Tennessee HOA ADUs & Modifications

Section 1: Overview — ADUs and modifications in Tennessee

Tennessee stacks its rules in layers. The state runs a condominium framework — the Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008 sitting on top of the older Horizontal Property Act, with a short set of homeowners' association and gated-subdivision provisions — regulates a handful of specific modification categories by statute, and leaves accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to municipal and county zoning plus the declaration. One widely repeated claim deserves a flag right away: the idea that Tennessee voids anti-solar covenants does not hold up, and it appears to be wrong.¹ Start with which statute governs. The Condominium Act of 2008 (T.C.A. §§ 66-27-201 through 66-27-507) covers condominiums created after January 1, 2009; the Horizontal Property Act (§§ 66-27-101 through 66-27-123) covers condominiums and horizontal property regimes created before that date; and Chapter 27 adds three limited sets of provisions in Parts 6 through 8. The 2008 act draws from the Uniform Law Commission's condominium model, not a comprehensive planned-community code.² On solar, Tennessee has a Solar Access Law of 1979 that lets property owners create voluntary solar easements, but no verified statute makes a covenant prohibiting a solar energy collection system void and unenforceable — so an anti-solar covenant rises or falls on the declaration.³ Whether an owner may build an ADU is a municipal-zoning question, and no confirmed state law preempts the declaration.⁴ Four federal overlays bind every Tennessee association no matter what the state does: the U.S. flag statute, the FCC's OTARD antenna rule, the Fair Housing Act's reasonable-modification requirement, and ADA Title III for common areas that serve as public accommodations.⁵ What follows lays out the framework, the compliance obligations it creates, and the recent moves in the legislature and the courts.

Section 2: The legal framework

2A. The condominium framework and the HOA provisions

The Condominium Act of 2008 (T.C.A. §§ 66-27-201 through 66-27-507) applies to every condominium created in Tennessee after January 1, 2009. The applicability provision, § 66-27-202, fixes that cutoff and lists the specific sections that reach back to pre-2009 condominiums for events occurring after January 1, 2009.⁶ Section 66-27-402 spells out the powers of the unit owners' association, including its authority to adopt and enforce rules.⁷ Condominiums created before January 1, 2009 stay under the Horizontal Property Act (§§ 66-27-101 through 66-27-123), Tennessee's original 1963 condominium statute, which also reaches planned developments and townhome projects organized as horizontal property regimes; § 66-27-202(b) says Part 1 does not apply to condominiums created after the cutoff.⁸ The 2008 act derives from the Uniform Law Commission's Uniform Condominium Act model rather than the broader Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, and it created no agency to regulate condominiums.⁹

Tennessee has no comprehensive planned-community code, but the state is not silent. Chapter 27 holds three limited sets of provisions: Part 6 (Dedicatory Instruments, §§ 66-27-601 through 66-27-603), which defines dedicatory instruments and restrictive covenants and carries the flag-display and safety-signage rules; Part 7 (Homeowners' Association, §§ 66-27-701 through 66-27-706), which covers voting-record access, a vested right to lease, and business-entity notice; and Part 8 (Gated Subdivision, §§ 66-27-801 through 66-27-802).¹⁰ For single-family planned communities, the recorded declaration and the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act (T.C.A. § 48-51-101 et seq.), under which most associations incorporate, do the rest of the work.¹¹ The declaration sets the architectural-review structure, and it typically hands an architectural review committee the authority to approve or deny exterior changes. Tennessee courts enforce these covenants: a restrictive covenant that conditions improvements on committee approval is generally valid and enforceable, so long as the administering entity acts reasonably and in good faith, while courts construe ambiguities in favor of the free use of property.¹²

2B. Solar and other categories

Solar is the category where the working assumption most needs correcting. Tennessee's only solar statute is the Solar Access Law of 1979 (T.C.A. §§ 66-9-201 through 66-9-208). It lets property owners create voluntary solar easements to protect access to sunlight and sets the writing and recording requirements for them; it does not make a covenant prohibiting a solar energy collection system void and unenforceable.¹³ No Tennessee provision matches California Civil Code § 714, and reputable secondary sources agree: the state has solar-easement law but no solar-access law limiting an association's authority over installations.¹⁴ The practical consequence runs opposite to the void-prohibition premise. An anti-solar covenant in Tennessee turns on the declaration, and an association acting under a validly recorded covenant may restrict or deny solar unless the declaration says otherwise.

