IJ Pillar
Private Property
The government has extraordinary power to take, regulate, and destroy private property — and too often it abuses that power. IJ fights back.
Today, two of the greatest threats to private property rights are the abuse of eminent domain and civil forfeiture laws. Eminent domain is the power of the government to take private property for a “public use,” like bridges or roads. But in the 1990s and early 2000s, local governments increasingly used eminent domain for private development. In Kelo v. New London, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government could condemn homes and businesses, not for a genuine public use but to hand them over to private developers. We are committed to defending property owners who face eminent domain for private gain.
Civil forfeiture allows law enforcement to seize and keep private property, even if the owner has never been charged with a crime. We are leading the charge to restore due process and respect for property rights. No one should lose his or her property without being convicted of a crime.
Private Property Issues
Eminent Domain
Under the power of eminent domain, the government can take private property. IJ seeks to restore strict limits for when the government can use this power.
Ending Civil Forfeiture
Under civil forfeiture, people can permanently lose their property without a criminal conviction or even charges. This is one of the gravest abuses of power in the country today, and IJ aims to put a stop to it.
Other Property Rights Abuses
The right to own and use private property is a cornerstone of a free society. But rather than respect these rights, many local governments are…
Right to Shelter
Intrusive zoning laws are some of the biggest obstacles to creating affordable homes. Zoning regulates even the minutest detail of our lives and can be the difference…
SWAT Destruction
IJ Ensures Americans Receive Just Compensation When the Government Takes or Destroys Their Property
Zoning
The local use of zoning was first blessed by the U.S. Supreme Court in its controversial 1926 decision in Euclid v. Ambler Realty. And since that decision,…
Private Property Cases
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Phoenix-area small business files federal lawsuit after federal agents raid business, seize money
The Case On the morning of Feb. 25, 2025, Mario Ayala was in Mexico visiting his dying father. Unfortunately, Mario had to cut that trip short. The reason? Federal agents…
Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Connecticut family takes legal action after town threatens to ban them from having hikers on property
Connecticut family takes legal action after town threatens to ban them from having hikers on property.
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Washington Physical Therapist Sues Leavenworth for the Right to Run a Small In-home Practice in Her Own Home
The town of Leavenworth, Wa. banned Nicole Bulow’s quiet, home-based physical therapy practice — while permitting nearly identical home businesses like massage therapy and salons. Now she's fighting back.
Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Retiree’s Construction of Dream Home Blocked by Nonsensical Zoning from City After Decades of Planning
Art Yatsko has been working towards a dream for the last 20 years. But as Art was ready to begin construction, he was told he could no longer build a modest single-family home in his neighborhood—it had been rezoned, along with every other open lot of land in his neighborhood.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Pennsylvania real estate broker files lawsuit challenging law requiring brokers to have brick-and-mortar offices
Pennsylvania real estate broker Kevin Gaughen has filed a lawsuit alongside the Institute for Justice challenging a law requiring brokers in Pennsylvania to have brick-and-mortar offices.
Latest Private Property Events
Zoning Justice Project
Short Circuit Live: 100 Years of Zoning—and Reform—in Cambridge
Join us for a live recording of the Short Circuit podcast! Monday, October 19, 2026 at 12pm the Sheraton Commander Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Appropriately for the location, it’s a very Cambridge-focused episode.
Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Making Room: Re-Legalizing America’s Most Affordable Housing Option
Join the Institute for Justice for a webinar exploring how relegalizing co-living or single-room occupancies (SROs) can expand affordable housing, strengthen property rights, and reduce homelessness – without new spending or bureaucracy. Featuring policy…
Zoning Justice Project
Breaking Barriers: Zoning Reform as a Solution to America’s Housing Crisis
Join the Institute for Justice and special guests for an in-depth look at zoning reform as a practical, market-driven solution to America’s housing crisis. This webinar will explain how restrictive zoning laws fuel the…
Private Property News
Court Says Marion County Must Clearly State What Crime Was Committed Before Taking Money Seized at FedEx Hub
INDIANAPOLIS—Henry and Minh Cheng, California jewelry sellers, had to fight for $42,000 that Indianapolis police seized at the FedEx shipping hub. A decision in their class action lawsuit finds nothing…
South Bend Mom’s Fight for Compensation After Police Wrecked Her Home Heads to State Court After Supreme Court Turns Down Appeal
WASHINGTON—Amy Hadley’s South Bend home was wrecked in June 2022 when police raided it looking for a fugitive who was never there and who had no connection to the family. After…
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Los Angeles Business Owner’s Case Seeking Compensation After SWAT Team Destroyed Shop
WASHINGTON—Today, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear a Los Angeles small business owner’s lawsuit seeking compensation after a SWAT team destroyed his print shop while pursuing a fugitive…
Brentwood’s Arguments About its Blight Designation and Eminent Domain Don’t Hold Up
ARLINGTON, Va.—Brentwood, Missouri has designated blocks of the Manchester Road Corridor as blighted, a first step in an envisioned plan to redevelop the neighborhood. Several small businesses are fighting those blight…
Federal Court Grants Preliminary Approval to Settlement in Brookside, Alabama Policing-for-Profit Lawsuit
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—A federal court granted preliminary approval of a class-action settlement in the Institute for Justice’s (IJ) policing-for-profit lawsuit against the town of Brookside, Alabama. Class members will soon be…
Pottstown Residents File Second Lawsuit After Borough Tries to Circumvent Court Ruling with New Rental Inspection Law
POTTSTOWN, Pa.—Yesterday, Pottstown tenants Dottie and Eddy Rivera, their landlord, Steve Camburn, and their attorneys from the Institute for Justice (IJ) filed a second lawsuit against the borough, this time challenging…
Private Property Legislation
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Restoring Options in Occupancy Models (ROOM) Act
Co-living or single-room occupancy (SRO) housing was once a common and lawful part of America’s housing landscape, from spare bedrooms and small boarding houses to large residential hotels in the city. Together, these rooms…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Criminal Forfeiture Process Act
Civil forfeiture allows the government to seize cars, cash, and other property with few safeguards for property owners. To lose your property in most states, prosecutors do not have to charge you, let…
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Housing Opportunities Made Easier (HOME) Act
America’s housing shortage has many causes, but burdensome zoning laws make it harder for property owners to build homes and harder for families to find them. Scholars, state legislators, and municipal officials from different backgrounds increasingly agree that expanding housing supply requires…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Anti-Circumvention Forfeiture Act
Under civil forfeiture, the state can permanently confiscate your cash, car, and other property—without a prosecutor convicting or even charging you with a crime. Although some states have acted to protect innocent property owners,…
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Fair Funding for Courts Act
The justice system is a core government function that benefits all Americans. State legislators should fund courts from general revenue, not from individuals involved in the system. Fees charged to users of the judicial system are hidden taxes that cause numerous problems. …
Private Property Research
SWAT Destruction
Public Benefit Private Burden
This study finds governments frequently refuse to compensate people when law enforcement damages their property for the common good—even though they could easily afford to make worthy owners whole.
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Policing for Profit 4
This fourth edition of IJ’s Policing for Profit report finds civil forfeiture is a massive unjustified threat to property and due process rights.
Private Property Podcasts
October 08, 2026
IJ's NEW STUDY: Who Pays When SWAT Wrecks Your House?
If police destroyed your home while chasing a fugitive, would the government pay for the damage? All too often, the answer is no. A first-of-its-kind national study from […]
Listen NowJune 05, 2026
SEIZED CASH: Americans Struggle to Get Property Back
In America, police and prosecutors can take your cash, your car, or even your home through a legal process called civil forfeiture—without convicting or even […]
Listen NowMarch 26, 2026
City Tried to CONDEMN Property Over 2 Stray Cats
What happens when the government tries to take well-kept homes and businesses by slapping them with a “blight” label that doesn’t fit? Perth Amboy, New […]
Listen NowFebruary 26, 2026
NYC has 1000’s of empty apartments. You'll never guess why.
New York City is in a housing crisis—and according to official statistics, roughly 26,000 rent stabilized apartments sit vacant. That’s because New York City law […]
Listen Now