Shakedown in Miami: City Presses Deed Holder to Give Up Front Yard Space for Potential Street Expansion

Chad is a deed holder in Miami. He says the city is trying to take front yard space away from him. He only wanted to create a backyard dwelling unit. When he requested permission, Miami insisted that Chad must transfer a part of his front yard to the city.

What’s more, the strange process Miami is trying to apply to Chad could impact more than 1,000 other homes. A lawsuit is now underway.

Chad just filed an amended complaint against Miami, in the opening week of December 2025. The initial filing in the lawsuit occurred in April. Chad was representing himself in court. Now, Chad has a legal team.

How It Started

In 2021, Chad and Stephanie bought their Buena Vista, Miami home for more than $700K. They were ready to start a family. And they soon decided to build an in-law cottage on their land.

So, soon after buying the home, the couple submitted a permit application to the Miami zoning officials. They hoped to add the new unit to the back of the home. Stephanie’s parents could then move onto the property. In return, her parents were willing to care for the couple’s child.

But the zoning department turned down the request. Miami was unwilling to issue a permit for an addition unless and until Chad transferred a permanent deed for part of the front yard. Miami wants 500 square feet of the land that runs along the street — half of the couple’s front yard!

According to Chad’s legal filing, Miami refused to issue the permit for 20 months. Why would the city reply to a permit for building a cottage in the back of the home — with a demand to give up land in the front of the home?

If Miami wanted to create setbacks, there’s a process for that. Actually taking property isn’t that process.  

And indeed, the Miami planners “didn’t seem to have any concerns with his building plan,” as the Institute for Justice has observed. “It simply saw an opportunity to force Chad to give up part of his property.”

Attorney Benjamin Marsh adds: “This is theft by extortion.”

How It’s Going

Since that time, the couple has secured a legal team from the Institute for Justice. According to the firm’s website, it “defends ordinary people who want to earn an honest living [and] own and enjoy their property,” and it “litigates to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans.” The firm offers its services free of charge for the cases its lawyers decide to take on.

The firm sees the case as an effort to protect this family’s property rights — and those of all Miami deed holders.

Once attorneys got involved, the city approved the couple’s zoning waiver request. So, that’s going well. Sort of.

The couple’s lawyers say the accessory housing unit will cost more than $200K in extra funds to install. They’d have saved a lot of money if they could have started work earlier. The permit application was submitted early in 2024, well over a year before Miami finally decided to allow the installation of the cottage. Builders’ costs have only gone up since then.

And that’s not the only trouble the city has caused with its delayed building permit for Chad’s family. The delay came with emotional and logistical costs. Stephanie took the couple’s child to South Carolina, where they are living until the cottage can be built. That’s left Chad home without his family.  

Chad’s zoning waiver is for the accessory unit only. What if the family wants another permit, for some other reason? Would the household be asked to give up half their front yard at that point?

What This Case Stands For

Miami, says the Institute for Justice, in the amended lawsuit, has been “systematically extorting hundreds” of Miami deed holders. The lawyers assert that 1,000+ additional deed holders are at risk of being approached for more takings. Miami’s procedures unjustly subject deed holders “to a shakedown.”

The current lawsuit for the deed holders’ property rights asserts:

• People have a lawful right to use and exclude others from their own property.

• The right to prevent the government from unlawfully taking private property has been recognized throughout U.S. history.   

• Per the U.S. Constitution, Miami may not expand public rights-of-way without paying fair compensation for the takings. The claim has its basis in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments on the taking of private property, and due process of law.

• When a deed holder applies for a permit or a zoning variance to make an improvement on a property, a city is only allowed to determine whether the permit application is acceptable under the relevant law and procedure. A city may not make the permit contingent on unrelated demands.

The Institute for Justice claims Chad’s case is part of a years-long pattern of operating. Hundreds of people on certain streets have already been deprived of their rights, say the lawyers. Whether a deed holder plans to remodel a room, expand a kitchen, or install a backyard cottage, Miami could see fit to hit the applicant up for a piece of their property. The lawyers believe the city has “adopted a policy” of demanding land from deed holders who apply for zoning waivers. The city is stockpiling the land, says the lawyers, to enable it to carry out road widening on sixty-six streets throughout the city.

A Deed Holder’s Rights Are Worth Protecting

When a government permanently takes some of a land owner’s property, the legal description on the deed will be changed. The corresponding value of the deed holder’s property will also change. In addition, there might be a busier, larger road put in front of the land. Or perhaps the government will put utility equipment, cables, or pipelines along the property. Various aspects of a taking can devalue the deed holder’s rights substantially.

Federal and state Constitutional law says governments may not devalue a person’s deed without at least providing fair compensation. And states have procedures that cities are supposed to follow if they need to take land. They can’t just put pressure on deed holders to hand over property.

We all need to stay alert. Especially because new eminent domain issues will arise in a time of climate change. The case of Chad and Stephanie’s family will be important to anyone who cares about what’s at stake ahead.