Selective enforcement is one of the most powerful owner defenses and one of the least understood. The idea: an association can't pick and choose who has to follow a rule. If the board charges you for a parked boat, a fence, or a short-term rental while knowingly tolerating the same conduct from other owners, that inconsistency undermines the enforcement against you.
Virginia gives this argument structure. Va. Code § 55.1-1819 ties enforcement to validly adopted rules and a notice-and-hearing process, so inconsistent or arbitrary enforcement collides with the statute's framework. Virginia courts have also long recognized equitable defenses to covenant enforcement, including waiver and selective enforcement, when an association applies a restriction unevenly. Your case rises or falls on documentation.
Waiver vs. selective enforcement
Two related arguments often travel together. 'Waiver' says the association let a restriction lapse so broadly — lots of unaddressed violations community-wide — that it can no longer enforce it at all. 'Selective enforcement' is narrower: the rule may still be alive, but singling you out while ignoring comparable violations is inequitable. Gather the facts and let the pattern decide which argument is stronger.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
Va. Code § 55.1-1819
Ties HOA enforcement to validly adopted rules plus notice and a hearing, the procedural framework inconsistent enforcement violates.
Va. Code § 55.1-1815
Records access that lets you obtain the association's violation and enforcement history to prove a pattern.
Va. Code § 55.1-1807
The Statement of Lot Owner Rights, framing the owner's procedural protections an uneven enforcement effort cuts against.
Step by step
How to document and assert selective enforcement in Virginia
Build the evidentiary record that supports a selective-enforcement or waiver defense to a Virginia HOA charge.
- 01
Identify the exact rule
Pin down the specific covenant or rule the association says you violated, and confirm it was validly adopted under § 55.1-1819. Selective enforcement is rule-specific.
- 02
Photograph comparable violations
Document other properties with the same violation that haven't been cited. Date-stamp the photos and note addresses or lot numbers, not owner names.
- 03
Pull the enforcement records
Use a records request (see the records guide) under § 55.1-1815 to ask for the association's violation and enforcement history. A pattern of citing only some owners is your strongest evidence.
- 04
Raise it at the hearing
Present the comparables and records at your § 55.1-1819 hearing, and ask that the inconsistency be noted in the minutes.
- 05
Preserve it for the CIC Board or court
If the charge stands, your documented record supports a complaint to the Common Interest Community Board or a selective-enforcement defense if the dispute escalates. Keep everything dated.
Straight answers
Common questions
Is selective enforcement a defense in Virginia?
It can be. Virginia courts recognize equitable defenses, including waiver and selective enforcement, when an association applies a restriction unevenly, and § 55.1-1819's adoption-and-hearing framework reinforces that arbitrary enforcement is improper.
What's the difference between waiver and selective enforcement?
Waiver argues the association let a restriction lapse so broadly it can't enforce it at all; selective enforcement argues the rule may still be alive but singling you out while ignoring identical violations is inequitable. They often travel together.
What evidence do I need?
Dated photos of comparable uncited violations, the association's own enforcement history (via a § 55.1-1815 records request), and the timeline of your own notice. Patterns, not single examples, carry the argument.
Should I name the neighbors who weren't charged?
Document the properties and violations, but you generally don't need to publicly name individuals; addresses or lot numbers establish the comparison. Keep the focus on the association's conduct, not your neighbors.