Yakima County, WA Solar Energy: HOA Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Statute
- RCW 64.38.055
- Applies to
- HOA governing documents statewide
- HOA may still regulate
- roofline visibility, slope, shielding, indemnification
- Retroactive to
- governing documents in effect July 26, 2009
- Common areas
- exempt, per RCW 64.38.010
- Current version effective until
- January 1, 2028
- Enforcement path
- civil suit, not a county department
Summary
In unincorporated Yakima County, RCW 64.38.055 stops homeowners' association covenants and rules from banning solar energy panels outright. A governing document cannot prohibit an owner or resident from installing a panel that meets health and safety permitting standards, carries solar-rating certification if it heats water, and meets national electric code standards if it generates power. The HOA can still control placement and appearance.
(1) The governing documents may not prohibit the installation of a solar energy panel by an owner or resident on the owner's or resident's property as long as the solar energy panel: (a) Meets applicable health and safety standards and requirements imposed by state and local permitting authorities; (b) If used to heat water, is certified by the solar rating certification corporation or another nationally recognized certification agency...; and (c) If used to produce electricity, meets all applicable safety and performance standards established by the national electric code... (2) The governing documents may: (a) Prohibit the visibility of any part of a roof-mounted solar energy panel above the roofline; ... (ii) An owner or resident to shield a ground-mounted solar energy panel if shielding the panel does not prohibit economic installation of the solar energy panel or degrade the operational performance quality of the solar energy panel by more than ten percent.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
Yakima County's unincorporated subdivisions and planned developments, orchard-adjacent lot splits included, are governed by this state statute rather than a county solar ordinance; the county code does not separately regulate HOA solar rules. Under subsection (2), an association's governing documents may still prohibit a roof-mounted panel from being visible above the roofline, may require a panel mounted on a street-facing roof slope to conform to the roof's pitch with its top edge parallel to the ridge, and may require frames, brackets, piping, or wiring to be painted to match the roofing material.
An association can also require an owner to shield a ground-mounted panel, but only if shielding does not block economical installation or cut the panel's performance by more than ten percent, and it can require owners who install panels to indemnify the association or other members for installation damage. Subsection (3) lets an HOA adopt other reasonable placement and manner rules beyond those listed. 010, so an HOA still controls solar installations on association-owned common property. Subsection (6) makes the statute retroactive: it reaches any governing document in effect on July 26, 2009, and voids any inconsistent provision in an older declaration, even one recorded decades before the statute passed. The current text is captioned effective until January 1, 2028.
Violations & Fines
This civil statute sits inside the Homeowners' Associations Act (RCW 64.38); the county assessor's office and Yakima County Community Services do not enforce it. An owner blocked by a board citing a blanket "no solar" covenant should challenge it in writing, citing RCW 64.38.055(1) and (6), then pursue declaratory or injunctive relief in Yakima County Superior Court if the board refuses. A void covenant provision cannot be enforced no matter what the recorded declaration says; there is no fine scheme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my Yakima County HOA ban rooftop solar panels entirely?
Can the HOA still restrict how the panels look or where they go?
What if my HOA's CC&Rs already banned solar panels before 2009?
Does this protection cover ground-mounted panels on rural HOA lots?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yakima County
Compare Yakima County to another location·View the Washington solar energy overview
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