If you’ve been out of home long enough you’ll get a condemnation notice when a municipality or the state wishes to condemn and remove your billboard to widen a road or put in a new road. Condemnation revenues add up. On OUTFRONT Media’s first quarter 2026 conference call, CEO Nick Brien mentioned OUTRONT earned $13.5 million in condemnation revenue during the quarter. Here’s what to do to win the condemnation game.
See if you can move the sign.
States and municipalities don’t like to pay a large sum when a sign is condemned. They have inventive to permit you to move the billboard in order to avoid a large payout. The first thing you should do when you get a condemnation notice is to research whether your billboard can be moved. The condemnation authority may work with you on issuing a new permit in order to save money.
Lawyer up.
Get a lawyer involved no matter how good your relations are with the condemnation authority. Noone can protect your rights better. A good out of home attorney will also be able to tell you what your rights are under your state and local laws. Most states require the condemnation authority to pay you fair market value for your billboard – the amount of money which you will receive in an arms length normal course of business sale of the asset.
Never accept the first offer.
Always negotiate. Don’t accept the first offer. Sometimes the offer will be based on paying you for the depreciated value of your billboard or some concept of moving costs plus construction costs. Most states require a payment of fair market value for condemned assets, not liquidation costs or build costs. Make a counter proposal to the condemnation authorities offer and support your request with facts like a brokers opinion or a valuation prepared by SignValue or Stark Capital Solutions.
Lawyer incentives matter.
Give your lawyer incentive to negotiate effectively and efficiently. Instead of paying an hourly rate, offer to pay your attorney 50% of any increase in value which they negotiate above the condemnation authority’s initial offer. Your attorney will work hard and efficiently. They win when you win.
What have you learned about winning the condemnation game? Email davewestburg@billboardinsider.com and we’ll run a followup article.
We’ve written quite a bit about condemnation. Here are our most recent articles.
Andy Goodman on What to do When You Receive a Condemnation Letter
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