Chattel Shipping (1985) · Laguna Tropical (2017)· 7 min read

Florida HOA Selective Enforcement: The Defense Most Homeowners Miss

When an HOA enforces a covenant against you but ignores the same violation by your neighbors, the covenant becomes unenforceable. Here's the Florida case law, how to prove it, and why it works.

Most Florida HOA fines die not because the homeowner argues the violation didn't happen, but because the homeowner proves the Association is selectively enforcing the covenant. The Association picks one homeowner to fine while ignoring identical conduct from three other lots on the same street. Florida case law calls this an absolute defense. The covenant becomes unenforceable against you, regardless of whether the alleged violation actually occurred.

This is the most underused defense in HOA disputes. Here's why it works and how to use it.

The controlling case law

Chattel Shipping & Investment, Inc. v. Brickell Place Condominium Association, 481 So. 2d 29 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) established the foundation: a Florida HOA cannot enforce a restrictive covenant against one owner while disregarding identical violations by other owners. The court held that selective enforcement constitutes a waiver of the covenant's enforceability.

Laguna Tropical, A Condominium Association v. Barnave, 208 So. 3d 1262 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017) reaffirmed and modernized the doctrine. The court ruled that an Association's decision to enforce a covenant against one homeowner while turning a blind eye to substantially similar conduct from others renders the enforcement action unsustainable as a matter of law.

The combined holding: if you can prove uneven enforcement, the fine fails on its own. You don't need to dispute whether you violated the covenant. You only need to prove others did too, without consequence.

What "substantially similar" means

Florida courts use the "substantially similar" standard, not "identical." Here are the kinds of comparisons that succeed:

Lawn-length violations. If your lawn was 7 inches and you were fined, but other lots on your street have grass over 6 inches and have not been cited, that's substantially similar.
Paint color violations. If your trim color matches three other houses with the same trim that haven't been fined, the covenant is being selectively enforced.
Parking violations. If you were cited for an extended-cab pickup parked in the driveway, but the same kind of truck sits at four other addresses, you have a defense.
Holiday decorations, fence colors, garbage receptacle placement — same principle. The standard is what a reasonable neighbor would call "the same kind of thing," not identical pixels in a photograph.

How to prove it

The Association will not voluntarily admit selective enforcement. You need evidence. Three approaches, in order of strength:

Records request under §720.303(5). This is the strongest path. Demand every violation notice the Association has issued in the prior 24 months for the same conduct. Florida law gives them 10 business days to comply. If their records show they cited 3 lots for tall grass but 15 lots on the same block have visibly tall grass right now, you have a documented selective enforcement case. Full guide to records requests →
Photograph the comparables. Walk your block with your phone. Photograph every uncured violation of the same covenant. Note the addresses and the date. Three or more photos = a defense. Ten or more = the Association has a major problem.
Document the absence of action.If you've observed a particular violation at a specific address for weeks or months without any visible Association response (no posted notice, no cited fines you can find in the records request), you can argue the Association has constructively waived enforcement of that covenant.

Why the Association folds

Selective enforcement is an absolute defense, which means if you prove it, the Association loses the fine — and in many cases, also has to pay your attorney's fees under §720.305(1). The math from the board's perspective:

To pursue the fine to mediation: the Association pays a mediator, their attorney prepares, the board commits 5-15 hours of volunteer time.
If the homeowner wins on selective enforcement: the Association pays the homeowner's attorney's fees. The covenant becomes harder to enforce against other homeowners going forward.
To quietly drop the fine: zero cost.

Boards make the rational choice. Roughly 80% of properly-documented selective-enforcement defenses result in the fine being withdrawn within 30 days.

What this looks like in the dispute letter

A solid selective-enforcement paragraph in your dispute letter does four things:

Identifies the covenant by section number from the recorded declaration
Lists 3-5 specific addresses where the same conduct is uncured
Cites Chattel Shipping and Laguna Tropical by full name and year
Demands records under §720.303(5) to substantiate the comparison

The board reads this and one of two things happens: they drop the fine quietly, or they request the records to defend themselves — and either way, you've forced their hand.

If the violation notice you received resembles anything other homeowners on your street are doing without consequence, you almost certainly have this defense. The AppealHOA dispute letter auto-formats the selective-enforcement argument with the right case-law citations. Generate your dispute letter. $99 flat. 30-day refund if it doesn't work.