New Hampshire does NOT have a statewide solar-access override statute comparable to Colorado, Florida, Texas, or California. The state's solar statutes — RSA 477:49, RSA 477:50, and RSA 477:51 — authorize VOLUNTARY solar skyspace easements that must be negotiated and recorded by the property owners involved, but they do NOT void HOA covenants that restrict solar installations. A Nashua HOA whose declaration or rules prohibit or limit rooftop or ground-mount solar can generally enforce those restrictions absent a separately negotiated solar skyspace easement. Disputes are resolved in Hillsborough County Superior Court under contract and condominium-association law.
RSA 477:49 (Definitions) defines a solar skyspace as 'the space between a solar energy collector and the sun which must remain unobstructed in order to permit sufficient solar energy to the collector for thermally efficient operation,' and defines a solar skyspace easement as a written limitation 'in any deed or other instrument executed by or on behalf of the landowner...creating and preserving a right to unobstructed access to solar energy.' Notably, RSA 477:49 also states that 'the easement shall be exempt from the frontage and area requirements of local zoning ordinances.' RSA 477:50 (Creation of a Solar Skyspace Easement) sets the procedural requirements: the easement may be acquired, transferred, and recorded in the same manner as any other conveyance of an interest in real property; it must include a description of the vertical and horizontal angles (or other spatial description) and the place and times of day in which an obstruction is prohibited; terms and conditions for grant or termination; provisions for compensation of the benefited or burdened landowner; and a description of both the benefited and burdened real property. The easement runs with the land. RSA 477:50 also provides that 'a solar skyspace easement shall not terminate within 10 years after its creation unless an earlier termination is expressly stated in the instrument or is otherwise negotiated by the owners of the benefited and burdened land.' RSA 477:51 provides a statutory form. Critically, none of these provisions void HOA or condominium-declaration restrictions on solar installations. Unlike Massachusetts (MGL c. 184, s. 23C) or other states with mandatory solar-access law, New Hampshire requires the homeowner to negotiate solar protection with neighbors voluntarily. A Nashua HOA covenant that prohibits solar panels or imposes aesthetic restrictions is generally enforceable as a matter of contract. The City of Nashua does not enforce HOA covenants — those are private — and city building and electrical permits issue independently of HOA review under Chapter 158 and RSA 155-A.
If a Nashua HOA enforces a covenant prohibiting solar, the homeowner's recourse is contractual — typically a declaratory-judgment or injunctive action in Hillsborough County Superior Court arguing that the covenant is ambiguous, has been waived, or has been overridden by a recorded solar skyspace easement under RSA 477:50. Unlike the solar-rights statutes in Colorado (CRS 38-30-168), Florida (FS 163.04), Texas (Property Code 202.010), or California (Civil Code 714), New Hampshire has no statute that automatically voids restrictive HOA covenants on solar. An HOA's restrictions can be unenforceable if they were procedurally improper (e.g., adopted in violation of the declaration's amendment provisions or RSA 356-B for condominium associations) or if they unreasonably restrict a recorded solar skyspace easement. Condominium associations are also governed by RSA 356-B (Condominium Act), which requires reasonable rule-making procedures.
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