Do you own property in Pennsylvania? You may wonder whether an individual or a government entity can take your property away from you despite your property rights. You can protect your property rights against others by maintaining the property and posting No Trespassing signs. Pennsylvania’s Property Rights Protection Act limits the power of government entities to seize your property through eminent domain. If you need to defend your property rights in Pennsylvania, a lawyer experienced in real estate law can help.
Adverse Possession in Pennsylvania
Someone can take your property in Pennsylvania by squatting on your land against your will. However, it isn’t easy. To claim adverse possession in Pennsylvania, a person must publicly and exclusively use the property for 21 years. This would only be possible if you did not attempt to evict and keep them out despite their open and hostile use of your property. To defend your property rights against squatters in Pennsylvania, you should:
- Post No Trespassing signs.
- Keep the property maintained.
- Fence the property if possible.
Eminent Domain
Eminent domain is the government’s right to take private property for public use after compensating the owner. While government entities have the right to seize private property under eminent domain, property owners can challenge any attempt. The Property Rights Protection Act limits the government’s authority to use eminent domain in Pennsylvania.
Challenging Eminent Domain
If your state or local government is trying to seize your property through eminent domain, you can challenge the attempt if:
- The government is not offering you fair market value for your property.
- The government is trying to seize your property on behalf of a private business.
- The government does not have valid grounds to declare the property blighted.
Talk to a Pennsylvania property rights lawyer about what you can do to challenge eminent domain.
The Property Rights Protection Act
Pennsylvania’s Property Rights Protection Act limits the use of eminent domain. With some exceptions, governments are prohibited from taking private property for use by any private enterprise. That means the government cannot seize your property for the benefit of a business, even if that business wants to develop the property for the public good.
Exceptions in the Property Rights Protection Act
The ban on seizing private property on behalf of a private enterprise does not apply if:
- The private enterprise is a common carrier, utility, or railway.
- The private enterprise is an incidental part of a larger public development, such as a restaurant or retail space attached to a public project.
- The property being taken is abandoned, blighted, a public nuisance, or a health and safety hazard.
Blighted Properties
The Property Rights Protection Act limits the government’s power to declare a property blighted to seize that property through eminent domain. A government can declare property blighted if the property contains:
- A public nuisance
- An attractive nuisance that endangers children, such as an abandoned well, shaft, basement, excavation, unsafe fence, or unsafe structure
- A dwelling unfit for human habitation due to vermin or unsafe conditions
- A fire hazard
- A structure without working utilities, heating, or plumbing
- A vacant lot with trash or rodents in it
- An unoccupied property that has been tax delinquent for at least two years
The government can also declare a property blighted if it is abandoned, has a defective title, or is environmentally hazardous.
Contact a Pennsylvania Property Rights Lawyer Today
No one has the right to take your property from you arbitrarily. If squatters are trying to seize your property through adverse possession or the government is trying to take your property unfairly, Gusty Sunsei & Associates can help. If you have a property rights issue in Pennsylvania, contact Gusty Sunseri & Associates, P.C. today.