North Carolina solar access law NCGS 22B-20 voids any deed restriction, covenant, or HOA binding agreement that prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting installation of a solar collector on residential property - including in Chapel Hill. The statute is one of the broader solar-access protections in the South. However, NCGS 22B-20(d) carves out three visibility exceptions: HOAs may still prohibit residential solar collectors that, when viewed from the ground, are (1) on a facade facing common or public access areas, (2) on a roof surface sloping downward toward those areas, or (3) within the area set off by a line running across the facade extending to property boundaries. Multi-story condominiums are exempted from the general protection. Courts may award attorneys' fees to the prevailing party.
Chapel Hill homeowners associations operate under the NC Planned Community Act (NCGS Chapter 47F) and the NC Condominium Act (NCGS Chapter 47C), but their authority to restrict solar collectors is overridden by NCGS 22B-20 (Solar collectors and deed restrictions). Subsection (b) declares that any deed restriction, covenant, or similar binding agreement that runs with the land that would prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the installation of a solar collector on residential property is void and unenforceable - the protection applies to residential property generally but does not extend to multi-story condominium common-element roofs (subsection (a)). Subsection (c) permits HOAs to regulate the location or screening of solar collectors so long as those regulations do not prevent reasonable use - HOAs can also require property owners to assume liability and indemnify the association for installation-related damages. Subsection (d) is the key carve-out and is more permissive of HOA restriction than the comparable Florida statute: deed restrictions may prohibit solar collectors that are visible by a person on the ground from being installed on (1) the facade of a structure that faces areas open to common or public access, (2) a roof surface that slopes downward toward those same public-facing areas, or (3) within the area set off by a line running across the facade of the structure extending to the property boundaries on either side of the facade and the areas of common or public access (i.e., the front-yard view envelope). Together these exceptions mean a Chapel Hill HOA generally cannot ban side-yard or rear-yard solar but may restrict street-facing front-yard installations. Subsection (e) authorizes courts to award costs and reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party in any civil action arising under the statute. The Chapel Hill LUMO does not impose additional HOA restrictions; LUMO Section 3.6 districts permit accessory rooftop solar by right.
An HOA covenant or board policy that violates NCGS 22B-20 is void and unenforceable as a matter of law. A Chapel Hill homeowner can sue the HOA in Orange County Superior Court for declaratory and injunctive relief and may recover reasonable attorneys' fees if they prevail under NCGS 22B-20(e). HOAs that record overbroad solar covenants risk unwinding their architectural review denials, removing recorded covenant language, and paying the homeowner's litigation costs. The prevailing party (which can be the HOA where the homeowner attempted a panel falling within a valid (d) front-facade visibility exception) can also recover fees - the fee-shifting cuts both ways. Note that HOA enforcement against an installation lawfully sited away from front-facing roof slopes carries substantial litigation exposure.
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