Portland, OR Solar Energy: HOA Restrictions (2026)

ORS 105.880 establishes the Oregon Solar Access framework — a property owner may negotiate and record a 'solar access easement' protecting sunlight to a solar collector, and the easement runs with the land. ORS 94.762 (part of the Oregon Planned Community Act) is the operative HOA-protection provision: it voids any condition, covenant, restriction, or rule in a planned community that prohibits or unreasonably restricts the installation or use of a solar-energy system on a residential lot owned by an individual. 'Unreasonably restricts' is defined to mean increasing the cost of the system by more than 5% or decreasing the system's efficiency by more than 10%. The same rule applies to condominium associations under ORS 100.405. HOAs retain limited authority to require aesthetic standards (color, panel placement to the rear/side of a roof where structurally feasible) and to require architectural-review submission, but they cannot refuse approval outright. Trees that block solar collectors are a more contested area — ORS 105.895 limits the solar-shade provisions to expressly recorded easements, so a neighbor's existing trees are not automatically required to be trimmed unless a recorded easement exists. The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability promotes solar installations citywide, and Portland's solar permit program (BDS Express Solar Permit) is one of the fastest in the country, with typical turnaround of 1-3 business days.