Zoning & entitlements
Vested rights
Protection against later changes in land-use rules — earned by vesting tentative map, development agreement, SB 330 filing, or common-law reliance.
Definition
A vested right holds a project to the rules in effect at a fixed point, immunizing it from later amendments. California offers four routes: a vesting tentative map under the Subdivision Map Act, whose rights fix when the map application is complete; a negotiated development agreement; the SB 330 preliminary-application freeze for housing projects; and common-law vesting, which attaches only after a building permit issues and substantial work proceeds in good-faith reliance (the Avco rule).
Why it matters in an underwrite
Until something vests, every fee increase and ordinance amendment lands on the project. Match the instrument to the hold: the SB 330 freeze is fast and nearly free but expires with its deadlines; a vesting tentative map ties protection to the subdivision; a development agreement can lock rules for a negotiated term measured in years or decades — at the price of negotiated exactions. Common-law vesting arrives too late to underwrite around.
Sources & related guides
See also
See the term in the law itself
Read the controlling text in the Code Library, or ask the AI how it applies to your project.
Last reviewed 2026-07-29. General information, not legal advice.