HOA - Makello Blog

February 10, 2022February 13, 2026

Learn to Love Solar HOA ARC Apps

Are you confused about installing a solar system in your HOA?

You’ve received an architectural application for a rooftop solar installation so what do you do next? Aesthetics are often the focus of solar installations in HOAs, but there are technical issues to be taken under consideration when the board of directors or architectural committee evaluates an application for a solar installation. Is the board or architectural committee prepared for the task?

First and foremost, governing documents pertaining to solar installations need to be reviewed by the board of directors together with the association’s attorney to ensure the governing documents are up to date. The solar industry is a rapidly changing industry with new advancements in solar technology being made regularly. Keeping the governing documents concurrent with Civil Code and solar technology developments can provide HOA management, board and architectural committee members with a solid foundation with which to evaluate solar applications and navigate the review process.

HOAs with shared roofs such as town homes, multi-story buildings or carports may also wish to work with the HOA attorney to develop guidelines regarding which roofs solar modules are allowed to be installed and how the shared roof space will be allocated. Including a solar installation expert in the rules development process in order to help your association determine which portion of the roof is suitable for solar installations is a prudent decision. Required setbacks, obstructions, shading, roof shape, tilt and which direction the roof faces all impact the solar potential of a roof. Due to site factors and code requirements, some roofs may have little or no solar potential while other roofs may have amazing solar potential. It would be beneficial for the association to determine how to handle these issues ahead of time and address how to equitably divide up the roof space to avoid unnecessary conflict. Creating a map to document the usable roof space with good solar potential and allocation of that space would aid interpretation of the HOA guidelines.

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Makello works with non profits and HOAs to create maps that meet organizational needs.

Education for HOA managers, board and architectural committee members is also a good idea. It isn’t necessary to take a course in photovoltaics suited to solar industry professionals. There are free or low cost introductory courses that provide information on the basics of solar to help the non-professional or consumer understand the fundamentals of solar systems with minimal time commitment. Understanding the jargon and electrical concepts can help managers, HOA board, and architectural committee members feel more comfortable when reviewing an owner’s architectural submission for a solar installation. Being comfortable with the requirements and having a basic understanding of solar principles helps the association avoid missteps and misunderstandings.

The SDGE Energy Innovation Center has free or low cost courses, https://www.sdge.com/energy-innovation-center. Solar Energy International, https://www.solarenergy.org/, is another resource for online introductory courses in solar energy. A third resource for solar education is Heatspring, https://www.heatspring.com. A final resource in North American Board of Certified Energy Professionals, https://www.nabcep.org, or NABCEP for short. NABCEP is mostly geared to professionals but they do periodically offer free introductory webinars or training for the non-professional or consumer.

An empowered HOA Board or Committee Member discussing solar energy.

There are a few things homeowners in HOAs can do to make the approval process for solar installations be less stressful.

Number one is to make sure you have the current version of all HOA governing documents that include the rules regarding installing solar i.e. the Rules & Regs. Architectural Guidelines and application and/or CC&Rs. Be ready to provide the rules to your solar installer because the installer needs to be aware of HOA specific issues pertaining to the installation that may impact system design.

Find out whether or not your contractor needs to indemnify the association and how much insurance the contractor needs to carry. Confirm your contractor meets the requirements. Not all contractors are willing to indemnify the association or wish to insure for the amount the association requires.

Make sure you understand who is going to be responsible for maintenance and repair of the roof under the solar installation as well as maintaining insurance for the solar installation on common area roofs. This may impact your decision to proceed with the solar installation. It is also a good idea to find out if the association is going to be conducting roof repairs in the near future that may impact your solar installation. You may be responsible for covering the cost of removing and re-installation of your solar system so the association can conduct roof repairs.

Give yourself time to obtain and evaluate bids, fill out HOA forms and gather supporting documents. Find out what the submission procedures and deadlines are for your architectural application. Solar installations are complex and not likely to be successfully submitted in a day or two.

Additionally, don’t forget to check the insurance and licensing of the installer on the California State Contractors License Board https://www.cslb.ca.gov.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and HOA owners can be divided in their opinion on the aesthetics of solar installations. Being prepared with knowledge about solar and having the correct procedures in place can help minimize issues and take the stress out of architectural applications for solar system installation.

Makello is an authorized distributor for Green Energy EPC CA Lic #978836

January 21, 2022September 24, 2024

So Now the Board Expects You to Be a Solar Expert?

