Two solar bills, the same section number, and a fourth failed attempt: South Carolina HOAs keep full control of rooftop solar
Two solar bills, the same section number, and a fourth failed attempt: South Carolina HOAs keep full control of rooftop solar
2026-09-19 · South Carolina · Legislation · Did not pass
South Carolina has no solar-access statute. An association's authority over rooftop and balcony solar is limited by its own governing documents and nothing else. Two bills filed in the 2025-2026 term would have changed that, they proposed the same new Code section, and both died in the same committee.12
H. 4460: not visible from the street
Introduced April 30, 2025 by Reps. Kilmartin and Edgerton and referred to House Labor, Commerce and Industry, H. 4460 would have added Section 27-1-65 providing that a restrictive covenant, declaration, rule, contractual provision or other provision "must not prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the installation and utilization of a solar energy system that cannot be seen from the street or a common area surrounding a residence."
Subsection (B) preserved the association's power to require "reasonable design accommodations" consistent with the aesthetic requirements applying to all members.
That is a narrow rule by national standards — a visibility test rather than a performance or cost standard — and it still did not move.
H. 4579: balcony solar
Prefiled December 16, 2025 by Rep. Burns, introduced January 13, 2026 and referred to the same committee, H. 4579 would have added a Section 27-1-65 of its own, barring covenants and association documents from prohibiting balcony solar panels, and adding Section 58-41-60 to bar government entities from restricting them.
Balcony solar is the one option available to a unit owner with no roof of their own, which makes this squarely a condominium and townhome measure. The two bills proposed the same section number, so they were in direct conflict as drafted.
The fourth attempt, not the first
The visibility-test provision has now been filed in three consecutive General Assemblies — as H. 3979 in 2021-2022, as S. 422 in 2023-2024, and as H. 4460 in 2025-2026 — and has never received a floor vote in either chamber.
Title 27, Chapter 1 is where South Carolina's covenant-override provisions live, and its full contents are Sections 27-1-10, -15, -20, -30, -40, -50, -60 and -70. Section 27-1-60 is the flag-display right; Section 27-1-70 concerns transfer-fee covenants. There is no section addressing solar energy systems, which is what each of these bills was trying to supply.3
The Energy Security Act did not reach this
The obvious place to look for a change is the 2025 energy legislation, and it is worth stating the negative precisely because the Act is large and widely discussed.
H. 3309 became Act No. 41 of 2025, signed and effective May 12, 2025. Its subject matter is generation and siting: it amends the definition of "customer-generator" at Section 58-40-10(C), redesignates Chapter 37 as an article on planning for energy supply, and addresses nuclear and small modular reactors, construction work in progress, and county siting plans for solar installations over thirteen acres. Its references to solar are utility-scale and zoning references.4
It creates no right to install a solar system over an association's objection, and it does not mention homeowners associations or covenants.
Net metering moved; association authority did not
Utility tariffs changed in the same window, which is a separate question from permission to install. Duke Energy's new net-metering structure took effect January 1, 2026 for residential customer-generators previously on the legacy riders, with up to ten years before transfer to the Residential Solar Choice rider. Dominion credits exports on a time-of-use basis under its own solar rider. Act 41 raised the nonresidential net-metering cap to 5 MW.
Those terms determine what a panel earns. They do not determine whether a board must approve it.
What governs a South Carolina solar request today
- The declaration and architectural guidelines. Where they require prior approval for exterior modifications, a solar installation needs it, like any other alteration.
- Ordinary covenant construction. Where a restriction is capable of two reasonable readings, South Carolina courts resolve the ambiguity in favour of the free use of property — the interpretive rule that decides most covenant cases, rather than any solar-specific standard.
- The recording requirement. A restriction that was never recorded under Section 27-30-130 is not enforceable, whatever it says about panels.
- No statutory timeline. There is no deadline for a board to decide a solar application, and no deemed approval if it does not.
The state's own Energy Office reflects that position: its guidance directs homeowners to work with their association rather than pointing to any statutory right, because there is none to point to.5
For the underlying framework, see how South Carolina treats solar installations in covenanted communities and how architectural review operates.
Related South Carolina HOA Topics
Stay on top of South Carolina HOA law
Every week: new South Carolina legislation, court rulings, and regulatory developments affecting condos, planned communities, and property managers. Free.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.