Florida HOA solar rules: what your association can and can't do

No. Under s. 163.04 of the Florida Statutes, a deed restriction, covenant, declaration or similar agreement may not prohibit, or have the effect of prohibiting, solar collectors installed on buildings. The same law protects clotheslines.

If a dispute goes to court, the winning side recovers its costs and reasonable attorney's fees, which cuts both ways: an owner who sues and loses can owe the association's fees.

Where they go. The association may decide where on the roof panels are installed, facing south or within 45° east or west of due south, as long as its choice doesn't impair the system's effective operation. The law doesn't define "impair" with a number, so a placement that noticeably cuts production is worth challenging.

Florida's Solar Energy Center notes the law doesn't remove the need for HOA approval if your community documents require it. Expect to submit the plans and wait for the architectural review committee before installing.

Since July 1, 2026 (HB 803), an HOA can't require you to get a building permit before it reviews your application, so HOA review and the permit can move at the same time. The association can still make its approval depend on you getting the permit later.

Before an HOA can fine you, it must give at least 14 days' written notice and a chance for a hearing (s. 720.305). See how long solar installation takes in Florida.

• Condos. Condo roofs are usually common elements controlled by the association. Florida law (s. 718.113) lets a condo board install solar on common elements without an owner vote, but an individual unit owner generally can't put panels on a shared roof.
• Ground mounts. The law protects solar collectors installed on buildings, so a ground-mounted array isn't clearly covered, and deed restrictions may limit it. See ground-mounted solar.
• Batteries. The solar rights law doesn't mention batteries, so ask your HOA about placement rules for any outdoor equipment.
• Generators. A 2024 law (HB 293) requires HOAs to adopt hurricane protection standards that can include exterior fixed generators, and they can't deny an application that meets those standards.

Yes. Since July 1, 2024 (HB 1203), s. 720.3035 requires an architectural committee's denial to be in writing and to state the specific rule or covenant it relied on and the specific part of your plan that doesn't conform. Florida community association attorneys at Becker noted the change appears to rule out denials based only on a community's overall look.

The same 2024 law lets an owner harmed by an unreasonable architectural denial recover damages, including attorney's fees. That adds to the fee-shifting already in the solar rights law.

Yes, notably in 1991. In Taylor v. Ridge at the Bluffs Homeowners Association, a Florida appeals court held that the solar rights law didn't reach an HOA's declaration of covenants, in a case over rooftop panels for heating pools. According to UCF's Florida Solar Energy Center, the Legislature then amended the law to specifically cover homeowner associations, and most disputes since have been resolved through mediation.

Plans, wiring details and a system sizing that compares the panels with the home's past electric use, according to a Florida HOA law blog, so bring a year of electric bills and your installer's production estimate. State law sets no deadline for the HOA to answer, but your community's declaration may, so check it before you submit.

• Read your community's architectural guidelines before you get quotes.
• Ask your installer for an HOA package: a site plan, roof layout, panel and racking spec sheets, and photos of a similar install.
• Propose a south, east or west roof face the HOA will accept; if it pushes you to a worse spot, ask the installer to show the production loss in writing.
• Submit early, since many committees meet monthly, and keep copies of every approval.

See Florida solar incentives and how to choose a solar company in Florida.