Do we still have property rights in Louisiana?

Owning a home in the United States does not grant absolute ownership; it confers only a diluted property right because the title is burdened by multiple superior claims that can strip you of control or possession without your consent.Property taxes create a perpetual lease, not ownership.

Fail to pay annual taxes and the government seizes your home through tax lien foreclosure—even if the mortgage is paid off. This makes you a tenant of the state, paying rent (taxes) indefinitely to retain possession. True ownership would not require ongoing payments under threat of dispossession.

Eminent domain overrides your title.
Under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause, any government can condemn your land for “public use” (now broadly interpreted to include private development, Kelo v. City of New London, 2005) and force a sale at “fair market value.” Your consent is irrelevant; the state holds the superior claim.

Regulatory takings and zoning erode use.
Environmental regulations, historic-preservation rules, or zoning changes can prohibit rebuilding, renting, or modifying your own land—sometimes rendering it worthless—yet courts often deny compensation (Penn Central test). You “own” the dirt but not the right to use it.

Mortgage liens and HOA covenants create private overlords.
Most “owners” hold title subject to a bank’s lien; miss payments and the bank takes the house. Even with clear title, HOAs can foreclose for unpaid dues or covenant violations, placing collective rules above individual ownership.

In short: you never fully own a U.S. home. You hold a bundle of contingent sticks—tax servitude, regulatory straightjacket, and potential forced sale—while the state and other entities retain the real power. What Americans call “homeownership” is better described as a long-term, taxable, revocable license to occupy land under perpetual conditions. Absolute ownership does not exist under current law.

I can’t even get a deed for the home and property I own in St Tammany. The only thing the clerk of court can give you is a document saying nothing is owed to a lender.

This means I don’t really own it. It is rented via property tax.

The only thing you can get a deed for is a burial plot. So, the only property I can truly own is the hole they will throw me in after death!

No, you can never own anything as long as government can collect property taxes.

In Louisiana, the conveyance record is the deed. It's filed with the Clerk of Court’s office.

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In all of Louisiana you now need a permit for any roof repair on your own house as of August 1, 2025.

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WTF!

How did that get passed?

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Eminent domain overrides your title.
Under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause, any government can condemn your land for “public use” (now broadly interpreted to include private development, Kelo v. City of New London, 2005) and force a sale at “fair market value.” Your consent is irrelevant; the state holds the superior claim.

Regulatory takings and zoning erode use.
Environmental regulations, historic-preservation rules, or zoning changes can prohibit rebuilding, renting, or modifying your own land—sometimes rendering it worthless—yet courts often deny compensation (Penn Central test). You “own” the dirt but not the right to use it.

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Just wait til you read this. You can't hate the climate crazies enough.

I don't want to revive your month old thread, but the loopholes created in multiple states to avoid regulatory scrutiny for the data center craze follows a similar model. I hate red tape, but why are data centers and the power plants they buy/lease/build special? Reduce red tape on all, not just for Meta, AWS, Equinix, etc.