# Arizona HOA Solar Panel Rights: What the Law Allows (2026) > Arizona protects solar two ways over. Under Revised Statutes 33-439, a covenant that effectively prohibits the installation or use of a solar energy device is void and unenforceable. Under 33-1816, an HOA cannot prohibit a solar energy device, and it may adopt only reasonable placement rules, as long as those rules do not prevent installation, impair the device's functioning, restrict its use, or adversely affect its cost or efficiency. If an owner has to take the board to court over a violation and substantially prevails, the court awards attorney fees. For a buyer, an older set of CC&Rs may still carry a solar ban that does not hold up, and the architectural rules show what placement limits the board can enforce. _Source: https://hoanotes.com/hoa/arizona/solar-panels/ | Last reviewed 2026-06-03_ ## What the law protects Arizona gives solar two separate protections. Revised Statutes 33-439 is a general property-law rule: any covenant or deed restriction that effectively prohibits a solar energy device is void and unenforceable. Revised Statutes 33-1816 adds a community-association rule: an HOA cannot prohibit a solar energy device on an owner's own property. The board keeps a narrow lane. It may adopt reasonable rules about where a device is placed, but only if those rules do not prevent installation, impair the device's functioning, restrict its use, or adversely affect its cost or efficiency. A rule that quietly does any of those reads as an effective prohibition, which the statute does not allow. If an owner sues the board for a violation and substantially prevails, the court awards reasonable attorney fees. ## Why a buyer should care If you plan to add solar, the rules in the packet tell you how much room you have and how the board has handled past requests. And a CC&R that still reads 'no solar panels' is a tell: the document is out of date, and an out-of-date document often means other provisions have drifted from current Arizona law too. ## What to check in the disclosure packet Read these together before you make an offer: - The CC&Rs and architectural rules for any solar prohibition, which is likely void but signals a document that needs updating. - The placement rules the board can enforce, and whether any of them would raise the cost or cut the efficiency of a system. - Recent board minutes for how solar applications were approved or denied. - Whether the architectural review process has clear timelines. ## Why this matters to your offer Solar rights rarely sink a deal, but a stale governing document raises a question about the rest of the packet. If the solar ban is unenforceable, what else in the CC&Rs no longer matches Arizona law? An HOA Notes brief reads the CC&Rs, the architectural rules, and the minutes together, flags provisions that conflict with the statutes, and cites the page behind every finding. ## What the statute says **Arizona Revised Statutes section 33-1816 and section 33-439** (Solar energy device rights). An association cannot prohibit installation of a solar energy device (panels, collectors, related equipment) on an owner's separately owned property; any covenant or deed restriction that prohibits or unreasonably restricts installation of a solar energy device is void and unenforceable under section 33-439; under section 33-1816 a restriction is unreasonable if it prevents installation, impairs the functioning of the device, restricts its use, or adversely affects its cost or efficiency. The association may impose reasonable restrictions on the placement, size, and manner of installation on individually owned lots or units, so long as the restriction does not prevent installation, impair the device's functioning, or adversely affect its cost or efficiency; it may prohibit installations on common areas entirely. ## Arizona HOA solar panel rules: common questions ### Can an Arizona HOA stop me from installing solar panels? No. Revised Statutes 33-439 makes a covenant that effectively prohibits a solar device void, and 33-1816 bars an HOA from prohibiting one. The board can set reasonable placement rules but cannot ban panels. ### What solar rules can an Arizona HOA still enforce? Reasonable placement rules only, and only if they do not prevent installation, impair the device's functioning, restrict its use, or adversely affect its cost or efficiency. ### What if the HOA fights my solar installation? If you sue the board for a violation of the solar statute and substantially prevail, the court awards you reasonable attorney fees and costs. ### The CC&Rs say no solar panels. Does that bind me? That provision is most likely void under 33-439 and 33-1816, but confirm the current placement rules. A blanket ban also suggests the document is out of date, which is worth a closer read. ## Sources (verified 2026-06-03) 1. Arizona Revised Statutes section 33-1816 (solar energy devices; reasonable restrictions), Arizona State Legislature. Verified 2026-06-03. https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/01816.htm 2. Arizona Revised Statutes section 33-439 (solar covenant restrictions void), Arizona State Legislature. Verified 2026-06-03. https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/00439.htm 3. Solar Energy and Arizona HOAs, Mulcahy Law Firm. Verified 2026-06-03. https://www.mulcahylawfirm.com/solar-panels-arizona-hoas/ HOA Notes is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.