PASS GEORGIA
REAL ESTATE EXAM PREPGEORGIA REAL ESTATE EXAM GLOSSARY
A nonconforming use is a land use that lawfully existed before a zoning change but no longer conforms to the current ordinance and is allowed to continue subject to local rules.
Land Use Controls and Regulations
Land use controls
Define, distinguish, apply, retrieve
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PASS GEORGIA
REAL ESTATE EXAM PREPGEORGIA REAL ESTATE EXAM
GLOSSARY TERM GUIDEBuild the complete exam definition
Learn the rule, separate it from the nearest distractor, then apply it to a Georgia fact pattern.
What does Nonconforming use mean?
A nonconforming use is a land use that lawfully existed before a zoning change but no longer conforms to the current ordinance and is allowed to continue subject to local rules.
How do you separate the nearest exam answer?
A nonconforming use predates the restriction. A variance is permission to deviate from current zoning because the legal standard for relief is met.
What changes or stays the same in Georgia?
Local Georgia ordinances control continuation, abandonment, expansion, and rebuilding. The exam clue is that the use was lawful before the zoning change.
A small grocery store remains in operation after the neighborhood is rezoned residential because the store lawfully existed first.
Grandfathered does not mean permanently immune from every local condition. Read for abandonment or expansion facts.
PASS GEORGIA
REAL ESTATE EXAM PREPGEORGIA REAL ESTATE EXAM
GLOSSARY TERM GUIDERetrieve the rule under exam conditions
Answer before reading the explanation. Then explain why every distractor belongs to a different term.
A grocery store lawfully opened in 1998. In 2015 the area was rezoned residential, and the store kept operating. In 2026 the owner wants to double the size of the building. Which statement is most accurate?
- A
It is a nonconforming use, and local rules may limit growth
- B
It holds a variance, so any expansion has been pre-approved
- C
It is a nonconforming use, so it may expand without limit
- D
It must close now because it violates the current zoning
The store lawfully existed before the rezoning, so it is a nonconforming use that may continue under local rules. Those rules commonly restrict expansion, abandonment, and rebuilding. The tempting mistake is to read grandfathered status as unlimited freedom to grow.
Mark each box only when you can perform the skill without looking.
I can define the term in one precise sentence.
I can separate it from the closest look-alike.
I can explain the Georgia rule or confirm that the national rule applies.
I can answer the practice check and explain every option.
PASS GEORGIA
REAL ESTATE EXAM PREPGEORGIA REAL ESTATE EXAM
GLOSSARY TERM GUIDEConnect the term to the wider exam
Use these relationships to move from isolated recall to a connected exam model.
Land Use Controls and Regulations complete lesson
https://www.passgeorgiarealestate.com/study-guide/land-use-controls/zoning-relief
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