One homeowner whose neighbor was issued a warning from their homeowners association for installing solar panels without permission asked the r/HOA subreddit for advice. 

"My neighbor has been in the process of getting solar panels for his house, and they were just finished being installed on Friday. Today, he got a mail from the HOA, saying that he never applied for permission for the solar panels," the OP explained. 

The HOA communication also referenced a violation of a community bylaw that prohibited homeowners from installing solar panels that are visible from the road. According to the OP, six of them are. 

The OP asked, "What can he do to appease the HOA, and even more importantly, what can they do to him if he doesn't comply?"

Homeowners associations are notorious for upholding strict, frustrating, and sometimes silly regulations that can interfere with a homeowner's ability to make money-saving and environmentally friendly changes to their home. 

Afraid of violating their HOA rules, one homeowner asked a composting Facebook group about why HOAs might ban compost tumblers, which sparked discussion about how HOAs could either use their unchecked power to wipe out or restore biodiversity. 

Another homeowner found a clever workaround to an HOA rule prohibiting in-ground gardens, growing food directly in store-bought soil bags, effectively bypassing the HOA regulation. 

The OP's neighbor added solar to their home, which could help them achieve greater energy independence and save money on home energy costs. Installing solar can bring the cost of energy down to at or near $0, which is especially tempting as national energy prices are on the rise. 

EnergySage makes it easy for homeowners to gather and compare quotes from local solar installers, saving homeowners up to $10,000 on new solar projects. 

However, if you belong to an HOA, make sure to run the project by them to avoid written warnings like what the OP's neighbor received. 

How much money do you plan to spend on home improvement projects this year? Under $1K 😎 $1K to $5K 💵 $5K to $10K 💰 Over $10K 🤑 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Commenters reassured the OP that their HOA could not force the neighbor to take down the solar system, which would interfere with and inhibit their function. 

"The most the HOA can ask for is the proper paperwork (an architecture request) to be filed," one commenter wrote. 

Another commenter agreed, "I was going to say. Most states passed laws making it so HOAs can't block solar."

"They can't legally stop it or have any opinion on it," another user commented. 

After taking the advice of some commenters, the OP reached out to the HOA to determine what they needed. 

"All they asked for was the ARC form and pictures or videos of the property with the solar panels installed, as well as the schematic given to us by the contractors. They said they would not pursue any further action as long as we got that stuff in," the OP said in an update.

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