When it comes to solar panels however you have clear legal guidelines on what restrictions your hoa can place on your solar panel project in texas.
Hoa solar panels texas.
The main concern of hoa boards are that solar panels may drastically lower home values especially in cases where only a few homes within a community have panels installed.
Community officials believe solar panels change the pre planned aesthetics and landscape of the neighborhood and generally look out of place.
Solar access laws and solar easements.
Many homeowners discover after the fact that their request to install solar is denied by homeowners association board members due to clauses written in their hoa bylaws.
However the following exceptions do give hoas the power to restrict solar panels if one of the following conditions exist.
About twenty four states including texas have solar access laws that limit hoas from banning solar panels.
2 solar energy device has the meaning assigned by section 171 107 tax code.
These laws override the hoa contract that restricts you from going solar.
The key is to check your state s solar access rights to see if it can prevent you from going solar.
Hoas and poas cannot prohibit or restrict a property owner from installing a solar energy device as defined by texas tax code section 171 107.
Examples of states that have enacted solar access rights laws including california utah texas arizona and florida.
According to house bill 362 which was signed into law in 2011 the law forbids hoas from prohibiting solar energy installations unless several very specific circumstances occur.
In some cases an hoa may deny you for aesthetic reasons.
B except as otherwise provided by subsection d a property owners association may not include or enforce a provision in a dedicatory instrument that prohibits or restricts a property owner from installing a solar energy device.
In fact the law is on your side.
An hoa will only prevent you from installing solar panels if your state requires approval for the installation and then rejects the proposal.
The new law restricts homeowner associations hoa in texas from enacting provisions that outright forbid the installation of solar energy systems.
Texas property code section 202 010.
Hoa restrictions in texas texas has solar access laws in place that block hoa s and poa s from restricting the installation of solar panels.
Hoa solar provisions state of texas texas law also stipulates that the hoa may designate where the solar device should be located on a roof unless a homeowner can show that the designation negatively impacts the performance of the solar energy device and an alternative location would increase production by more than 10.
The law reads in part.
Hb 362 amended texas property code section 202 010 as outlined below.
B except as otherwise provided by subsection d a property owners association may not include or enforce a provision in a dedicatory instrument that prohibits or restricts a property owner from installing a solar device.