The one utility-scale solar statute, § 66-9-207, governs decommissioning of solar power facilities of five megawatts or larger, and it does not reach residential rooftop systems.¹⁵ On electric vehicles, Tennessee enacted Public Chapter 914 in 2026. It bars an association from prohibiting a lot owner from installing a personal EV charging station on property the owner owns, subject to reasonable restrictions, and it takes effect July 1, 2026.¹⁶ On flags, § 66-27-602 bars an association from prohibiting display of the U.S. flag or a military-branch flag, subject to reasonable placement rules.¹⁷ On political signs, the Tennessee Freedom of Speech Act, § 2-7-143, bars an association from prohibiting political or campaign signs on an owner's private property, subject to reasonable size and placement rules.¹⁸ Tennessee has no HOA-specific landscaping statute, so the declaration governs landscaping.

2C. ADUs and federal overlays

No Tennessee statute overrides association governing documents on ADUs. Whether an ADU is permitted depends on municipal and county zoning plus the declaration, and Tennessee has passed no statewide legislation streamlining ADU approvals.¹⁹ The analysis runs in two layers. The local zoning code decides whether an ADU is allowed on the parcel — Chattanooga permitted ADUs city-wide by Ordinance No. 13839, passed May 31, 2022 and effective June 14, 2022, capping each unit at 700 square feet and one per single-family dwelling, while Nashville, Knoxville, and several counties keep their own rules — and the declaration independently decides whether the association allows it.²⁰ Local ordinances routinely say they do not supersede HOA covenants: Chattanooga's ADU ordinance states that it does not supersede homeowner association rules or historic district guidelines, and a Hamilton County ADU resolution states that it does not supersede homeowners' association rules or deed restrictions.²¹ That sets Tennessee apart from HOA-preemption states such as California, where Civil Code § 4751(a) makes any governing-document provision that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts an ADU on a single-family lot void and unenforceable (added by AB 670, effective January 1, 2020), and Colorado, where HB24-1152 (signed May 2024, effective June 30, 2025) bars HOAs from enforcing ADU regulations more restrictive than the statute allows.²²

Four federal overlays bind every association regardless of Tennessee law. The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 protects display of the U.S. flag.²³ The FCC's OTARD rule, 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000, bars restrictions that impair the installation, maintenance, or use of covered antennas and satellite dishes in areas within the owner's exclusive use or control.²⁴ The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3), requires an association to permit reasonable modifications for residents with disabilities, generally at the resident's expense.²⁵ ADA Title III reaches common-area facilities that function as public accommodations.²⁶

Section 3: Compliance obligations created by the framework

A. Architectural review process obligations

Review authority comes from the declaration for every community type: the declaration, not a state statute, creates and empowers the architectural review committee and sets the submission, approval, and appeal process. [DECLARATION; all community types.]²⁷ For post-2009 condominiums, the Condominium Act confirms the association's power to adopt and enforce rules at § 66-27-402, and rule enforcement, including fines, requires notice and an opportunity to be heard under § 66-27-402(a)(11). [STATE STATUTE; post-2009 condominiums.]²⁸ For pre-2009 condominiums, the Horizontal Property Act and the recorded master deed and bylaws govern review, with only the § 66-27-202 carry-back sections of the 2008 act applying to post-2009 events. [STATE STATUTE; pre-2009 condominiums.]²⁹ For planned communities, dedicatory instruments must be recorded to be enforceable under Part 6, and boards should keep written decisions and records consistent with the Nonprofit Corporation Act. [STATE STATUTE and DECLARATION; planned communities.]³⁰

B. Modifications the association must permit

Solar is not on the mandatory list: no verified Tennessee statute requires an association to permit a solar energy collection system, so solar turns on the declaration. [DECLARATION; all community types.]³¹ Personal EV charging stations must be permitted on an owner's own property, subject to reasonable restrictions, under Public Chapter 914, effective July 1, 2026. [STATE STATUTE; all community types.]³² The association must permit the U.S. flag and military-branch flags under § 66-27-602, and political signs under § 2-7-143, both subject to reasonable rules. [STATE STATUTE; all community types.]³³ Federally, the association must permit U.S. flag display (Freedom to Display the American Flag Act), covered antennas and dishes (OTARD), and disability-related reasonable modifications at the resident's expense (FHA), and it must meet ADA Title III where common areas are public accommodations. [FEDERAL; all community types.]³⁴ These are limits on prohibition, not unconditional rights: each one allows reasonable placement, size, or manner rules, and FHA modifications remain the resident's expense.³⁵

