PETE: The 4 Government Powers Over Property (Explained)

The exam loves the four government powers, memorized as PETE:

P — Police Power

Regulation for health, safety and welfare: zoning, building codes, environmental rules. No compensation is owed. Exam cue: any question about zoning or codes is police power.

E — Eminent Domain

Taking private property for public use WITH just compensation, through condemnation. If the owner sues claiming a taking happened, that's inverse condemnation.

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T — Taxation

Property (ad valorem) taxes — unpaid taxes become a lien senior to almost everything else.

E — Escheat

Property reverts to the state when someone dies with no will and no heirs — the state's backstop so property never becomes ownerless.

How it's tested

Expect "which power is this?" scenarios: a city rezones (police power), a highway takes a strip of land with payment (eminent domain), an owner dies intestate with no relatives (escheat). Know the compensation rule — eminent domain pays, police power doesn't.

This is one of 78 cheat sheets in Cinna RE — with practice questions that test each power.

Put this into practice

National and state questions for 25 states, each with a rationale, plus timed mock exams. Free to start on the web and on your phone.

National + state questions for 25 states

Rationale on every answer

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