Washington, DC Solar Energy: HOA Restrictions (2026)

Under D.C. Code § 8-1774.51, a homeowners association, condominium owners association, or cooperative housing association "shall not prohibit an owner or member from installing or using a solar energy collection device on the owner's or member's property or residential unit, or on a roof that only covers one owner's or member's property or residential unit, regardless of whether the roof is considered part of the common elements." The statute defines a covered device broadly as "a system used to capture and use solar energy, including a passive heating panel or building component and solar photovoltaic apparatus."

The protection is not absolute. An association keeps two carved-out powers: it may prohibit solar devices on shared common elements that do not exclusively serve one owner's unit (a roof over a whole building, for example), and it may "establish reasonable guidelines, other than aesthetic guidelines," aimed at preventing nuisance to other owners or members. Because aesthetic conditions are expressly excluded, a board cannot condition approval on panel color, visibility from the street, or architectural review standards the way it might for other exterior changes.

Associations that do adopt nuisance guidelines can also shift cost risk to the installing owner: § 8-1774.51(c) lets a guideline require the owner or member who installs or uses the device to be "financially responsible for any maintenance or repair to the solar energy collection device" and for "damages caused by the installation or use" of it. The law took effect under D.C. Law 22-142 (July 17, 2018) and applies across all three association types named in the statute.