Guides · Texas · solar

Can a Texas HOA stop you installing solar?

Not outright. Texas Property Code § 202.010 stops a property owners' association from prohibiting a solar energy device. What it keeps is a narrow set of grounds for refusing a particular installation — and a duty to explain itself.

What the law says

Tex. Prop. Code § 202.010

Texas law (Property Code § 202.010) stops your POA from prohibiting a solar energy device, including solar roof tiles.

A property owners' association may not include or enforce a provision that prohibits or restricts a property owner from installing a solar energy device (including solar roof tiles, per HB 431).

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Tex. Prop. Code § 202.010(e)

Your POA can suggest a different spot for panels only if it doesn't cost you more than 10% of the system's estimated annual production (Property Code § 202.010).

An association may not withhold approval where the dedicatory instruments are met, unless it determines the placement substantially interferes with use and enjoyment; an alternative placement may be required only if it does not increase estimated annual energy production cost by more than 10%.

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Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00505

In a Texas community with more than 40 lots, a denial has to be in writing and say exactly which rule it relies on (Property Code § 209.00505).

For associations with more than 40 lots, a denial by the architectural review authority must be in writing and describe the reasons, including the specific provision relied on.

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Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00505

If a Texas architectural committee denies you, you can request a hearing before the board (Property Code § 209.00505).

The owner may request a hearing before the board to appeal a denial by the architectural review authority.

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Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00505 (as amended by SB 711, eff. 2025-09-01)

In larger Texas communities, the architectural committee has to be separate from the board (Property Code § 209.00505).

Architectural review committee members may not be board members or their relatives/household, and the association must solicit ARC members through a process similar to board candidate solicitation.

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Placement is the usual argument

A Texas association may point to substantial interference with the use and enjoyment of property, but if it wants panels somewhere else, that alternative has to leave your estimated annual energy production within 10% of the original plan. Put the production numbers for both layouts in the application and the conversation gets much shorter.

Denials in larger communities

In an association with more than 40 lots, a denial from the architectural review authority must be in writing and identify the specific provision it relies on, and you may request a hearing before the board. Recent amendments also keep the architectural committee separate from the board itself.

Is there a deadline?

Texas sets no statewide deemed-approval clock for architectural review, so the deadline that applies to you is the one in your association's dedicatory instruments. Ask for it in writing before you submit. California is the opposite — a missed written denial there can approve the application by law.

wHOA is starting in Los Angeles, so Texas is not a market we handle applications in yet. This guide exists because the question comes up constantly and the answer is hard to find.

wHOA handles this for you. We prepare the application, submit it the way your association accepts submissions, track the deadline that applies, and follow up until there's a decision. Free if your contractor works with us. Request a free pre-check or see how it works for contractors.

This is general information about the law in your state, not legal advice about your situation. Talk to an attorney before relying on it.

Statutes reviewed September 2026. Laws change; verify before relying on this.