Can a North Carolina HOA restrict solar panels?

The short answer

Sometimes. North Carolina General Statutes § 22B-20 generally makes a deed restriction, covenant, or similar binding agreement that runs with the land void and unenforceable when it would prohibit—or have the effect of prohibiting—the installation of a solar collector for a covered residential property. The statute covers solar radiation used for water heating, active space heating or cooling, passive heating, or generating electricity. That is why an HOA cannot simply rely on a blanket “no solar” clause in every North Carolina residential setting.

But this is not an automatic approval. The statute permits reasonable location and screening rules, preserves express solar restrictions for specified ground-visible front-facing locations, and excludes certain multi-story condominiums from its definition of residential property. Local permits, the State Building Code, utility interconnection, roof ownership, and the recorded community documents remain separate tracks.

Which North Carolina HOA or property rule applies?

Start by identifying the property's legal form—not just whether it looks like a townhome or subdivision. Under G.S. 47F-1-103(23), a planned community is real estate in which lot ownership creates a declaration-based obligation to pay expenses benefiting other lots or real estate; for that Act, a condominium or cooperative is not a planned community. A typical fee-simple lot in a planned community is therefore analyzed first under § 22B-20 and the community's recorded declaration and rules.

For a condominium, read the statutory exclusion carefully. Section 22B-20(b) says “residential property” does not include a condominium created under Chapter 47A or 47C that is in a multi-story building containing units with horizontal boundaries described in the declaration. That is a specific exclusion, not a statement that every condominium or every townhome is outside the statute. A single-level condominium, a townhouse condominium, and a planned-community townhome may require different document and ownership analysis.

Even where § 22B-20 applies, the person requesting panels must establish the right to use the installation area. A separately owned roof is different from a common roof, limited common element, association-owned yard, shared parking area, or leased building. For an included condominium or shared-property fact pattern, G.S. 47C-3-102 says that, unless the declaration provides otherwise, the association may adopt and amend rules and regulations and regulate the use, maintenance, repair, replacement, and modification of common elements. That power does not itself answer whether a particular panel location is allowed; the declaration, plat, roof designation, and maintenance responsibilities still matter.

What an HOA may still restrict

Section 22B-20(c) allows a land-running covenant to regulate the location or screening of solar collectors, provided it does not prevent the reasonable use of a collector for residential property. The same subsection allows documents to assign risks and costs when an owners' association is responsible for exterior maintenance. The title owner may be made responsible for damage caused by installation, existence, or removal; required to hold the association harmless and indemnify it; and responsible for the system's maintenance, repair, replacement, and removal unless a written, recorded agreement says otherwise.

Visibility alone does not authorize a ban. In Belmont Association v. Farwig, 381 N.C. 306, paragraphs 18–21, the North Carolina Supreme Court held that general architectural authority to reject improvements for aesthetic reasons did not qualify for subsection (d). The restriction had to expressly prohibit solar in the specified locations. The court also found that the denial prevented reasonable solar use, so subsection (c) did not save it. It reversed the decision favoring the association. Ask for the express solar restriction, not merely a general appearance clause.

Section 22B-20(d) preserves an express restriction on collectors visible from the ground in these locations:

1. on a facade facing areas open to common or public access;
2. on a roof surface sloping downward toward those same areas; or
3. within the area set off by a line across that facade extending to the side property boundaries and the common or public-access areas it faces.

This is why “front-facing solar” can produce a different result from a rear-roof array. The exception concerns the location described by the statute; it is not a general license to prohibit every solar collector everywhere on the property. Ask the HOA to identify the visibility facts and the exact recorded provision it is applying.

The statute's history in the current official text cites Session Law 2007-279, section 3, and 2009-553, section 3. Section 22B-20(e) says a court may award costs and reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party in a civil action arising under the section. That is a litigation remedy, not a reason to skip the written application, local approvals, or professional review.

Local permits and North Carolina code are separate

North Carolina's parallel public-law protection is G.S. 160D-914. It says a local government development regulation may not prohibit or effectively prohibit a residential solar collector, and that no person may be denied local permission for one, subject to the statute's exceptions. It also allows local regulation of location or screening when the regulation does not prevent reasonable use, and preserves the same categories of ground-visible front-facing locations.

That does not mean § 160D-914 is a permit waiver. G.S. 160D-102(13) defines development approvals to include zoning permits, site-plan approvals, and building permits. The North Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal's Codes page says the NC State Building Code is adopted and amended by the NC Building Code Council for implementation across the state, and that code interpretations are handled through the state's engineering function.

Because permit administration is local and the required review depends on the design and address, ask the city or county authority having jurisdiction which building, electrical, structural, fire, zoning, historic-district, and inspection steps apply. A roof-mounted array, ground-mounted array, battery, shared service, or work in a historic district may not follow the same path. Do not treat HOA approval as permit issuance, or a permit as HOA approval.

Utility interconnection is a third track

The North Carolina Utilities Commission's electricity page says North Carolina service is provided by investor-owned utilities, university-owned utilities, electric membership corporations, and municipally owned utilities. It also says a customer obtains service from the utility serving that area, and the Commission's regulatory authority differs among those provider types. There is no safe generic “North Carolina utility form” to substitute for the actual provider's current process.

If the home is served by Duke Energy, its official Apply for Grid Connection page says, “Safely connect to Duke Energy's grid to generate your own renewable energy.” Treat that as a utility-specific starting point, not a promise of approval. Ask the serving utility about the current interconnection application, equipment and meter requirements, inspection or testing, rate or net-metering terms, and permission to operate. Keep the utility's written response.

Records and a safe decision path

Before submitting an HOA request, collect the recorded declaration and amendments, bylaws, architectural rules, plat, roof or limited-common-element designation, and any lease or contract affecting the site. Prepare a plan showing panel location, roof slope and visibility, screening, equipment, wiring, structural information, projected production, and who will pay for roof damage, maintenance, removal, and restoration.

Submit separate written requests to the HOA, local authority, and serving utility. Keep proof of delivery, every condition or denial, permit and inspection records, interconnection documents, contractor and insurance materials, photographs, and revised designs. If the HOA cites a front-facing exception, ask it to identify the access area, ground-visibility finding, and subsection or recorded rule. If the property is shared, leased, historic, or the denial threatens a substantial cost or deadline, consider North Carolina legal, engineering, electrical, insurance, or contracting advice before work begins.

For document-reading help, see Reading HOA and condominium governing documents. For the three-approval distinction, see Permit vs. HOA vs. utility approval.

Official sources

• North Carolina General Statutes § 22B-20
• North Carolina General Statutes § 160D-914
• North Carolina General Statutes § 160D-102
• North Carolina General Statutes § 47F-1-103
• North Carolina General Statutes § 47C-3-102
• North Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal — Codes
• North Carolina Utilities Commission — Electricity
• Duke Energy — Apply for Grid Connection
• North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality — Energy & Climate

Sources were checked August 18, 2026. Confirm the current statute text, local requirements, utility process, and governing documents before relying on a deadline or beginning work.

• Belmont Association v. Farwig, official Supreme Court reporter — majority opinion, paragraphs 1–21.