How does the government exercise control over private property rights?

The government exercises control over private property rights primarily through eminent domain. This legal principle allows the government to take private property for public use, provided that the property owners are compensated fairly. Eminent domain is rooted in the idea that the government has an obligation to develop infrastructure and provide services that benefit the greater community, such as highways, schools, and parks.

Although other options such as tax assessment, property leasing, and land use planning play roles in how property is managed and regulated, they do not represent a direct exercise of governmental power to claim private property for public purpose. Tax assessments can influence property value and ownership costs, property leasing typically involves various agreements between private parties, and land use planning guides how land can be developed and used but does not equate to taking ownership. Eminent domain specifically allows the government to override private ownership rights in favor of public needs, making it the most direct form of governmental control over private property rights.