Does the Government Have to Pay Me for My Property?

If the government needs your land for a public use or purpose, it can take it, but it must pay you. This requirement comes from the "Takings" Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and from the “Law of the Land” Clause in Article I, Section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution.

The Fifth Amendment provides: "[N]or shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."