Can a Nevada HOA restrict rooftop solar?

What the rule says

A Nevada HOA cannot simply ban rooftop solar, but it can restrict it — within deadlines and limits set by the Nevada Revised Statutes. The core provision is NRS 116.333, added by the 2025 Legislature. It covers a unit owner's request to install a "distributed generation system" — defined in NRS 598.9804 as a system or facility for the residential generation of electricity that uses solar energy, including a solar-powered affordable housing system — within the portion of the common-interest community the owner has the right to occupy and use exclusively.

The rule sets a deadline, not a veto:

• Association has adopted solar rules (NRS 116.334): the association must approve or deny the request within 35 days of receiving it. A denial must include a notice detailing the reasons, which must be based on the adopted rules. If the association does not act within 35 days, the request is deemed approved.
• Resubmission: if the owner resubmits after a denial and addresses the stated reasons, the association has 15 days to approve or deny, again with a reasons-based notice and deemed approval if it does not act.
• No adopted solar rules: the association must approve the request within 15 days, and it may not deny the request or impose any conditions.

The owner must still submit the request in accordance with the governing documents and may not install the system before the association approves it. The deadlines apply to an association whose governing documents authorize it to impose restrictions on architectural improvements.

A second statute protects solar at the property level. NRS 278.0208 says a local government may not adopt an ordinance, regulation, or plan that prohibits or unreasonably restricts an owner's use of a solar energy system on the owner's property. It also makes void and unenforceable any covenant, restriction, or condition in a deed, contract, or other legal instrument affecting real property that prohibits or unreasonably restricts solar. The statute treats a restriction as unreasonable if it decreases the system's efficiency or performance by more than 10 percent from the amount originally specified, as determined by the Director of the Office of Energy, without allowing an alternative system at substantially comparable cost and performance, or if it prohibits systems that use components painted with black solar glazing.

Which authority controls

The Nevada Legislature, through NRS chapter 116 (the Uniform Common-Interest Ownership Act), controls how associations may treat solar requests. Within that chapter, NRS 116.334 controls what rules an association may adopt. Rules must not conflict with the National Electrical Code, any local ordinance, or state law (the conflicting part does not apply), and must require the installing solar company to be properly licensed. Rules also may not require an owner to comply with the code- and licensing-related provisions if compliance costs exceed 3 percent of the cash cost of the installation; the owner can demonstrate that with a written estimate from a properly licensed solar installation company that is not affiliated with the owner or the association, dated not more than 60 days before delivery and itemizing all compliance costs.

For recorded deed restrictions and local government action, NRS 278.0208 is the controlling statute. Permits, electrical work, and utility connection remain with local building departments, the National Electrical Code, and the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada's interconnection and net-metering rules — none of which this guide covers in detail.

What may still be required or restricted

Even under the deadlines, an association may lawfully require or restrict the following when it has adopted rules under NRS 116.334:

• Placement: panels installed so they do not face a street, provided the requirement does not decrease production by more than 10 percent as determined using the PVWatts Calculator maintained by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
• Appearance: conduits painted to match the unit's exterior, and inverters placed outside any street and reasonably out of view of other unit owners.
• Batteries: batteries for the system stored in a garage.
• Roof protection: where the system goes on a roof or exterior portion the association maintains, repairs, or replaces, an agreement allocating rights and obligations — which may require the owner to be solely responsible for damage caused by the system, to remove it at the owner's expense when the association determines removal is needed for roof work, and may authorize the association to cause removal.

Approval itself is still required: an owner may not install before the association approves the request. Local permits, electrical inspection, a properly licensed installer (Nevada contractors are licensed under chapter 624), and utility interconnection are separate requirements that run in parallel.

Facts that could change the answer

• Whether the association has adopted rules under NRS 116.334. This changes the deadline (35 days versus 15), whether denials and conditions are allowed at all, and which rule limits apply.
• Whether the governing documents authorize architectural restrictions. NRS 116.333's deadlines are written for associations whose governing documents authorize restrictions on architectural improvements. Governing documents vary, so confirm what the declaration and bylaws say.
• The 10 percent production standard. Both NRS 278.0208 (efficiency/performance, determined by the Director of the Office of Energy) and NRS 116.334 (street-facing placement, determined with PVWatts) turn on a 10 percent threshold. Actual system design and roof orientation will matter in applying them.
• Property type. The chapter 116 rules speak of "unit's owner" and cover common-interest communities (HOAs, condominiums, and similar associations). Owners of detached homes with no association, and properties outside a common-interest community, rely mainly on NRS 278.0208 and local rules.
• The law is recent. NRS 116.333 was added to the NRS in 2025, so association practice and any court interpretations are still developing.

Practical decision path

1. Read the governing documents and any rules the association adopted under NRS 116.334, and confirm the association's approval procedures.
2. Submit a written request with the proposed system, layout, equipment, and installer, and keep proof of the date the association received it.
3. Track the deadline: 35 days (rules adopted) or 15 days (no rules).
4. If denied, get the written denial and confirm it states reasons based on the adopted rules; resubmit addressing those reasons — the association then has 15 days.
5. If the association does not act in time, the request is deemed approved by operation of law; keep the full record to prove the deadline passed.
6. Complete local permitting, electrical inspection, contractor licensing checks, and utility interconnection separately from association approval.
7. Before work begins, obtain the written requirement from the association, landlord, permit office, or serving utility and keep the record.

Records to keep

Keep the request and proof of delivery, the association's written responses with dates, any denial notices and the reasons stated, resubmission correspondence, the itemized installer estimate if a cost-cap question arises, the final approval and any conditions, and the local permits and interconnection documents. If the association maintains the roof, keep the signed roof/installation agreement.

When professional advice may help

A Nevada attorney familiar with common-interest community law can help if an association denies a request outside the statutory deadlines, imposes conditions that appear to exceed NRS 116.334, or disputes the 10 percent production standard or the 3 percent cost cap. If the dispute involves the installing company rather than the association, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada's consumer complaint division, the Nevada State Contractors Board, and the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection are the official complaint routes.

This guide is based on the official text of the Nevada Revised Statutes (chapters 116, 278, and 598) verified on August 16, 2026. Before work begins, obtain the written requirement from the association, landlord, permit office, or serving utility and keep the record.