HOA glossaryRules & enforcement

What is grandfathering?

Allowing a condition that predates a rule or amendment to continue, rather than applying the new standard retroactively.

Also called: Legal nonconforming use

When a community adopts a new restriction, existing conditions that would violate it have to be dealt with explicitly. The amendment or rule should say whether they are permitted to continue, whether they must be brought into compliance on sale or replacement, and what documentation establishes the prior condition.

Leaving it unaddressed produces years of argument, and every unaddressed instance becomes evidence in a selective enforcement defence.

The usual middle path is to permit the existing condition to remain but not to be expanded, repaired beyond a threshold, or transferred to a new owner. That has to be written into the instrument, not assumed.

Why it matters to a board

Inventory the nonconforming conditions before the vote, not after. The list is what makes the transition provision draftable.

Where the answer lives

Your recorded declaration and bylaws first, then the act that governs associations in your state. Whichever is stricter is the one that binds you.

Related terms

AmendmentA formal change to a governing document, adopted at the threshold that document requires and, for covenants, recorded to take effect.Rental capA limit on how many lots may be leased at one time, or on the terms of a lease, imposed by the covenants.Selective enforcementApplying a covenant to some owners and not others, which is the most common and most effective defence against an enforcement action.Rules and regulationsStandards adopted by the board under authority granted in the covenants — enforceable, but subordinate to them.
General information, not legal advice. This entry explains what the term means, not what your association must do about it. Any notice period, cure window, fine cap, vote threshold or deadline comes from your recorded declaration and your state's act — those differ in all fifty states and are amended every session. Updated August 2026. Confirm the current requirements with an attorney licensed in your state before acting.
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