Ownership and Land Use, 15% of the examination
Variance
Administrative permission to deviate from a zoning requirement because of a hardship unique to the parcel.
The hardship must arise from something peculiar to the land, such as an unusual shape or slope, rather than from the owner's preference or a self-created situation. Financial advantage is expressly not a hardship. A conditional use permit is different: it allows a listed use subject to conditions rather than excusing a dimensional rule.
What this is confused with
The exam rarely asks for a definition. It describes a situation and offers two terms that both sound plausible.
Nonconforming use
A nonconforming use existed lawfully before the ordinance changed. A variance is permission granted after.
See it in a question
One question from Ownership and Land Use, so the term lands in the context the exam uses it in.
Two unmarried people buy a house as joint tenants. One dies leaving a will giving her entire estate to her brother. What happens to her interest?
Written to DRE's published topic list. Not a real examination question, since reproducing those is a misdemeanour under B&P Code section 123.