Published Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, 5:02 pm
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After the Virginia Clean Economy Act was passed in 2020, many Virginians embraced residential solar power in an effort to help reach the state’s goal of zero emissions by 2050. In fact, although it’s not as widely known, the 2020 SB 504 bill also played a key role in making rooftop solar more accessible to residents living in homeowners associations (HOAs): this bill essentially prevents HOAs from rejecting homeowner applications for solar panel installation. However, an existing legal loophole allows some HOAs to remain resistant to solar power, which means further positive change still needs to be made to improve solar access for all Virginians.
The problem of retroactive ‘declarations’
After the SB 504 bill was passed on July 1st 2020, many Virginia residents living in HOAs successfully chose to embrace solar panel installation. However, despite the largely pro-solar nature of the bill, a number of HOA residents remain prevented from accessing rooftop solar. This is because SB 504 still provides a pathway to restrict access to solar by allowing retroactive “declarations” on the HOA’s official land records. Fortunately, for HOAs controlled by members, retroactive declarations don’t pose a problem as it’s difficult to change existing covenants (proposed changes to a recorded covenant require approval from around 75% of all members to be successful). Above all, HOAs should enforce set policies and rules fairly by holding all homeowners to the same equal standards. Otherwise, HOA Selective Enforcement risks becoming an issue in which rules are enforced or applied consistently to all.
However, in contrast, retroactive declarations have been a problem for homeowners in developer-controlled HOAs. In developer-controlled HOAs, the developer establishes all governing documents and has sole power to change covenants at will until all or most lots are sold. And, unfortunately for homeowners, many developer-controlled HOAs have chosen to exercise their power to either stop or largely restrict rooftop solar installation. In fact, some developers have even chosen to devise new covenants that restrict solar in order to block a homeowner’s pending application to install rooftop solar panels.
That’s not to say no homeowners in member-controlled HOAs have experienced resistance to going solar. In fact, the Virginia-based Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) has had to aid multiple residents in this situation with the help of a legal firm. For example, a family in nearby Tidewater were forced to file a lawsuit in order to assert their legal rights to install rooftop solar. Fortunately, the family won their case, yet the victory didn’t come cheap as it racked up thousands of dollars in legal fees.
The need for positive change </…….
Source: https://augustafreepress.com/virginias-homeowners-associations-are-still-resistant-to-solar-power/