C. ADU obligations and limits on HOA authority

No Tennessee statute obligates an association to permit an ADU against the declaration. [DECLARATION; all community types.]³⁶ Municipal and county zoning binds the locality and decides whether an ADU may be built on the parcel, but zoning permission does not override a covenant. [MUNICIPAL; all community types.]³⁷ The declaration governs whether the association permits the ADU, and boards should run architectural review on the request as they would for any other structure. [DECLARATION; all community types.]³⁸

D. Enforcement, dispute resolution, and appeal obligations

Any hearing or appeal procedure the declaration requires must be followed, and for post-2009 condominiums the Condominium Act requires notice and an opportunity to be heard before fines. [STATE STATUTE and DECLARATION.]³⁹ Tennessee has no dedicated HOA or condominium regulator and no community-association-manager licensing regime, so enforcement runs through the courts.⁴⁰ The state runs a dual trial-court structure: Circuit Courts hear matters at law and Chancery Courts hear matters in equity, and covenant-enforcement, injunctive, and declaratory matters commonly proceed in Chancery. The civil path runs from the Circuit or Chancery Court to the Tennessee Court of Appeals to the Tennessee Supreme Court; the Court of Criminal Appeals sits outside the civil path.⁴¹

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

Tennessee's recent activity centers on one new right-to-charge law and a reserves measure carried over from 2023. Here is what each one does, and where it stands.

B. Recent appellate rulings

Two recent Court of Appeals decisions frame how Tennessee handles declarant rights and developer-reserved architectural control.

C. Active legislative debates

Proposals for a broader Tennessee Homeowners Association Act have surfaced in recent sessions without becoming law, and ADU policy activity continues at the municipal and county level rather than statewide. No verified pending bill would make anti-solar covenants void or preempt association documents on ADUs.⁴⁶

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

Tennessee sits among the states that modernized condominium law on the Uniform Law Commission's condominium model while stopping short of a comprehensive planned-community code. What sets it apart is the layered structure: the 2008 act sits over the 1963 Horizontal Property Act, a set of limited HOA and gated-subdivision provisions lives inside the condominium chapter, and a dual trial-court system sends covenant disputes to chancery. Unlike ADU-preemption states such as California (Civil Code § 4751) and Colorado (HB 24-1152), Tennessee treats the ADU question as a municipal-zoning matter layered over the declaration. On solar, Tennessee is not among the stronger void-prohibition states such as California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Oregon; it has only a solar-easement statute, so an anti-solar covenant turns on the declaration. For a multi-state operator, the practical rule in Tennessee is this: most modifications, solar included, turn on the declaration, while EV charging on owner-owned property, U.S. and military flags, and political signs draw protection from specific state statutes — and the federal overlays apply throughout.

HOA Weekly updates its Tennessee ADUs and Modifications coverage quarterly, as the General Assembly and the Tennessee courts act. The federal frameworks noted throughout — the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act, the OTARD rule, the Fair Housing Act, and ADA Title III — bind Tennessee associations no matter what the state framework does.

