Homeowners Association Solar Panels

It is essential that you understand what f s.

Homeowners association solar panels.

While solar access laws protect your right to install solar on your roof solar easements provide a legal avenue for homeowners to protect their home s access to sunshine. In states with solar easements property owners can negotiate with their neighbors to protect their right to sunlight and prevent obstructions such as trees or structures on a neighbor s lawn that cast shade on their panels. To fully capture the sun s energy the solar panels need to face. 3101 et seq the act applies to condominiums created after the act s effective date 120 days from july 2 1980.

It s also against the law to make rules in order to make the process of installing solar panels too difficult or expensive for members. 163 says about coa and hoa restrictions on solar panels in so. Even if you find them unsightly they are here to stay. 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.

Beginning in 2014 an indianapolis homeowner and his hoa entered into a dispute over the solar panels on the roof of his home. Community officials believe solar panels change the pre planned aesthetics and landscape of the neighborhood and generally look out of place. A solar payback period is the amount of time it takes for property owners who install solar panels to recover their initial investment through electricity. How long does it take to earn back your initial investment in solar panels.

An association cannot ban the installation and use of solar energy panels. This proposed law included provisions prohibiting homeowner s associations from enacting rules limiting solar panel installation with a few exceptions. The third rule being a state law is for the use of solar panels. Hr 2454 the american clean energy and security act was a proposed federal law that made it illegal for a homeowners association to restrict the installation of solar panels.

On a cost per watt w basis a solar panel installation in pennsylvania ranges in price from 2 57 to 3 47. Unfortunately pennsylvania does not have rules that prevent hoas from stopping you from going solar. Pennsylvania uniform condominium act uca pa. However since solar is worth thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars and can add around 10 000 to 30 000 of value to your home we might recommend raising your coverage limit to cover the cost of your home with the solar panel system.

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. Hoa laws and regulations.