Most states leave selective enforcement to general fairness doctrine, courts inferring that an association shouldn't be allowed to play favorites. Connecticut goes further and puts it in the statute itself. Section 47-244(g) gives the executive board real discretion not to pursue every violation, deciding a violation isn't material enough to bother a reasonable person, that the covenant may be legally shaky, or that pursuing it just isn't worth the association's resources. But § 47-244(h) draws a hard line around that discretion: the board's decision not to enforce in one case doesn't stop it from enforcing in another, 'except that the executive board may not be arbitrary or capricious in taking enforcement action.' Get cited for a fence while an identical fence three doors down goes untouched, and you have a specific statutory phrase, not just a general fairness argument, to hang the challenge on.
You don't have to wait to be sued to raise this. Section 47-278(d) lets any unit owner, not just the one facing a fine, submit a written request to the association for a hearing before the executive board to enforce a right or obligation against the association or against another owner. The association must schedule that hearing within 30 days of your request, hold it within 45 days, and issue a written decision within 30 days after it concludes. That means you can formally demand the board explain, on the record, why it enforced a rule against you but not your neighbor, well before it ever tries to collect a fine from you.
The records that build your case
Section 47-260(a)(10) specifically requires the association to retain 'records of executive board or committee actions to approve or deny any requests for design or architectural approval,' and its broader records duties cover meeting minutes and financial records too. Request those alongside dated photos of the comparable, uncited violations elsewhere in the community. A pattern, not a single example, is what turns 'arbitrary or capricious' from an argument into a documented record.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-244
Gives the board discretion not to enforce a violation in a given case, but bars it from being arbitrary or capricious in taking enforcement action from one case to the next.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-278
Lets any unit owner request a hearing before the executive board to enforce a right or obligation against the association or another owner, on a fixed 30/45/30-day schedule.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-260
Requires the association to retain records of its own architectural-approval decisions, meeting minutes, and financial records, the raw material for documenting an enforcement pattern.
Step by step
How to document and raise selective enforcement in Connecticut
Build the evidentiary record and use the statutory hearing right that support a selective-enforcement challenge to a Connecticut HOA or condo fine.
- 01
Name the exact rule and who else broke it
Pin down the specific covenant or rule cited against you, then identify comparable violations elsewhere in the community that went unaddressed.
- 02
Photograph and date the comparables
Document other units or lots with the same violation that were never cited. Note addresses or unit numbers, not the names of the people living there.
- 03
Request the board's own records
Ask for the design and architectural approval decisions § 47-260(a)(10) requires the association to keep, plus minutes and enforcement history, to see whether the pattern shows up in the association's own paperwork.
- 04
Demand your own hearing
Use § 47-278(d) to request a board hearing on the association's uneven enforcement directly, rather than waiting to be fined and reacting after the fact.
- 05
Put 'arbitrary or capricious' on the record
Raise § 47-244(h)'s exact language at the hearing and ask that the board's reasoning for the inconsistency be recorded in the minutes.
Straight answers
Common questions
Is selective enforcement actually against the law in Connecticut?
Connecticut's statute doesn't use the phrase 'selective enforcement,' but § 47-244(h) says directly that while the board can decline to enforce a violation in one case without waiving future enforcement, it 'may not be arbitrary or capricious in taking enforcement action.' Enforcing a rule against you while knowingly ignoring identical violations elsewhere is the fact pattern that language is aimed at.
Do I have to wait until I'm fined to raise this?
No. Section 47-278(d) lets any unit owner request a hearing before the executive board to enforce a right or obligation against the association or another owner, on its own fixed schedule, separate from any hearing tied to a fine against you specifically.
What evidence do I actually need?
Dated photographs of comparable, uncited violations, plus the association's own records under § 47-260, including its retained decisions on design and architectural approvals and its meeting minutes. A documented pattern is what turns the arbitrary-or-capricious standard into a real argument.
Should I name the neighbors who weren't cited?
No. Document the property, unit, or lot involved, not the people living there. Keep the argument focused on the board's own inconsistent conduct, which is what § 47-244(h) actually regulates.