How are private property rights treated in Georgia?

• A. Property rights are protected under due process and equal protection, with eminent domain requiring just compensation for public use.
• B. Property rights are not protected in Georgia.
• C. Eminent domain can take property without compensation.
• D. Property rights apply only to individuals, not corporations.

Answer: (A)

In Georgia, private property rights are safeguarded by the state constitution through due process and equal protection. That means the government can’t take your property or deprive you of it without a fair procedure, and it must treat similarly situated property owners alike. When the government does exercise eminent domain, it may take private property only for a public use or public purpose, and the owner must receive just compensation—usually the fair market value of the property.

So property rights aren’t vanishingly broad or arbitrary; they’re protected against improper taking, and the government must pay you for property taken for public needs. This aligns with the idea that rights exist for both individuals and corporate owners, and it rules out the notions that property rights aren’t protected at all, that eminent domain can take property without compensation, or that only individuals (not corporations) have such rights.