Inverse condemnation
National Real Estate Exam glossary · Land Use Controls
Definition
An action brought by a property owner to force the government to pay just compensation when a government action has effectively taken or substantially diminished the use of the property without a formal condemnation proceeding.
Inverse condemnation in plain English
Normally, if the government wants your land for a road or park, it has to formally take it and pay you a fair price — that legal process is called condemnation. Inverse condemnation is when the government DIDN'T go through that process, but its actions still wrecked your ability to use your property (say a new dam floods your backyard), so YOU sue THEM to force the payment they owe. It's called 'inverse' because the roles are flipped: the owner starts the lawsuit instead of the government. Think of a neighbor who never asks but keeps parking on your driveway so you can't get out — eventually you go to them and say, 'You've basically taken my driveway, so pay up.'
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