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    Land Use & Environmental

    Eminent Domain

    The government's power to take private property for public use, which requires just compensation.

    Eminent domain is the constitutional power of government to take private property for a public use. The exercise of that power through a court action is called condemnation. The Fifth Amendment requires the government to pay the owner just compensation.

    Eminent domain is one of the four government powers over private property, often remembered as PETE: Police power, Eminent domain, Taxation, and Escheat.

    On the exam

    Eminent domain is the government taking with payment. Compare it to inverse condemnation, where the owner sues because a regulation has effectively taken the property without a formal taking.

    Exam trap

    Eminent domain is the power; condemnation is the process. Both require just compensation. Police power, by contrast, regulates without paying compensation.

    Tested in

    Planning and Zoning (1% of the exam)

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    This definition is Florida real estate exam-prep education, not legal, tax, or professional advice. Verify current rules against the official source before relying on them for a real transaction. Back to the full glossary.