The short answer

A Texas HOA can't ban solar, and any rule in your deed restrictions that tries to is void. Since 2011, Property Code 202.010 has limited HOAs to a list of exceptions: it can require approval before you install, keep panels off common areas and unfenced yards, keep roof panels below the roofline and in line with the roof, require dark or metal-toned frames and wiring, and steer you to a preferred part of the roof, unless your spot would make more than 10% more power. Once you meet those rules, it can only say no in writing, on a finding that the placement would unreasonably annoy the neighbors.

There is one real exception: in a development with fewer than 51 planned homes, the developer can block solar during its development period.

Where panels can go

The law protects solar in two places on your property: the roof of the house (or of another structure your deed restrictions allow, like a detached garage) and a fenced yard or patio you own and maintain. Outside those, the HOA can say no.

Protected

  • The roof of your home, kept below the roofline
  • The roof of a garage or other structure your deed restrictions allow
  • A fenced yard or patio you own, with panels no taller than the fence
  • Solar roof tiles and solar shingles

The HOA can prohibit

  • Panels on HOA-owned, HOA-maintained or common property
  • Panels in an unfenced yard
  • Roof panels that stick up past the roofline or tilt off the roof plane
  • Anything installed before the HOA approved it, or that voids a material warranty

The 10% rule

An HOA can tell you which part of the roof to use, often the back or a side that faces away from the street. But the law sets a limit: if the location you want would increase the system's estimated yearly production by more than 10% over the HOA's area, measured with a public NREL modeling tool, the HOA's designation doesn't apply. NREL's free tool for this is PVWatts.

Here's how that plays out on a 6/12 roof in Dallas. Say the HOA designates the west-facing side of your roof and you want the south-facing side:

Yearly output of 1 kW of panels in Dallas, by roof direction

kWh per year. The dashed line is 10% above the HOA's west-facing area.

1,523
1,464
1,298
1,271
Southyour pickSouthwestWestHOA’s areaEast

Your preferred roofHOA-designated roof10% above the HOA's area

Source: PVWatts v8, Dallas, 6/12 roof pitch, standard losses.

The south roof makes 17% more than the west roof, clearing the 10% bar, so the HOA's west-side designation wouldn't hold. Southwest against west comes to 13%, also over the bar. South against southwest, only 4%, so if the HOA had designated the southwest roof, you'd have to use it. And south beats east by 20% in this model.

Aerial view of a Texas subdivision street of brick two-story homes, one with solar panels neatly placed on the back slope of its roof, all panels below the ridgeline
Run it for your roof

Enter your address in PVWatts twice, once with the HOA's roof direction and once with yours, keeping everything else the same. Print both results for your application.

How panels must look

The law lets an HOA hold roof-mounted panels to four appearance rules, and no others:

  • Below the roofline. Panels can't extend higher than or beyond the roofline.
  • Flush with the roof. The HOA can prohibit panels that don't follow the slope of the roof and have a top edge that isn't parallel to the roofline. Tilted racks that stand off the roof are the usual problem.
  • Frame and wiring colors. Frames, brackets and any visible piping or wiring can be required in a silver, bronze or black tone commonly sold.
  • Fence height. Panels in a fenced yard or patio can't be taller than the fence.

Check your installer's layout and equipment against these four rules before you apply; a plan that meets them leaves the HOA little room to object.

Solar roof tiles, shingles and batteries

In 2025, House Bill 431 added one sentence to the law: a "solar energy device" includes a solar roof tile. The bill says the change is meant "to clarify rather than change existing law." A separate section, Property Code 202.011, already protected shingles designed to generate solar power, as long as they resemble the shingles allowed in the neighborhood, are at least as durable and good, and match the look of the surrounding homes.

The law borrows its definition of a solar energy device from Tax Code 171.107, which also covers "a mechanical or chemical device that has the ability to store solar-generated energy." On its face, that brings a battery charged by your panels under the same protection. The HOA's placement and approval rules still apply to it.

