(a) Except to the extent limited by statute, any person authorized to acquire property for a particular use by eminent domain may exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire any interest in property necessary for that use including, but not limited to, submerged lands, rights of any nature in water, subsurface rights, airspace rights, flowage or flooding easements, aircraft noise or operation easements, right of temporary occupancy, public utility facilities and franchises, and franchises to collect tolls on a bridge or highway.
§ 1240.110.Acquisition of Interest In Property Necessary For Particular Use
Title 7. Eminent Domain Law · Chapter 3. The Right to Take · Article 2. Rights Included in Grant of Eminent Domain Authority · Enacted 1975 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1240.110 lets a person authorized to condemn property for a particular use acquire any interest necessary for that use, including water rights, subsurface and airspace rights, flowage easements, and franchises, while making clear that a statute limiting the condemnor to specific interests or property types is not expanded by this section.
Full Text of § 1240.110
(b) Where a statute authorizes the acquisition by eminent domain only of specified interests in or types of property, this section does not expand the scope of the authority so granted.
Plain-English Summary
Authority to condemn property for a use doesn't automatically specify which interest in that property the condemnor may take. Section 1240.110 fills that gap with a broad, non-exclusive list: submerged lands, water rights of any nature, subsurface rights, airspace rights, flowage or flooding easements, aircraft noise or operation easements, temporary occupancy rights, public utility facilities and franchises, and bridge or highway toll franchises all count as interests a condemnor may reach when necessary for its authorized use.
Subdivision (b) keeps this breadth in check. Where a separate statute narrows a particular condemnor to specific interests or types of property, § 1240.110 doesn't override that narrower grant. The section adds flexibility where the law is silent on what interest to take; it doesn't erase limits the Legislature has already written elsewhere.
In practice, this means a condemnor authorized to build a road, for instance, isn't confined to acquiring fee title. It may take only an easement, or only subsurface rights, whichever interest serves the project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a condemnor take less than full title to property?
Yes. Section 1240.110 lets an authorized condemnor acquire any interest necessary for its use, which can mean an easement or a more limited right rather than fee title.
Does this section expand a condemnor's authority beyond what its own statute allows?
No. Subdivision (b) says that where a statute limits a condemnor to specific interests or property types, § 1240.110 does not expand that authority.
What kinds of interests does this section list as examples?
Submerged lands, water rights, subsurface and airspace rights, flowage and flooding easements, aircraft noise or operation easements, temporary occupancy, utility facilities and franchises, and bridge or highway toll franchises, a non-exclusive list.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1975, Ch. 1275.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
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