Topic hub
Find state consumer-protection guidance for contractors and green-home disputes, including complaints, records, deadlines, and remedies.
When a project goes wrong — a denial, a contractor dispute, a financing surprise, or a utility
complaint — the first questions are which records exist, which agency has authority, and what the
claim actually is.
An agency complaint is a process, not a verdict, and agencies have limits on what they can do.
Contract terms, statutes of limitation, and the specific facts decide most disputes. A denial by
an HOA may have its own internal appeal path before any agency is involved.
For most consumer protection and disputes questions, start with the statewide rule, then check local permits and safety rules, utility requirements, governing documents, and the project contract. The property type and location determine which layer controls.
Check the contractor's license in your state licensing board's official online license search before you sign anything — the search shows status, license class, and disclosed complaints. If something goes wrong, file a complaint with that board; report scams and fraud to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
A denial is usually the start of a review process, not the end: get the written reasons and the exact provision cited, check whether a state statute protects the project type, appeal in writing, and use the agency complaint route that fits (attorney general, contractor board, or public utility commission).
Save every written notice, letter, email, contract, receipt, delivery confirmation, photo, meter reading, and permit document, in an organized file you can produce later. Official guidance — including the FTC, the CFPB, state attorneys general, and public utility commissions — consistently expects consumers to document disputes in writing, keep copies, and attach supporting records when they complain.
Keep the documentation that proves what you bought, what it cost, when it was installed, and that it meets the program's requirements: itemized receipts and invoices, the manufacturer's certification or qualified-manufacturer identification (QMID) where required, placed-in-service documentation, and the program paperwork for any rebate you receive. The IRS says to keep records as long as needed to prove the items on your tax return, and rebate programs run by states, territories, and Tribes set their own paperwork rules.
Keep everything you sent and everything you received: the application, proof of delivery, the written decision, requests for more information, correspondence, and inspection reports. Federal and state consumer-protection guidance consistently treats your copies as the backbone of any later dispute.
Check the contractor's license, get the full written proposal (equipment, price, financing, and performance assumptions), compare the terms against consumer-protection rules — including the FTC's three-day cooling-off rule for door-to-door sales and state licensing requirements — and verify the tax-credit eligibility and installation-date terms before signing.
Verify a solar contractor's license with your state contractor-licensing board before signing, using the board's official license search; complaints about licensed and unlicensed contractors go to that same board, while deceptive sales and fraud can be reported to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
It depends on state law and on timing. In California, the Solar Shade Control Act (Public Resources Code sections 25980–25986) limits shading caused by trees placed or grown on another property after a solar collector is installed — a tree may not cast a shadow greater than 10 percent of the collector absorption area between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. — with an exemption for passive or natural systems. Oregon protects solar access mainly through solar energy easements. Local rules and recorded easements can change the result.
Start free: call or email your building department, utility, and state attorney general's consumer office for questions and complaints. Hire a licensed electrician for any wiring, a licensed engineer when your building department requires sealed plans, a tax professional when claiming credits or reviewing financing, and an attorney when a dispute, lien, or fraud is involved.
California's Solar Shade Control Act applies narrowly to post-installation tree or shrub shading of a solar collector: more than 10 percent of the collector absorption area between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. local standard time.
In Michigan, a member whose homeowners' association violates the Homeowners' Energy Policy Act (2024 PA 68, effective April 2, 2025) may bring a civil action against the association for damages, and the court may award reasonable attorney fees and costs if the member prevails; the act creates no agency complaint or enforcement process, so a well-documented file matters.