1. Tennessee Code Title 66, Chapter 27 (structure of the Horizontal Property Act, Condominium Act of 2008, and Parts 6-8); see also fn. 13-14 on the absence of a solar void-prohibition. ↩
2. T.C.A. § 66-27-202 (Applicability; January 1, 2009 cutoff). ↩
3. T.C.A. §§ 66-9-201 through 66-9-208, Solar Access Law of 1979. ↩
4. Tennessee ADU regulation summary (regulation sits with local governments; no statewide streamlining). ↩
5. FCC, Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule, 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000; 4 U.S.C. §§ 5-10 (U.S. flag); Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3). ↩
6. T.C.A. § 66-27-202 (applicability and carry-back sections). ↩
7. Tennessee Condominium Act, § 66-27-402 (powers of the association). ↩
8. T.C.A. § 66-27-202(b) (Part 1 does not apply to condominiums created after January 1, 2009). ↩
9. TACIR, Protecting the Interests of Homeowners (Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008 compared with the Uniform Condominium Act; 1963 Horizontal Property Act); Lexology, The Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008 (no regulatory agency created). ↩
10. Tennessee Code Title 66, Chapter 27 (Part 6 §§ 66-27-601-603; Part 7 §§ 66-27-701-706; Part 8 §§ 66-27-801-802). ↩
11. T.C.A. § 66-27-601 (dedicatory instruments and restrictive covenants defined). ↩
12. Royalton Woods Homeowners Ass'n v. Soholt (Tenn. Ct. App.) (restrictive covenants strictly construed; ambiguities favor free use of property; architectural covenants enforced where entity acts reasonably). ↩
13. T.C.A. §§ 66-9-201 through 66-9-208, Solar Access Law of 1979 (solar easements; §§ 66-9-204 to 66-9-206 writing and recordation). ↩
14. Are solar panels legal in Tennessee? (Tennessee has solar-easement law but no statewide solar-access law limiting HOA power); Palmetto, Solar Access Laws by State (Tennessee lacks HOA solar-access law; permits solar easements). ↩
15. T.C.A. § 66-9-207 (solar power facility agreements; facilities of 5 MW or larger). ↩
16. Tennessee SB1787 / HB1875, 114th General Assembly (EV charging stations; Title 66, Chapter 27), enacted as Public Chapter 914, effective July 1, 2026. ↩
17. T.C.A. § 66-27-602 (display of U.S. and military-branch flags; reasonable rules permitted). ↩
18. T.C.A. § 2-7-143, Tennessee Freedom of Speech Act (political and campaign signs). ↩
19. Tennessee ADU regulation summary (no statewide ADU legislation; local control). ↩
20. Chattanooga-Hamilton County RPA, Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance (Chattanooga Ordinance No. 13839, effective June 14, 2022; 700 sq ft cap, one per single-family dwelling). ↩
21. Hamilton County ADU Resolution (does not supersede homeowner association rules or deed restrictions). ↩
22. California Civil Code § 4751 (governing-document ADU prohibitions void and unenforceable; added by AB 670, eff. Jan. 1, 2020); Colorado HB24-1152 (accessory dwelling units; effective June 30, 2025). ↩
23. Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-243). ↩
24. FCC, Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule, 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000. ↩
25. HUD, Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3) (reasonable modifications). ↩
26. U.S. Department of Justice, ADA Title III (public accommodations). ↩
27. Royalton Woods Homeowners Ass'n v. Soholt (Tenn. Ct. App.) (declaration establishes architectural review authority). ↩
28. Tennessee Condominium Act, § 66-27-402 (association powers; notice and hearing before fines under § 66-27-402(a)(11)). ↩
29. T.C.A. § 66-27-202 (pre-2009 condominiums governed by Part 1; carry-back sections). ↩
30. T.C.A. § 66-27-601 (dedicatory instruments; recording required for enforceability). ↩
31. T.C.A. §§ 66-9-201 through 66-9-208 (solar-easement statute only; no mandatory-permit provision). ↩
32. Public Chapter 914 (2026), SB1787 / HB1875 (personal EV charging on owner-owned property; effective July 1, 2026). ↩
33. T.C.A. § 66-27-602 (flags); T.C.A. § 2-7-143 (political signs). ↩
34. FCC OTARD Rule, 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000; Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3); Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005. ↩
35. HUD, Reasonable Modifications under the Fair Housing Act (resident-paid; reasonable conditions). ↩
36. Tennessee ADU regulation summary (no statutory duty overriding the declaration). ↩
37. Chattanooga-Hamilton County RPA, ADU Ordinance (local zoning determines permissibility). ↩
38. Hamilton County ADU Resolution (does not supersede HOA rules or deed restrictions). ↩
39. Tennessee Condominium Act, § 66-27-402(a)(11) (notice and opportunity to be heard before fines). ↩
40. Tennessee State Laws overview (no condo/HOA ombudsman; no dedicated CAM license). ↩
41. Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (Circuit Courts at law, Chancery Courts in equity; Court of Appeals; Supreme Court). ↩
42. Tennessee SB1787 / HB1875, 114th General Assembly, enacted as Public Chapter 914, effective July 1, 2026 (EV charging stations). ↩
43. Tennessee SB863 / HB750, 113th General Assembly, Public Chapter 205 (2023), amending § 66-27-403 (reserve studies; codified at § 66-27-403(g)). ↩
44. Hidden Lake Resorts Homeowners Ass'n, Inc. v. Moore, No. M2022-01323-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. June 5, 2024). ↩
45. Timberlake Homeowners Ass'n, Inc. v. Timberlake Development, LLC, No. E2023-00808-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 3, 2024). ↩
46. Tennessee HOA Laws overview (proposed Tennessee Homeowners Association Act considered but not enacted). ↩