West Virginia Limits on HOA Power: Solar (Protected) & Flags (Federal Law)

W. Va. Code § 36-4-19 provides that any covenant in a housing association's governing document executed or recorded after the section's effective date "that effectively prohibits or restricts the installation or use of a solar energy system is void and unenforceable." It carves out "restrictions for historical preservation, architectural significance, religious or cultural importance," allows health and safety standards, and lets a housing association by member vote establish or remove a solar restriction. For flags, there is no West Virginia statute; the controlling law is federal — the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, 4 U.S.C. § 5, which bars a residential association from preventing display of the U.S. flag, subject to reasonable time, place, and manner rules.

No penalty on the homeowner. On solar, a post-enactment HOA covenant that prohibits or restricts a solar energy system is void and unenforceable under § 36-4-19, subject to its exceptions. On flags, an HOA policy banning U.S. flag display is unenforceable under federal law (4 U.S.C. § 5).