Illinois HOA and condo solar panel rights

A board cannot ban a solar energy system by rule, and it cannot lean on an old covenant to block one. The association can shape where panels sit on a given roof face, but it cannot shut panels out of every roof face, and it cannot use placement to cut estimated annual output by more than 10%.

The written energy policy statement is the document to ask for. The association has to adopt one within 90 days of receiving a request for it or an application from an owner, and the policy has to include the Act's terms as its minimum standards. It may add location, design, and architectural requirements, but it cannot make approval depend on the consent of adjacent owners. The association also cannot ask about your energy usage, impose conditions that impair how the system operates or that void an industry standard warranty, or require you to report production after installation.

Shared roofs are where buyers most often assume they have no rights. The Act contains no height limit and no exemption for shared roofs or common elements. What it gives the association on a shared roof is authority over configuration on a given roof face, not authority to say no.

If solar matters to you, read these before you make an offer:

• The association's written energy policy statement, which it must disclose on request.
• Any blanket ban on roof equipment, which cannot stand under the Act.
• Any rule conditioning approval on neighboring owners' consent, which the Act forbids.
• Whether existing panels were approved and documented.

A declaration or rule that flatly bans solar is unenforceable in Illinois, so a seller's packet that contains one is telling you the documents have not been updated. That is worth knowing before you write an offer, both for the solar question and for what else may be out of date.

An HOA Notes brief checks the association's energy policy, flags a solar restriction that cannot stand, and cites the page behind each finding.

765 ILCS 165/15 and 765 ILCS 165/20 (Homeowners' Energy Policy Statement Act) (Solar installation prohibition ban). An association cannot adopt any bylaw or exercise any power that prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting installation of a solar energy system on a building subject to the association; under section 165/20, no deed restriction or covenant running with the land may prohibit or effectively prohibit a solar energy system; an owner may not be denied permission based on how the system is owned or financed, and may not be required to use a specific technology such as solar shingles instead of traditional panels; any provision of a declaration or energy policy statement that conflicts with the Act is void and unenforceable. The association may determine the specific configuration of system elements on a given roof face, but may not prohibit solar elements from any roof face; any placement restriction cannot reduce system production by more than 10%; it may require submissions via hard copy or online form and may not charge a higher application fee than for any other property alteration; it must adopt a written energy policy statement within 90 days after receiving a request for one or an application from a member; the policy may not condition approval on the approval of adjacent owners, and the association may not inquire into an owner's energy usage, impose conditions impairing operation of the system or voiding an industry standard warranty, or require post-installation reporting.

When you read the disclosure packet, watch for no solar panels collectors or photovoltaic equipment on any lot or unit, all exterior modifications require board approval and may be denied for aesthetic reasons, and no equipment may be mounted on any roof surface. HOA Notes flags each of these against the statute and tells you which restrictions are actually enforceable.