then lists what that offer has to contain and how long you get to answer it. If the entity skips those steps, Section 21.047(d) says a court that finds no bona fide offer was made "shall abate the suit," order a proper offer, and order the entity to pay costs and the fees you incurred that relate to the violation.

So keep every page you receive. It is the record of whether the entity followed these steps.

How does the calendar run from first offer to hearing?

Step 1: Open the initial offer and check it against the list

Under Section 21.0113(b)(1), the written initial offer must include:

• a copy of the landowner's bill of rights statement,
• a statement "in bold print and a larger font" saying whether the money offered includes damages to the rest of your property, or an appraisal by a certified general appraiser,
• an instrument of conveyance, meaning the deed or easement they want you to sign, and
• the name and telephone number of a representative of the entity.

Section 21.0111(a) adds that, when the offer is made, the entity must send you by certified mail, return receipt requested, any appraisal reports it produced or acquired about your property that were prepared in the 10 years before the offer. Write the date you received each item on its envelope.

Step 2: Talk to anyone you want about it

Section 21.0111(c) says the entity "may not include a confidentiality provision" in its offer. You have the right to discuss the offer with others, or to keep it confidential unless it is subject to Chapter 552 of the Government Code. Show it to an attorney, an appraiser, and any co-owners.

Step 3: Get your own appraisal, and watch its disclosure deadline

If you order an appraisal and plan to rely on it, the clock applies to you too. Section 21.0111(b) says you must disclose your appraisal reports used to form your opinion of value by the earlier of the 10th day after you receive the report, or the third business day before a special commissioners' hearing if you will use it there.

Step 4: Expect the final offer no sooner than day 30

Section 21.0113(b) sets the order of the next round:

1. The final offer must be in writing and made "on or after the 30th day after" the written initial offer.
2. Before it, the entity must get a written appraisal from a certified appraiser covering the property and any damage to what you keep.
3. The final offer must be "equal to or greater than" that appraisal.
4. A copy of the appraisal, the deed or easement, and the landowner's bill of rights statement must come with it, or have come earlier.
5. You must get "at least 14 days to respond."

Section 21.0112(a) also requires the bill of rights statement to be sent no later than the seventh day before the final offer. If a final offer shows up early, or without the appraisal, note it and tell your attorney.

Step 5: If you do not agree, watch for the petition

When the two sides cannot agree on damages, Section 21.012(a) lets the entity file a condemnation petition in court. Subsection (c) says it must send you a copy by certified mail, return receipt requested, and by first class mail. Under subsection (b), the petition has to state that a bona fide offer was made and, if applicable, that you received the bill of rights statement.

Step 6: Use your strike on the special commissioners

Under Section 21.014(a), the judge must, within 30 calendar days after the petition is filed, appoint three "disinterested real property owners who reside in the county" as special commissioners, plus two alternates. Each side may strike one commissioner. Your deadline is the later of 10 calendar days after the appointment order or 20 days after the petition was filed. If the parties agree on names beforehand, the judge gives them preference.

Step 7: Prepare for the hearing

Section 21.015(a) says the commissioners may not hold the damages hearing before the 20th day after they were appointed. Section 21.016(b) says you must be served with notice no later than the 20th day before the hearing. And under Section 21.0111(a-1), the entity must disclose the appraisal reports it will use no later than the third business day before the hearing.

What do the commissioners actually decide?

They decide money, based on the evidence at the hearing. Section 21.042 sets two cases:

• The whole tract is taken. Your damage is "the local market value of the property at the time of the special commissioners' hearing."
• Part of the tract is taken. The commissioners weigh the injury and benefit to you, "including the effect of the condemnation on the value of the property owner's remaining property."

For a partial taking, subsection (d) limits what counts. Injuries peculiar to your parcel count, including a material impairment of direct access. Injuries you share with the general community, "including circuity of travel and diversion of traffic," do not. So bring evidence about your own lot and driveway.

Costs follow the result. Section 21.047(a) says if the commissioners award more than the entity offered before the proceedings began, the entity pays all costs. If the award is less than or equal to that offer, you pay the costs. That is a real reason to compare the final offer carefully before you turn it down.

What happens after the award, and can you still sell?

Either side can object. Section 21.018(a) says the written objection must be filed "on or before the first Monday following the 20th day after the day the commissioners file their findings with the court." After that, the case is tried like other civil cases. Count from the filing of the findings, not from the hearing.

The project may not wait for that trial. Under Section 21.021(a), after the award the entity may take possession while litigation continues if it pays you the award or deposits it with the court. Subsection (c) excuses the state, counties and cities from the extra deposit and bond that other condemnors must post.

If you would rather sell the whole house than live beside the project, know one default rule. Under Section 5.007(b), if all or a material part of the property "is taken by eminent domain" before either title or possession passes to the buyer, the seller "may not enforce the contract," and the buyer can recover what was paid. That rule applies "unless the contract expressly provides otherwise," so read your sales contract for its own terms and give any buyer copies of every letter you have received.

A practical way to decide: lay the entity's final offer next to a listing estimate and one or two as-is offers, each with its closing date. If the house is in East Texas, a written number from a house buyer in Tyler TX can be one of those comparisons.

What should your eminent domain folder hold?

• The initial offer, with the date you received it
• Every appraisal the entity sent, and your own
• The landowner's bill of rights statement
• The final offer and the deed or easement attached to it
• The petition and the order appointing special commissioners
• A one-page calendar: day 30, the 14-day response window, your strike deadline, your appraisal disclosure date, the hearing, and the objection Monday

Written by the Fast House Buying team. We buy houses for cash in Texas, so we have a commercial interest in this topic. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.