HOA solar panel rules by state

Each row links to that state's full guide. Scroll the table sideways on a phone.

Each state's rule is sourced to that state's statute on the linked page. Statutes change; confirm the current text before relying on it.

In most states HOA Notes covers, no. A covenant, rule, or architectural guideline that prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting a solar energy system is void and unenforceable. That holds in California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Washington, North Carolina, and Illinois.

Two states are conditional. In Virginia and Nevada, an association can restrict or require approval for solar only if the recorded declaration expressly provides for it, so the answer there depends on the specific community's documents. Either way, the rule lives in the recorded CC&Rs and the architectural guidelines, not in the listing.

Even where a ban is void, an association can usually apply reasonable conditions on placement, appearance, and installation, and can route the request through architectural review. The line is whether the condition is reasonable or whether it works as a ban.

Several states put numbers on that line. California limits a restriction so it cannot raise the system's cost by more than $1,000 or cut its efficiency by more than 10 percent, and deems a complete application approved if it is not denied within 45 days. Colorado uses a 10 percent cost-or-output test and a 60-day deadline. The exact figure is on each state's page.

Read these in the disclosure packet against your state's statute below:

• The CC&Rs and architectural guidelines for any solar ban, or conditions heavy enough to function as one.
• The review procedure and timeline, since some states deem an unanswered application approved after a set number of days.
• Whether the roof is yours or a shared common-area roof, which can follow a separate rule for condos and multifamily buildings.
• Recent board and architectural minutes, for how the association actually handles solar requests.