Your Board just had their monthly meeting and now they expect you to be a solar expert and electrical engineer. Just how many hats can a HOA manager wear? You only need to wear one hat when you have the right solar contractor in your contacts, Makello.

Makello is a San Diego company with years of experience in the energy efficiency and solar industry. Makello employees are certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners. (NABCEP ) for short. We believe everyone, including homeowners associations, can make energy efficiency upgrades and meet their sustainability goals.

Meet with a Solar Expert for FREE and:

1) Find out how Makello can help you.

2) Discuss your energy needs.

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Makello’s approach is to investigate ways to improve energy efficiency before designing the solar system. This saves the HOA money. We could do what some companies do and just create a design with as many solar modules as possible on the common area roof but we feel that just isn’t right. It doesn’t result in the best design for the customer and creating the best design is of the utmost importance to us. We want to help you help your Board install solar in the HOA common area. Contact us today to schedule an energy analysis or discuss a solar project for your HOA clients.

*Green Energy EPC President Sam Syed in front of a HOA capital improvement solar project.*

Also, please visit our blog at Makello.com for more articles on energy efficiency, solar systems, and electric vehicles. If you are an HOA manager and would like some content for your HOAs newsletters please contact us a info@makello.com

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Makello is an authorized distributor for Green Energy EPC by Makello, Inc. (CA C-10: #1110498)

July 22, 2019September 24, 2024

Bypass Hurdles with the HOA and Landlord

Bypass Hurdles with HOAs and Landlord for Solar in San Diego

Homeowners or tenants in HOAs, apartment dwellers and condo owners are often discouraged from energy upgrades like solar panels, Plug-In Vehicle charging, LED lighting and energy storage. With a little research, anyone can take steps towards energy independence.

California’s “Solar Rights Act” defends your right to produce power in California. The HOA may restrict, deny or challenge solar installations, but there is a path to follow to win:

1. Find a neighbor that installed solar power or filed an application with the HOA to install solar power, and ask them about their experience. (If there are no previous applications, it may be helpful to find a neighbor that installed EV charging, solar water heating, energy storage and/or LED lighting.)

2. Request and review the HOA rules and regulations regarding solar power systems.

>Are there any covenants that apply to solar photovoltaic energy systems?

>>If there is a restrictive covenant, is it specific (mentions solar energy systems) or generic?

>Is an Architectural Review Committee involved?

>>Do they have a specific set of criteria to evaluate solar energy systems?

>Is the HOA a public entity?

3. Request HOA permission to install, in writing, by submitting the solar electrical design permit application package to the HOA and wait for response 45 days.

4. Once approved, carefully read any agreements that the HOA requires as a condition of permission to install. (i.e., “Maintenance/Indemnity Agreement”).

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5. Negotiate the terms of an agreement or sign the agreement.

6. Installation company submits design drawings to the Authority Having Jurisdiction (permit office).

7. System is installed.

Makello and Green Energy EPC; no roof leaks, no problems!

The HOA can advise you where to put your solar power, so long as it does not increase the cost to a certain extent, however they cannot stop you from getting solar.

The HOA can influence your decision about the color of the modules or the trim, or the height of the array over the roof, or the roofing method, or they may require a trim strip at the front or the sides of the array to enhance the aesthetics in keeping with the aesthetics in the community.

The law provides the ability to install solar despite an HOA not wanting it. See California Civil Codes 714 and new for 2018 714.1:

“b) An association shall not:
(1) Establish a general policy prohibiting the installation or use of a rooftop solar energy system for household purposes on the roof of the building in which the owner resides, or a garage or carport adjacent to the building that has been assigned to the owner for exclusive use.

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The fee for the Ethical Energy Savings Report is refundable (less the 3rd-Party $15 utility data access charge) or credited towards our installation services, after you attend the presentation meeting and complete a 5 minute survey after permission to operate.

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(2) Require approval by a vote of members owning separate interests in the common interest development, including that specified by Section 4600, for installation of a solar energy system for household purposes on the roof of the building in which the owner resides, or a garage or carport adjacent to the building that has been assigned to the owner for exclusive use.”

California’s Solar Rights Act protects your interests in energy efficiency upgrades. The recommended path is to complete the system design drawings and submit them to the HOA, thus starting a 45 day review period. Until a tenant submits the drawings to the HOA, the HOA may continue to delay the project indefinitely, with exploratory meetings, changes of plans, excuses, misinformation, etc.

