Modes of Acquiring Property

Division 2, Part 4, Title 1 provides deals with modes in which property may be acquired. Section 1000 specifies that property is acquired by occupancy; accession; transfer; will; or, succession.

Section 1001 defines the term “utility service.” Any owner of real property may acquire by eminent domain an appurtenant easement to provide utility service to the owner’s property. In lieu of the requirements of law, the power of eminent domain may be exercised to acquire an appurtenant easement under this section only if the three specified requirements are established.

Section 1002 states that the power of eminent domain may be exercised by an owner of real property to acquire a temporary right to enter upon adjacent or nearby property to repair or reconstruct land or improvements, if all of the three specified conditions are established or met.

No entry is to be made upon the property to be condemned until an eminent domain proceeding has been commenced and then only after a court order permitting entry is issued or after judgment is entered for the plaintiff. A deposit of security, in the form of cash or a bond, is required to be made to the court in an amount the court determines is necessary to permit the owner of the adjacent or nearby property to restore the property to the condition it was in prior to the entry.

The court may order the person acquiring the temporary right to enter the land of another, pursuant to this section, to pay the owner of the land subject to that temporary right a reasonable amount of rent for the use of the land. The terms “adjacent” and “nearby” are defined. The provisions of this section do not apply to the temporary entry upon lands used primarily for the commercial production of agricultural commodities and forest products.