Legal nonconforming vs Illegal

[Pamela Williams]

If a property is zoned for single family residential and has been reconstructed and is being used as a 3 unit property, would this qualify as legal nonconforming or illegal use?

 

[Michael Schendel]

what does reconstructed mean?

Does the "reconstruction" include any other buildings other than the original or was the original "reconstructed" into three units.

Legal-nonconforming (grandfathered use) means the building was there and the zoning changed after it was built.

Illegal means it does not conform to current zoning and never has.

 

[Lee Lansford]

Ask your question of the applicable zoning administrator; therein lies the answer to your question.

 

[Kevin A. Spellman]

Here in MA the first question is the subject’s site area legal and does it conforms to the current zoning requirements or is it a legal non-conforming site. Then we use must determined if the use of the property is legally permissible.

It is quite common in MA for a property once used as a single family to be granted a special permit to be converted to a three unit building. I review the building department records for the change of use. If a special permit is issued, a file exists with the clerk’s office, the Zoning Board of Appeal and a special permits is recorded in our registry of deeds system.

I would only report Illegal Use if the authority within the community has determine the use to be illegal. I would not feel confident to make an “Illegal Use” determination without documentation from the municipality and from the individual who is the authority within the municipality.

An owner of a three-unit property in the City of Lynn was found liable for the death of tenant occupying an illegal third unit on the third floor in a legal two unit building. The lender and the appraiser were also brought to court. I do not know the outcome from the trial, but the building department had copies of the letters sent to the owner to stop using the third floor as a living unit. There was no second means of egress and a third unit was not allowed.

The city was excused from the trial as they policed the property and was in their rights to request the third unit not to be used. There were over five letters sent to the owner in a period of less than two years before the fire occurred. The lender being sued asks me to do the review of the three-family appraisal report. This was back in 1994 and since then a multi-family request makes me dig deep for the legal use.

This was my experience with your question.

 

[Walter Kirk]

A legal non- conforming use is one that was in place prior to the adoption of the zoning ordinance or one which was constructed with a zoning varience. An Illegal use is one that violayes the zoning and is not a legal non-conforming use.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

] "An owner of a three-unit property in the City of Lynn was found liable for the death of tenant occupying an illegal third unit on the third floor in a legal two unit building."

"The lender and the appraiser were also brought to court. I do not know the outcome from the trial, but the building department had copies of the letters sent to the owner to stop using the third floor as a living unit. There was no second means of egress and a third unit was not allowed. "
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POSSIBLE SCENARIO:

The lender refinanced it with a driveby which hit the $$ and the REALITY was beyond the SOW because......... "the dby was sufficient for the needs of the client (and the appraiser who did the report). The owner got his money. The Lender got theirs. The appraiser got his/hers.

In the end the Tenant trusted the Owner and hopefully........the OWNER can mull over the definition of GREED during the next 20 yrs+ as can the Lender and the appraiser.
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"The city was excused from the trial as they policed the property and was in their rights to request the third unit not to be used. There were over five letters sent to the owner in a period of less than two years before the fire occurred. The lender being sued asks me to do the review of the three-family appraisal report. This was back in 1994 and since then a multi-family request makes me dig deep for the legal use."

:icon_idea: Suggest digging deep on ALL assignments.

Excellent post Kevin.

 

[CCAAMO]

If a property is zoned for single family residential and has been reconstructed and is being used as a 3 unit property, would this qualify as legal nonconforming or illegal use?

A legal non conforming use means when the improvements were constructed they conformed with the zoning. If the zoing has changed since that point it becomes a legal non conforming use.

The question is what was the zoning at the time the three units were built, and were they built with permits?

If it truly is a legal non conforming use, the next question is can it be rebuilt if it is over 50% ( usually of the improvment value ) destroyed. If it can not then it will be hard to finance and could have an adverse impact on the value.

 

[Mztk1]

A SFR in an Industrial Zone that does not allow SFR is a non-conforming use. A SFR on a 50 X 100 lot in a zone that requires 60 X 100 is a non-conforming property due to lot size. In most towns rebuild clauses vary depending on if the "property" is non-conforming as opposed to the "use".

As an example, I appraised two properties in the same area. One was a SFR on a 60 X 100 lot where the zoning was RA-1, SFR 7,260sf min lot requirement (6 units per acre density). The rebuild clause allowed it to be rebuilt without a variance even is 100% destroyed as long as permits are obtained within 180 days. The other property was a three family in the same zone. Its use was illegal. The rebuild clause stated if the property is damaged by 50% or more it cannot be rebuilt. The SFR in this area all sell with conventional and FHA and VA financing. The multi-families sell cash.

 

[Doug Meyer]

Another reason as to why NOT to do a drive by. No one should EVER (in my opinion) do a drive by multi family appraisal!!!

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

However, it appears to me that anything other than legal conforming is presumed to be non-conforming rather than illegal. How does one determine the difference between non-conforming/grandfathered and illegal. There does not appear to be such a concept as retrospective zoning/planning data in any of the jurisdictions where I work.