California AB2180 of 2008 provided even more consumer protections under the Civil Code by providing that any homeowners’ association that is not a public entity that willfully violates the Solar Rights Act must pay the solar system owner a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000. AB 2180 further provides that the approval or denial of any application submitted to authorize the installation of a system must be made in writing within 60 days. If the application is not denied within 60 days it will be deemed approved unless the delay is the result of a reasonable request for additional information.”

If the HOA does not reply to your request within 60 days, your request is automatically approved, according to this link that seems to have an easy to follow guide for what to do:
https://solartown.com/learning/solar-policy-and-incentives/homeowners-duke-it-out-with-their-homeowners-association-how-best-to-solve-the-problem-part-2/

If you find that the HOA rules and regulations are in conflict with provisions in California Solar Right’s Act, then see below for a draft of a letter to the HOA, to include with your submission:

The purpose of this letter is to inform the HOA of relevant laws, policies, and regulations that govern the installation of solar energy systems in California, and to describe the potential repercussions for improper denial of solar projects.

California’s Solar Rights Act protects the homeowner and tenant’s rights to energy efficiency upgrades by limiting covenants, conditions, and restrictions on solar installations, and by requiring timely review.
HOAs are prohibiting from:

(1) prohibiting outright installation of solar energy systems,
(2) imposing restrictions that significantly increase the cost of installation,
(3) imposing restrictions that significantly reduce the efficiency of a system.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=714.&lawCode=CIV

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=714.1.&lawCode=CIV

An association shall not:

(1) Establish a general policy prohibiting the installation or use of a rooftop solar energy system for household purposes on the roof of the building in which the owner resides, or a garage or carport adjacent to the building that has been assigned to the owner for exclusive use.

(2) Require approval by a vote of members owning separate interests in the common interest development, including that specified by Section 4600, for installation of a solar energy system for household purposes on the roof of the building in which the owner resides, or a garage or carport adjacent to the building that has been assigned to the owner for exclusive use.

California Civil Code consumer protections provides that:

(1) any homeowners’ association that is not a public entity that willfully violates the Solar Rights Act must pay the solar system owner a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000.

(2) the approval or denial of any application submitted to authorize the installation of a system must be made in writing within 45 days. If the application is not denied within 45 days it will be deemed approved unless the delay is the result of a reasonable request for additional information.

Examples of suspicious clauses in a Maintenance/Indemnity Agreement, that you may want REMOVED or MODIFIED before signing, because they leave the original HOA homeowner on the hook for repair costs indefinitely, even after the system is removed, even after the property is sold to future HOA homeowners:

F. The parties agree and acknowledge that installation, use and/or maintenance of the Photovoltaic Solar System by the Owner will, or may, cause additional and/or increase maintenance or repair burdens or costs on the Association, may adversely affect or impair any roof or other warranties which the Association has or may have been able to obtain, and cause damage or the potential for damage to common area, the extend and/or potential for which cannot readily be determined. The Parties therefore agree that the entire burden of the cost of all future maintenance, repair, and replacement relating to the Photovoltaic Solar System and to common area affected by the Photovoltaic Solar System, shall be borne by the Owner.

H. Owner and Association intend that this Covenant be made and entered into pursuant to the provisions of California Civil Code Section 1468, and that this Covenant shall run with the land of Owner and that it shall be binding upon each successive owner of the Subject Property during their ownership of any portion of the land affected hereby, and upon each person having any interest in the land derived through any owner thereof.

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Examples of clauses in a Maintenance/Indemnity Agreement, that you may want INCLUDED before signing:

(F) Association has approved Owner’s Application on certain terms and conditions including that Owner enter into the following Agreement;

TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT
This Agreement shall only terminate if any of the following occurs:

A. Alteration/Destruction. This Agreement shall automatically terminate if the existing structure, which is legally described in Exhibit “A,” is removed or destroyed. This Agreement shall also automatically terminate if the Solar Energy System is removed from the Residence and after the time period under which any legal claims may be brought relating to the installation, maintenance and removal of the Solar Energy System.

B. Mutual Agreement. This Agreement shall terminate upon mutual agreement between Association and Owner or Owner’s successors in interest. For the purpose of this Agreement, the term “Owner” shall mean the then-existing owner of the property set forth in Exhibit “A.”

CONVEYANCE OF TITLE
In the event Owner conveys title of the property described in Exhibit “A,” this Agreement shall automatically transfer to the new owner and all subsequent owners, and current Owner shall have no further responsibility under this Agreement.
For more information, visit www.cleantechlaw.com
James Birkelund, jbirkelund@cleantechlaw.com
Jack Jacobs, jjacobs@cleantechlaw.com

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