When ODOT Wants Your Property: What Ohio Landowners Need to Know

When the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) or another government entity needs part of your property for a road improvement project, it’s important to understand that the State’s “good faith” offer is only a starting point. It is not necessarily indicative of the total compensation to which you are entitled. Importantly, Ohio law entitles you to both the full value of the property being taken and compensation for any damage the take does to your remaining property. That second category is where the good faith offer most often falls short.

These issues affect more Ohioans every year. According to publicly available data, ODOT’s 2026 construction season includes 977 projects worth about $3.4 billion, which ODOT calls a record. The work includes 739 bridges and about 4,562 miles of roadway. Of the projects identified, 36 are reportedly valued at over $10 million each. A portion of those funds is set aside for the acquisition of private property needed for the projects.

The formal appropriation process usually begins with the property owner receiving a packet called “Notice of Intent to Acquire and Good Faith Offer.” It describes the real property the government wants, attaches an appraisal or valuation of estimated compensation due, and states a dollar amount the State is offering to pay you. Many property owners assume the figure is fixed or that it reflects everything for which they should be compensated. Neither is necessarily true.

This article explains, in plain terms, how Ohio’s appropriation law works, what the State must do before it can take your property, the kinds of damages Ohio courts recognize, and why experienced legal assistance often changes the outcome.

The basics: what Ohio law guarantees

Ohio’s Constitution protects you. Article I, Section 19 provides in part that private property “shall ever be held inviolate, but subservient to the public welfare.” When property is taken for a public use such as roads, the owner must be compensated, and, perhaps most importantly, the owner is entitled to have a jury determine what amount of compensation is “just.”

Ohio Revised Code Chapter 163 sets out the procedure for these types of actions.

In a partial taking, which is what most road projects involve, you are owed two things:

• Compensation for the property taken. This is the fair market value of the land, buildings, and other improvements ODOT acquires, plus the value of any temporary or permanent easements.
• Damages to the residue. The “residue” is the property remaining after the take. If the remaining property is worth less after the taking than it was before, you are owed the difference. Ohio courts measure this by comparing the residue’s fair market value before and after the taking (Hilliard v. First Industrial, L.P., 2004-Ohio-5836, ¶ 5; Ohio Jury Instructions CV 609.09).

The distinction matters. ODOT’s good faith offers often value only the property being taken and assign little or no damages to the residue. In many takings, especially those involving commercial property, the ultimate damages negotiated by counsel or awarded by a jury for the decrease in value of the remaining property is by far the larger number.

The State’s duty to make a good faith offer

ODOT cannot simply file suit and take your land. R.C. Chapter 163 requires several steps, and each one gives you information and time.

1. Notice of intent to acquire. At least 30 days before filing an appropriation action (lawsuit) against a property owner, ODOT must deliver a written notice, personally or by certified mail, in the form set out in R.C. 163.041.
2. A written good faith offer. With that notice, or at least 30 days before filing, ODOT must give you a written good faith offer to purchase.
3. The appraisal. ODOT must obtain an appraisal and give you a copy at or before its first offer.
4. Negotiation impasse. ODOT may file an appropriation action only after it is unable to reach agreement with you as to the compensation owed.

Once the petition is filed, and in order to start work on or enter your property, ODOT must deposit its estimated value of compensation owed to you with the court. Property owners can ask the court to release that money to them (or their counsel) while they continue to contest the amount they are owed. This is particularly helpful as it provides property owners a means for funding legal fees.

Why the first offer is often low

In my experience, ODOT’s good faith offers follow a familiar pattern. Property is typically valued at a vacant per-acre rate, the temporary easement is assessed at a flat percentage rental value, and damages to the residue are rarely assessed.

Three cases illustrate how far apart a good faith offer and a final award can be:

Case	Good Faith Offer	Final Award
Wray v. Deters (1st Dist. 1996), residential sewer and construction easements	$3,140 total; temporary easement valued at $390	$15,125
Marchbanks v. Neema, L.L.C., 2025-Ohio-777 (6th Dist.), roundabout near gas station, elimination of drives	$47,475 total; 18-month temporary easements valued at $260	$452,020
City of Sandusky v. S & S Realty (Erie C.P. No. 2024 CV 0247), roundabout near entertainment complex, loss of parking	$148,156 total; temporary easement valued at $3,365	$1,250,465

In Deters, the court noted that ODOT’s temporary-easement number worked out to less than $11 a month for a 20-foot trench next to a family’s home. In Neema, the owner testified the good faith offer barely covered moving the gas station’s sign. In S & S Realty, the most accessible commercial drive to an entertainment complex was shifted to a less desirable location, and parking spaces were reduced.

Damages to the residue: Ohio takes a broad view

Any change that makes the residue less valuable on its own than it was as part of the whole may be considered.

