2026-09-10 · Arizona · Legislation

Arizona's protection for homeowners who want solar panels over their association's objection narrows on September 12, 2026 — by way of a bill that appears on no list of HOA legislation. SB 1419, Chapter 175, Laws 2026, amends the definition of “solar energy device” in A.R.S. § 44-1761.¹

The link to community associations runs through a cross-reference, which is why the change did not show up in the session's association coverage.

How the cross-reference works

Arizona protects residential solar in two places, and both borrow their definition rather than writing their own.

A.R.S. § 33-1816(A) provides that “notwithstanding any provision in the community documents, an association shall not prohibit the installation or use of a solar energy device as defined in section 44-1761.”²

A.R.S. § 33-439(A) provides that a covenant affecting the transfer or sale of real property which effectively prohibits the installation or use of “a solar energy device as defined in section 44-1761” is void and unenforceable.³

Neither statute is amended by SB 1419. Both change meaning anyway, because the definition they point at has changed.

What the definition now excludes

The definition in force today describes a system designed to provide heating, cooling, electrical power, mechanical power or solar daylighting by collecting and transferring solar-generated energy, “either by active or passive means.” It stops there. It contains no limit on where the energy goes, and it has no exclusions.

From September 12 the same paragraph adds that a solar energy device “is limited to a system that is used primarily to serve on-site demand at a residential dwelling unit or multifamily structure,” and gains a new subdivision (c) providing that the term does not include:

(i) a utility scale solar project. (ii) A system that is installed on a commercial, industrial or institutional structure or a system that is designed primarily to serve an off-site load.

The chapter also amends §§ 44-1762 and 44-1763. The act was signed on June 19, 2026.

1. SB 1419, Chapter 175, Laws 2026 — enacted session law text amending A.R.S. §§ 44-1761 to 44-1763 ↩
2. A.R.S. § 33-1816, Solar energy devices; reasonable restrictions — planned communities ↩
3. A.R.S. § 33-439, Covenants prohibiting solar energy devices void ↩
4. A.R.S. § 44-1761, Definitions (text in force before September 12, 2026) ↩