Texas Property Code 21.101 – Right of Repurchase
(a) A person from whom a real property interest is acquired by an entity through eminent domain for a public use, or that person’s heirs, successors, or assigns, is entitled to repurchase the property as provided by this subchapter if:
(1) the public use for which the property was acquired through eminent domain is canceled before the property is used for that public use;
(2) no actual progress is made toward the public use for which the property was acquired between the date of acquisition and the 10th anniversary of that date; or
(3) the property becomes unnecessary for the public use for which the property was acquired, or a substantially similar public use, before the 10th anniversary of the date of acquisition.
(b) In this section, “actual progress” means the completion of three or more of the following actions:
(1) the performance of a significant amount of labor to develop the property or other property acquired for the same public use project for which the property owner’s property was acquired;
(2) the provision of a significant amount of materials to develop the property or other property acquired for the same public use project for which the property owner’s property was acquired;
(3) the hiring of or contracting with and the performance of a significant amount of work by an architect, engineer, or surveyor to prepare a plan, plat, or easement that includes the property or other property acquired for the same public use project for which the property owner’s property was acquired;
(4) application for state or federal funds to develop the property or other property acquired for the same public use project for which the property owner’s property was acquired; or
(5) application for a state or federal permit or certificate to develop the property or other property acquired for the same public use project for which the property owner’s property was acquired.
Terms Used In Texas Property Code 21.101
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a navigation district or port authority, or a water district implementing a project included in the state water plan adopted by the Texas Water Development Board, may establish actual progress for purposes of this section by:
(1) the completion of one action described by Subsection (b); and
(2) the adoption by a majority of the entity’s governing body at a public hearing of a development plan for a public use project that indicates that the entity will not complete more than one action described by Subsection (b) before the 10th anniversary of the date of acquisition of the property.
(c) A district court may determine all issues in any suit regarding the repurchase of a real property interest acquired through eminent domain by the former property owner or the owner’s heirs, successors, or assigns.