Iowa HOA vs. City: Solar Access Covenants (Iowa Code § 564A.8)

Iowa has no statewide statute broadly stripping HOA power in favor of homeowners, so most conflicts turn on the declaration. The notable exception is solar. Iowa Code § 564A.8 lets city councils and county boards of supervisors 'include in ordinances relating to subdivisions a provision prohibiting deeds for property located in new subdivisions from containing restrictive covenants that include unreasonable restrictions on the use of solar collectors.' This is permissive—it empowers local governments to bar unreasonable anti-solar covenants in new subdivisions but does not itself void existing HOA bans. Chapter 564A separately lets an owner record a 'solar access easement' to protect a collector's sunlight. Flag: protection depends on a local ordinance being adopted; absent one, an HOA's solar restriction may control.

No specific statutory penalty. Local governments may, by ordinance, void unreasonable anti-solar covenants in new subdivisions (§ 564A.8); owners may seek a recorded solar access easement (Ch. 564A).