Short answer. Upon paying you the compensation fixed by judgment plus legal interest from the taking of possession, or after tendering that amount and paying costs, the government may enter and use the property; if you refuse to accept payment, it is deposited in court with the same effect as actual payment.
What the law says
Upon payment by the plaintiff to the defendant of the compensation fixed by the judgment, with legal interest thereon from the taking of the possession of the property, or after tender to him of the amount so fixed and payment of the costs, the plaintiff shall have the right to enter upon the property expropriated and to appropriate it for the public use or purpose defined in the judgment, or to retain it should he have taken immediate possession thereof under the provisions of section 2 hereof.
Rule 67, Section 10 — Rights of plaintiff after judgment and payment. Read the full provision →
Payment or tender as the trigger
The government's right to enter and appropriate the property for the public use or purpose defined in the judgment arises upon payment to the defendant of the compensation fixed by the judgment, together with legal interest from the taking of possession, or after tendering that amount and paying costs if the defendant has not yet been directly paid. Payment or a valid tender is therefore the condition, not the judgment alone.
If the property was already possessed
This same payment trigger also governs whether the government may retain the property, in situations where it had already taken immediate possession earlier in the proceedings, so payment or tender functions as the point at which provisional possession becomes a right to keep and use the property. Without that payment, even an entity already occupying the land under earlier proceedings has no confirmed right to remain, and continues to hold the property on a merely provisional basis.
What happens if the defendant refuses payment
If the defendant and their counsel are absent from court, or decline to receive the tendered amount, the rule does not let that refusal block the process: the amount is instead ordered deposited in court, and that deposit has the same legal effect as if actual payment had been made to the defendant or to whoever is ultimately adjudged entitled to it.
Why a refusal cannot stop the process
If a defendant's refusal to accept payment could freeze the proceeding indefinitely, an unwilling owner would have an easy way to prevent a public project from ever going forward, no matter how genuine the government's compensation offer was. Treating a court deposit as equivalent to actual payment closes that loophole while still ensuring the defendant's compensation is set aside and available.
Related provisions
- Rule 67, Section 10 — Rights of plaintiff after judgment and payment
- Rule 67, Section 4 — Order of expropriation
- Rule 67, Section 9 — Uncertain ownership; conflicting claims