The exception for new developments

In a development with fewer than 51 planned homes, the developer (the declarant) can prohibit or restrict solar during the development period, the stretch of time the deed restrictions reserve for building and selling the subdivision. Once that period ends, or in a larger development, the normal rules apply.

A Texas HOA street of matching two-story homes, one with low-profile all-black solar panels that blend into its roof

Asking for approval

Approval first is the one rule every HOA can enforce, and the law lets an HOA prohibit panels that went up without it. A request that shows you meet each exception in 202.010 makes it hard to refuse. Something like this:

To the HOA name architectural review committee:

I am requesting approval to install a rooftop solar energy system at your address, under Texas Property Code 202.010. The panels will be on the direction-facing roof, below the roofline, following the slope of the roof with the top edge parallel to the roofline. Frames, brackets and visible wiring will be black, silver or bronze. The installation will not void any material warranty.

Attached are the layout drawing, the equipment specifications and a PVWatts estimate for the proposed location, plus the estimate for the area the association designates.

Your name, phone and email

If your neighbors are on board, get their signatures. Under 202.010(e), written approval of your placement from all adjoining owners counts as evidence that it doesn't unreasonably bother them, the only ground the HOA has left to deny a compliant system.

If the HOA says no

Texas gives owners a hearing. In an HOA with more than 40 lots, once the developer no longer controls the architectural committee, Property Code 209.00505 says:

  • A written denial. It must come by certified mail, hand delivery or electronic delivery, explain the reasons in reasonable detail, list any changes that would get approval, and tell you that you can ask for a hearing.
  • 30 days to ask. Request a hearing with the board on or before the 30th day after the notice was mailed.
  • A hearing within 30 days. The board must hold it within 30 days of your request, with at least 10 days' notice. Either side can get one postponement of up to 10 days, and either side can record it.
  • The board decides. It can affirm, modify or reverse the committee's decision.

Bring the statute, your PVWatts printouts and any neighbor signatures. If the HOA instead tries to fine you over a system, Property Code 209.006 requires a certified-mail notice first, a reasonable chance to fix a curable problem, and the right to request a hearing within 30 days. Disputes that go further are for a Texas real estate attorney.

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Common questions

Can an HOA prevent solar panels in Texas?

No. Texas Property Code 202.010 voids HOA rules that prohibit or restrict solar. An HOA can still require approval first, keep panels off common areas and unfenced yards, keep roof panels below the roofline and in line with the roof, and set frame and wiring colors.

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

It can designate an area of the roof, but not if your preferred spot would produce more than 10% more energy per year, measured with a public NREL tool such as PVWatts. In our Dallas example, a south-facing roof made 17% more than a west-facing one.

Does the Texas HOA solar law cover solar roof tiles?

Yes. House Bill 431 added solar roof tiles to the definition in 2025 and says the change clarifies existing law. Property Code 202.011 separately protects solar shingles that resemble and match the neighborhood's allowed shingles.

Can a Texas HOA stop a home battery?

The law uses Tax Code 171.107's definition of a solar energy device, which includes a device that can store solar-generated energy, so a battery charged by your panels appears to get the same protection. The HOA's approval and placement rules still apply.

What can I do if my HOA denies my solar application?

In an HOA with more than 40 lots that the developer no longer controls, you can request a board hearing within 30 days of the written denial under Property Code 209.00505. The board must hold it within 30 days of your request and can reverse the denial.

Are there any Texas HOAs that can still ban solar?

During the development period of a development with fewer than 51 planned homes, the developer can prohibit or restrict solar. Outside that case, Property Code 202.010 applies.

This is a plain-English summary of Texas law, not legal advice. Your deed restrictions and HOA rules matter too; read them alongside the statute. Sources: Property Code 202.010 and 202.011 · HB 431 (2025) · Tax Code 171.107 · Property Code 209.00505 and 209.006 · PVWatts v8, National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL). Reviewed October 2026.

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