Tampa, FL asked in Real Estate Law and Land Use & Zoning for Florida

Q: 'Grandfathered in' legally what does this mean. It's zoning problem.

'Grandfathered in' my house was bought in1961.My mom combined 4 lots into 1 in 1988. The zoning person said that if she had did that after 1989 then I could claim that it is grandfathered in and sell two lots separately. Sounds backwards to me. Re-separating them back like before 1988 would fit the grandfathered in idea better to me.

1 Lawyer Answer
Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
Answered
  • Real Estate Law Lawyer
  • Freeeport, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: It is not clear how your mother "combined 4 lots into 1 in 1988". Did she build a single house on all four lots, or did she convey the four lots by a deed in which she used a metes and bounds description (instead of "lots __, ___, ___ and ___ of such-and-such subdivision")?

It could be that a zoning ordinance pertaining to grandfathering was adopted 1989. I suggest that you ask the zoning person to clarify.

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