A zoning board grants relief from a setback requirement for one parcel. That variance runs with:
Correct Answer
C) The land, benefiting subsequent owners
Why this is correct: A variance is a permanent exception to a zoning ordinance granted to a specific parcel. As explained, once granted, it attaches to the land itself, not to a person or a temporary interest. This means the right to build within the excepted setback transfers automatically to any subsequent owner of that parcel, enhancing its utility and value. Why the other choices are wrong: 'The building itself rather than the underlying site' is incorrect because variances relate to the land's development rights, not a specific structure. 'The applicant personally only' is wrong; a personal restriction would be an 'exception' or special permit, not a variance that runs with the land. 'The lender holding the mortgage' is incorrect; a lender's security interest does not confer zoning rights, which remain with the fee simple estate. Exam tip: Remember the key phrase 'runs with the land' for variances and easements, distinguishing them from personal licenses or building-specific permits.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option C is correct because a variance runs with the land and benefits subsequent owners. That follows directly from the hardship standard, which looks to conditions of the property rather than to the applicant's circumstances. The practical consequence for valuation is that the relief is a durable attribute of the parcel and supports the improvement's legal conformity for a future buyer. Verifying the recorded resolution and any conditions attached to it is the appraiser's follow-up step.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: The building itself rather than the underlying site
Variances address the land's development rights under the ordinance, not a particular structure, so the relief survives even if the building is altered or, subject to the resolution's terms and local rules, replaced. Tying the variance to the building would mean the relief disappeared whenever the improvement did, which is not how dimensional relief operates. The option confuses the thing benefited with the thing that occasioned the request.
Option B: The applicant personally only
Personal, non-transferable permission describes a license, which is revocable and does not run with the land, or in some jurisdictions a narrowly conditioned approval. A variance is granted because of hardship inherent in the parcel, so limiting it to one person would sever the relief from its own justification. This is the most tempting distractor because permits and licenses in other contexts are indeed personal.
Option D: The lender holding the mortgage
A mortgagee holds a security interest in the property to secure repayment and has no role in zoning entitlements. Lenders certainly care whether improvements comply with zoning, since compliance affects collateral value and rebuildability, but caring about a right is not holding it. Zoning rights remain with the estate in land.
Hardship Belongs to the Lot
The hardship belongs to the lot, not the owner. A board grants a variance because this parcel is oddly shaped or steeply pitched, and selling the parcel does not straighten it out. So the relief stays with the dirt and travels to whoever buys it next.
How to use: Trace the relief back to its justification. If the reason for granting it is a condition of the land, the relief runs with the land. If it depends on facts about a person, it does not. Then verify the actual resolution for conditions or lapse provisions before relying on the general rule.
Exam Tip
Obtain and read the board's resolution; conditions and expiration provisions attached to a variance are common and can change its effect on value substantially.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Treating a variance as personal to the applicant and therefore lost on transfer
- -Assuming a variance exists based on the owner's word without obtaining the resolution
- -Confusing a variance with a legal nonconforming use, which arises from predating the ordinance rather than from board relief
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests the durability of zoning relief. A variance is relief granted by a board of zoning appeals from a specific requirement of the ordinance, awarded because strict application would impose an unnecessary hardship arising from something peculiar to the parcel, such as an irregular shape, unusual topography, or an odd lot depth. Because the justification is rooted in the land's own characteristics rather than in anything about the applicant, the relief attaches to the parcel and generally continues for successive owners. A setback variance permitting a house eight feet from a side line instead of fifteen does not evaporate when the house sells; the next owner takes the parcel with that relief intact. Two qualifications belong in an appraiser's thinking. Boards can and do attach conditions, and some jurisdictions provide that a variance lapses if not exercised within a stated period or if the nonconforming condition is abandoned. And a use variance, where permitted at all, is scrutinized far more heavily than a dimensional one. The appraiser should therefore obtain the actual resolution rather than assume the general rule covers every situation.
Background Knowledge
You need to distinguish the zoning devices: permitted uses, conditional or special exception uses, variances granted on a hardship showing, and legal nonconforming uses that arise from predating a code change. You should also know that variances are typically dimensional rather than use-based, that boards may attach conditions or lapse provisions, and that an appraiser should verify the recorded resolution rather than rely on the general rule.
Real-World Application
Appraising a home built six feet from a side lot line where the ordinance requires ten, an appraiser retrieves the 1998 board resolution granting a dimensional variance on a hardship finding based on the lot's unusual width. The report confirms the improvement is legally conforming under that relief and that it passes to future owners.
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