Washington HOA solar panel rights

On property you own, a solar panel is protected as long as it meets the usual health, safety, and permitting standards, and a water-heating system carries the right certification. A board cannot ban it outright.

The association keeps reasonable control over how a system looks and where it sits. It can ask for flush mounting or steer panels away from a street-facing facade, but it cannot use placement rules to gut the system's output or pile on unreasonable cost. Common elements are different: the HOA can prohibit installations there.

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

• Any blanket ban on solar or roof-mounted equipment, which cannot stand against the statute.
• Placement or appearance rules, and whether they would materially cut output or cost.
• Whether your install would sit on owner-controlled property or a common element.
• Whether existing panels were approved and documented.

If solar is part of why you are buying, Washington law is on your side, and a board cannot use a general architectural rule to block panels on your own roof. The limits are about appearance and common areas, not a veto.

An HOA Notes brief checks the declaration and rules for a solar restriction, weighs any placement rule against the performance limit, and cites the page behind each finding.

Washington Revised Code 64.38.055 and 64.90.510(3) (Solar energy device rights). An association cannot prohibit installation of a solar energy system on property that is individually owned by a lot or unit owner; restrictions that prevent installation, significantly increase cost, or materially reduce energy production are unenforceable; this protection applies under both the older HOA Act (RCW 64.38.055) and WUCIOA (RCW 64.90.510(3)). The association may impose reasonable restrictions on placement and appearance of solar equipment on owner-controlled property -- for example, requiring panels to be flush-mounted or avoiding street-visible facades -- provided such restrictions do not materially impair system performance or impose unreasonable costs; it may prohibit solar installations on common elements.

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, and no roof-mounted equipment without prior written consent. HOA Notes flags each of these against the statute and tells you which restrictions are actually enforceable.