In practice, that can include:

• Loss or alteration of driveways and access points
• Disrupted traffic flow and truck movement within the site
• Reduced parking, loss of signage, or setback and zoning problems created by the new right-of-way line
• A change in the property’s highest and best use, for example from a prime corner site to a less desirable interior lot

Damages must be established carefully, however, and generally require the testimony of a competent expert witness. This is most often accomplished through the services of a qualified appraiser working with knowledgeable counsel to frame the issues correctly.

Temporary easements: more than ground rent

A temporary construction easement lets the government occupy part of your property while the work is performed. On major road projects these easements commonly run two to three years. During that time, access drives may be intermittently closed, and the rest of the site may be hard to use.

ODOT and municipalities typically value a temporary easement at a flat rental rate of a portion of your property based on overall per-acre value. Ohio courts have rejected the idea that this is always the full measure of compensation owed. In contrast, when the construction work interferes with your use and enjoyment of the property, the nuisance unique to that property should be considered as part of the easement’s value. For instance:

• In Wray v. Deters, 111 Ohio App.3d 107 (1st Dist. 1996), ODOT dug a trench 20 feet deep and 7 feet wide within 9 feet of a family’s home, potentially for three years. The court held that these nuisance elements are properly considered in valuing a temporary easement.
• Deters followed Wray v. Parsson, 101 Ohio App.3d 514 (9th Dist. 1995), which reasoned that a prudent businessperson would weigh nuisance conditions in setting a fair market rental value.
• In S & S Realty, the jury awarded $719,440 in temporary easement compensation, recognizing the burden of ongoing construction in and around a combined entertainment, restaurant, and hotel complex.

Internal circulation: a recognized and often major loss

If you own land next to a public road, you have the right of reasonable access to that road. Any government action that substantially or unreasonably interferes with that access is a taking that must be compensated.

Ohio draws an important distinction here:

• Circuity of travel to and from your property is not compensable. If a median or road change means customers must drive a longer route to reach you, that burden is shared with the public.
• Circuity of travel within your property is compensable. This occurs when a drive, entrance, or exit is removed and no equivalent access point is created, so traffic can no longer move through the site the way it was originally designed to.

Commercial properties are especially damaged by these changes. Fuel stations, retail centers, restaurants, banks, industrial sites, and anything relying on deliveries or drive-through traffic depend on how efficiently vehicles enter, circulate, and exit the site. In Neema, ODOT’s traffic engineer relied on vehicle simulation software in concluding there was no adverse effect from the removal of two drives, but conceded the model ran one vehicle at a time and ignored parked vehicles and other factors unique to the site. The owner’s witnesses described the real-world congestion the removal of the two drives caused, and the jury was persuaded. I have found that juries understand instinctively that the removal of an access drive from a commercial property reduces its functionality and, hence, its value.

Why experienced legal representation matters

ODOT is represented in every appropriation by the Ohio Attorney General’s office and works with appraisers and engineers who routinely handle these projects. Most property owners go through this process once in their lifetime. Retaining an attorney who concentrates in appropriation law levels the playing field in important ways.

What to do when ODOT contacts you

1. Don’t sign anything without speaking to counsel. Signing a Right of Entry, Purchase Agreement, Deed, or Easement waives important rights. Take time to understand the nature of the take and what components make up the good faith offer.
2. Note your dates. Write down when you received the notice. ODOT must give you at least 30 days before it can file suit, and deadlines tighten quickly once a petition is served.
3. Read the plans, not just the offer. Ask for the right-of-way plans and the “plan letter.” Look for fee takes versus easements, the length of any temporary easement, any drive closures, and any reduction in parking or setbacks.
4. Walk the property with ODOT’s appraiser. You have a right to accompany the appraiser. R.C. 163.59. Point out access points, truck routes, loading areas, signage, parking, drainage, and how customers and deliveries actually move through the site.
5. Document how the property works today. Photos and video of traffic flow, deliveries, and peak-season activity are valuable evidence. Gather leases, evidence of recent improvements, and any prior appraisals.
6. Compare the offer to the categories in this article. Does the offer compensate for any damage to the residue? For the real burden of the temporary easement? For lost or changed access?
7. Talk to an appropriation attorney early. As soon as you receive a good faith offer or notice of an appropriation action against you, an attorney can help you estimate the compensation you are actually owed.

The bottom line

The Ohio Constitution promises a property owner full compensation for property being appropriated, and Ohio courts have consistently recognized losses that the government’s good faith offer tends to leave out: damage to the residue, the real burden of multi-year construction easements, and lost or altered access that disrupts how a site functions. A good faith offer is ODOT’s opening position. With the right evidence and advocacy, it rarely needs to be the last word. As demonstrated in the cases above, final awards ranged from roughly five to more than nine times the original good faith offer. My partners and I at Wickens Herzer Panza would be happy to help you navigate this process.

This article provides an overview and summary of the matters described therein. It is not intended to be and should not be construed as legal advice on the particular subject.