SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT HOA COVENANTS SERIES

The issue here is selective enforcement.' For example, if you bought a unit with a pet and that was allowed, and then the board changes that provision, you're grandfathered in because boards can enact rules only prospectively, not retrospectively. 'Because you owned before the changes, you have inherent rights. 'With grandfathering, you buy a property with certain rules and declarations, and then they change,' he explains. Simone is on the board of his own condo association, but he doesn't represent or advise community associations in his legal role at the management company. 'I think the question asks about grandfathering versus the real issue, which is selective enforcement,' contends Frank Simone, general counsel at KW Property Management in Miami. Our experts think the true problem in the case of the disorganized docks is inconsistent enforcement. Here, our experts answer our first reader's question about grandfathering and explain the issue our second reader raises. (You can read and respond to the posts on the Discussion Forum here.)

So, now there's no restriction on docks.' Apparently, when you don't regularly enforce deed restrictions, they become unenforceable. When an owner decided to do construct a larger dock than was permitted (but smaller than some grandfathered docks) and the board said to follow the rules, the owner went to court. As a result, we have a mish-mash of allowed and not allowed docks.

Others told people to adhere to the rules. 'We have people who saw those grandfathered docks and decided to put in ones like them. But when they want to replace them with something newer, they lose that grandfathering. What can be done? Can a new board reverse this awful decision? We want to allow the current homeowners to be grandfathered but not new owners.'Īnother reader on the same discussion forum thread responds with interesting take on this issue: 'We have people who had docks on the lake before the HOA was formed, and they were grandfathered as to type and size. Now we're faced with garbage for an eternity. If you have a question you need answered, post it on the message board.Īn reader writes, 'Can grandfathering be reversed? Our HOA board decided on its own to grandfather deed restriction violators.

SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT HOA COVENANTS SERIES

This article is part of an ongoing series in which we'll take your questions from the discussion forum and get you the answers you need from experts who specialize in association management. Tags: Pets, Architectural Restrictions, Selective Enforcement, Grandfathering

Selective enforcement hoa covenants