If you’re a homeowner in Virginia looking to install solar panels, you might have concerns about getting it approved by your homeowners association (HOA). These associations, designed to maintain neighborhood aesthetics and regulate shared amenities, often have a lot of power over property modifications, including solar installations. However, Virginia law protects homeowners that want to go solar.
Can an HOA prevent you from going solar in VA?
Usually not. Homeowners associations have the authority to prevent solar installations only if their initial recorded declaration explicitly prohibits such installations. This declaration, a legal document established at the founding of the HOA, outlines the community’s regulations and serves as the basis for determining the scope of HOA restrictions. This is typically the document that founded the HOA, and is separate from the rules & regulations that they have adopted.
If solar rules are not included in the recorded declaration, HOAs can only enforce “reasonable restrictions” on solar installations. Virginia law defines the limits of what constitutes reasonable. This protection ensures that HOAs cannot unreasonably hinder homeowners from adopting solar energy.
What “reasonable restrictions” can an HOA enforce on solar?
In 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed HB 414/SB 504 into law, providing clarity and relief for homeowners grappling with HOA restrictions on solar installations.
Under this law, an HOA-imposed restriction is deemed unreasonable if:
- It reduces the solar system’s performance by 10% or more
- OR adds more than 5% to the installation’s cost than was initially proposed.
These comparisons typically need to be verified by a 3rd party. MDV-SEIA has created a VA-HOA-Solar-Certification-Form that can be submitted to your HOA to show if a requested change is unreasonable. For our customers that encounter problems with their HOA, we provide the 3rd-party certification as part of our process.
You can safely go solar, even if you have an HOA
Virginia’s state code § 55.1-1820.1 protects your right to install solar, and prevents HOAs from placing unreasonable restrictions on residential solar systems. Many HOAs may initially be resistant to solar because they are unfamiliar with what restrictions they can impose. We have helped lots of homeowners install solar with the approval of their local HOA. We do this by working with the HOA, educating them on how solar works and what a reasonable restriction looks like.