Civic · 6 pages · 12 min
Why a grandfathered building is a legal age
Grandfathering lets a building remain under the rules in force when it was permitted.
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From the opening
A grandfathered building is one that was lawful when it was built and is allowed to remain even though a newer code would not permit the same design today. Its status is a legal age: the date of its permit or lawful completion, not a scientific claim that the old design is as safe as the new rule. The opening covers lawful when built can remain, change of use can end it, and illegal origins are not grandfathered.
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Inside
- Lawful when built can remain
- Change of use can end it
- Illegal origins are not grandfathered
- Zoning nonconformity is a cousin
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Existing building code
- Legal nonconforming structure