Selective enforcement

Selective enforcement is uneven application of the same covenant to similarly situated owners. It's a defense and a fiduciary problem, not a license to ignore the documents. Selective enforcement is the neighborhood version of "rules for thee." The covenant exists. The board enforces it against you — the truck in the driveway, the unapproved paint, the short-term rental — and leaves the same facts alone three doors down, or on a director's lot. Courts and some statutes treat that as arbitrary enforcement. It can be a defense to a fine, an injunction, or an architectural denial. It is not a magic wand that erases the CC&Rs for everyone. Nolo's board-fiduciary guide is the mindset piece: directors must act in good faith, in the interest of the HOA as a whole, avoid conflicts, be informed, and not take arbitrary or capricious actions. Fining someone for a red house because a director dislikes red, when red isn't a violation, fails that test. Enforcing a real paint rule against one owner and not against a board member's house fails the loyalty and evenhandedness side of the same duty.

This is general information from an AI helper, not legal advice. Confirm it against your documents and your state's law. If a deadline or hearing is coming up, talk to a licensed lawyer.