HOA Solar Rules in California: What Your HOA Can't Do

At a glance

California's Solar Rights Act, Civil Code section 714, voids any rule in your HOA's governing documents, a deed restriction or a covenant that effectively prohibits or restricts solar. Section 714.1, which applies to HOAs, adds that an association can't have a general policy against rooftop solar on the building you live in, and can't make you win a vote of the members. What's left is a short list:

Your HOA can

Require you to apply and get approval first
Set reasonable rules on placement and looks that stay within the $1,000 and 10% limits
Decide what goes on common areas
Set rules for roof maintenance, repair and replacement
Require your installer to cover damage the installation causes

Your HOA can't

Ban rooftop solar on the building you live in, or your assigned garage or carport
Require a vote of the members to approve it
Impose rules that add more than $1,000 or cut output by more than 10%
Sit on your application: no written denial in 45 days means approved
Hold up your city permit: the city can't make it wait for HOA approval

The $1,000 and 10% limits

An HOA rule about solar is reasonable only if it doesn't significantly raise the system's cost or significantly lower its efficiency. For solar electric panels, the law puts numbers on "significantly": more than $1,000 over the cost of the system as you originally specified and proposed it, or more than a 10% drop in efficiency compared with that proposal.

So the test starts from your proposal. If your installer's plan puts panels on the south side of the roof and the HOA wants them on a west-facing roof instead, the question is how much less that system would make, and what extra it would cost.

What a roof direction costs you

We ran NREL's PVWatts calculator for the same 1 kW system on a typical 6/12 roof facing south, southwest, west and east in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Fresno:

Southwest-facingvs. south-facing

2 to 5%

West-facingvs. south-facing

13 to 17%

East-facingvs. south-facing

16 to 20%

0%5%10%15%20%25%

One cityOver the 10% line10% limit in Civil Code 714

Yearly output, less than the same system facing south. One dot each for Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Fresno. NREL PVWatts, 1 kW system on a 6/12 roof, 14% losses.

Southwest is within a few percent of south everywhere we checked, so a rule moving panels from south to southwest would usually pass the 10% test. West and east roofs make 13 to 20% less than south, over the line. These are yearly totals for an unshaded roof; shade, tilt and your own site change them, and the comparison that counts is against your actual proposal.

City	S	SW	W	E
Los Angeles	1,701	1,652-2.9%	1,460-14.2%	1,366-19.7%
Sacramento	1,644	1,566-4.7%	1,359-17.3%	1,351-17.8%
San Diego	1,696	1,659-2.2%	1,475-13.0%	1,362-19.7%
Fresno	1,662	1,586-4.6%	1,389-16.4%	1,388-16.5%

Source: NREL PVWatts version 8, fetched October 29, 2026. kWh per year from 1 kW of panels.

Applying and the 45-day clock

Treat it like any architectural request. The law says an HOA must process a solar application the same way as an application for an architectural modification, and can't willfully avoid or delay it.
Get the answer in writing. An HOA's approval or denial must be in writing.
Day 45. If the HOA hasn't denied the application in writing within 45 days of receiving it, it's deemed approved, unless the delay comes from a reasonable request for more information. Keep proof of the date you submitted it.
The city doesn't wait. Government Code section 65850.5 bars a city or county from making your solar permit depend on HOA approval.

Tile roofs of stucco homes facing different directions, one of them with dark solar panels, under tall palms and cypress trees and a clear blue sky

Condos, townhomes and shared roofs

If the roof belongs to the association as common area, or the space you'd use belongs to another owner, the HOA has more say. It can limit solar on common areas to systems it approves, and require approval for a system on someone else's separate interest. For a multifamily roof shared by more than one owner, Civil Code section 4746 sets the process:

Required: you notify every unit owner in the building of your application, and you and later owners carry homeowner liability insurance, with a certificate to the HOA within 14 days of approval and every year after.
Allowed: the HOA can ask for a solar site survey by a licensed contractor or its registered salesperson that shows usable roof area and splits it fairly among the owners sharing the roof. The survey's cost doesn't count toward the $1,000 limit.
Also allowed: making you and later owners pay for damage, upkeep and restoration after removal, and requiring you to tell buyers about the system.

If your HOA says no

An HOA that willfully breaks section 714 is liable for your actual damages plus a civil penalty of up to $1,000, and in a lawsuit to enforce the law, the side that wins gets reasonable attorney's fees. Ask the HOA to put its reasons in writing and compare them with the $1,000 and 10% limits; PVWatts numbers like the ones above can help show what a placement rule would cost in output. For a dispute that doesn't settle, an attorney can tell you what to do next.

Next step

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Common questions

Can an HOA deny solar panels in California?

Not with a ban. Civil Code sections 714 and 714.1 void HOA rules that effectively prohibit or restrict solar and bar a general policy against rooftop solar on the building you live in. An HOA can deny an application that doesn't meet reasonable rules, ones that add no more than $1,000 or cut efficiency by no more than 10%.

How long does a California HOA have to approve solar?

45 days. If the HOA hasn't denied the application in writing within 45 days of receiving it, it's deemed approved, unless the delay comes from a reasonable request for more information.

Can my HOA make me put panels on the back of the house?

Only if it doesn't cost more than $1,000 extra or cut the system's efficiency by more than 10% compared with what you proposed. In NREL's PVWatts calculator, moving panels from a south roof to a southwest roof costs only a few percent of output in California cities, while west or east roofs lose about 13 to 20%.

Does the Solar Rights Act apply to condos?

Yes, with more room for the HOA. It can control solar on common areas, require approval to use another owner's separate interest, and for a shared multifamily roof Civil Code section 4746 requires notice to every unit owner and liability insurance.

What happens if my HOA breaks the Solar Rights Act?

An HOA that willfully violates Civil Code section 714 owes actual damages and a civil penalty of up to $1,000, and the winning side in a lawsuit to enforce it gets reasonable attorney's fees.

This is a plain-English summary of California law, not legal advice. Output figures are PVWatts estimates for an unshaded roof. Sources: Civil Code 714 · Civil Code 714.1 · Civil Code 4746 · Government Code 65850.5 · NREL PVWatts. Reviewed October 2026.

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