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Title 40 — Public Buildings, Property, and WorksRelease 119-73not60

§8121 Improper Appropriation of Streets

Title 40 › Subtitle SUBTITLE II— PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND WORKS › Part D— PUBLIC BUILDINGS, GROUNDS, AND PARKS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA › Chapter 81— ADMINISTRATIVE › Subchapter II— JURISDICTION › § 8121

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior must stop people from taking over any federal street, avenue, square, or reservation in Washington, D.C. The Secretary must retake any public area taken unlawfully, prevent permanent buildings on government-reserved land unless a law allows it, and send Congress, at the beginning of each session, a report listing those properties and how they are occupied or claimed. This does not stop temporary, lawful use of those areas by the government for proper government purposes.

Full Legal Text

Title 40, §8121

Public Buildings, Property, and Works — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of the Interior shall—
(1)prevent the improper appropriation or occupation of any public street, avenue, square, or reservation in the District of Columbia that belongs to the Federal Government;
(2)reclaim the street, avenue, square, or reservation if unlawfully appropriated;
(3)prevent the erection of any permanent building on property reserved to or for the use of the Government, unless plainly authorized by law; and
(4)report to Congress at the beginning of each session on the Secretary’s proceedings in the premises, together with a full statement of all property described in this subsection, and how, and by what authority, the property is occupied or claimed.
(b)This section does not interfere with the temporary and proper occupation of any part of the property described in subsection (a), by lawful authority, for the legitimate purposes of the Government.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 812140:66.R.S. § 1818. In subsection (a)(1), the words “the District of Columbia” are substituted for “the city of Washington” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code. In subsection (a)(3), the word “particularly” is omitted as unnecessary.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

40 U.S.C. § 8121

Title 40 — Public Buildings, Property, and Works

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60