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Know your rights

Your rights as a homeowner, in plain words — from the U.S. Constitution, federal law and your state's law — with every statute, regulation and court case behind them.

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General information about the law, not legal advice. A right applying on paper does not predict how a case will turn out. Free legal aid can look at your situation.

The Constitution

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3 rights

U.S. ConstitutionVerified Sep 23, 2026

The right to real notice before the government takes or sells your home

U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1Due Process Clause

Before a state or county sells your property — for example at a tax sale, or through a court foreclosure — the Constitution requires notice that is reasonably likely to actually reach you. If the government knows your address, publishing a notice in the newspaper is not enough. If a mailed notice comes back unclaimed, the government must take extra reasonable steps to reach you, if it practicably can.

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U.S. ConstitutionVerified Sep 23, 2026

The government cannot keep your home equity beyond the tax debt

U.S. Const. amend. VTakings Clause

If your home is taken or sold to pay property taxes, the government may collect what you owe, but it may not keep the extra value. Keeping the surplus is a "taking" of your property without just compensation, which the Fifth Amendment forbids (Tyler v. Hennepin County, 2023). You may be able to claim the surplus, but you usually must follow your state's claim process and deadlines.

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U.S. ConstitutionVerified Sep 23, 2026

The right to be heard in court, and to speak for yourself

U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1Due Process Clause

Due process means that before the government, through a court, takes your property, you must get a meaningful chance to be heard. In federal court, you have a legal right to present your own case without a lawyer. Most state courts also let people represent themselves, under state rules.

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Ask Techy about your rights

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The Constitution protects everyone, federal law applies in every state, and your state adds its own rights.

The Constitution

3 rights

Due process, fair notice and just compensation — limits on what the government may do.

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Federal law

55 rights

Rules for servicers, debt collectors, bankruptcy, servicemembers, renters and government-backed loans.

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Your state

317 rights

Choose your state to see its own rights.

How we verify

  1. Every right is written from its official source — the Constitution, the U.S. Code, the Code of Federal Regulations or your state's own statutes — and cited down to the paragraph.
  2. A right is marked verified only after someone fetched the official text, recorded the date and the web address, and copied a short passage word for word.
  3. Anything not checked that way is labelled “not yet verified”, so you know to double-check it.
  4. Court cases come from Techoclaro's case library, each linked to the court's opinion. Techy never invents a citation; any it cannot back up is removed.

What the labels mean

Verified — checked against the official text on the date shown.

Not yet verified — written from the law but not yet re-checked word for word. Confirm it before relying on it.

360 of 375 rights verified