Tennessee HOA Solar Rights

Section 1 — Overview: Solar rights for HOAs in Tennessee

Tennessee doesn't limit an association's ability to prohibit or restrict rooftop solar through its declaration or CC&Rs; no provision of the Tennessee Code voids or overrides declaration-based solar restrictions.¹ What Tennessee has instead is the Solar Access Law of 1979, Tenn. Code § 66-9-201 et seq., a voluntary solar easement statute that lets a property owner acquire, by recorded agreement, assurance of continued access to sunlight across a neighboring parcel.² That easement statute enables private agreements between owners; it doesn't give a unit owner a right to install solar over an association's objection and doesn't constrain association authority. Utility-side questions stay separate too: Tennessee has no statewide net metering, and distributed generation is shaped by the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federal public power corporation created by Congress in 1933, and the 153 local power companies that distribute its electricity, none of which bears on association authority.³ The governing framework runs through the Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008 and the predecessor Horizontal Property Act for condominiums, and recorded CC&Rs, the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act, and common law for planned communities.⁴ Nationally, this places Tennessee in the solar-easement-only category, not the strong-protection category. The sections below set out the statutory framework, the operational rules, and recent activity.

Section 2 — The statutory framework

2A. Solar-access provision (or its absence)

Tennessee has no solar-access provision that limits declaration-based prohibitions on solar. A review of Title 66 (Property), including Chapter 9 (Easements and Restrictive Covenants) and Chapter 27 (Horizontal Property and condominiums), and the Code generally, identifies no statute that voids, caps, or overrides an association's covenant-based restrictions on solar energy systems.¹ The consequence runs direct: an association's authority over solar is set by the declaration and the applicable statute — the Condominium Act of 2008 or the Horizontal Property Act for condominiums, or the CC&Rs and general law for planned communities — not by any solar-specific restriction-override. The name of the 1979 statute, the "Solar Access Law of 1979," is a source of confusion; despite the label, its operative sections address only voluntary easements and don't restrain associations.² Note that some commercial solar-marketing sites incorrectly describe Tenn. Code § 66-27-101, the Horizontal Property Act, as a "Solar Access Act" that voids HOA solar bans; that characterization isn't supported by the statutory text and should be disregarded. The utility-side boundary is worth stating once: net metering policy, TVA program terms, local power company tariffs, and the Tennessee Public Utility Commission govern the utility-customer relationship, not association authority over an owner's installation.³ The federal solar Investment Tax Credit is a tax incentive administered by the IRS and likewise has no bearing on what an association may require or refuse.

2B. The condominium framework and planned communities

Condominiums created on or after January 1, 2009 answer to the Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008, Tenn. Code § 66-27-201 et seq., Parts 2 through 5 of Chapter 27.⁵ Condominiums created before January 1, 2009 answer to the predecessor Tennessee Horizontal Property Act, Tenn. Code § 66-27-101 et seq., Part 1 of Chapter 27, although certain provisions of the 2008 Act apply to all condominiums with respect to events occurring after January 1, 2009, and existing condominiums may opt into the 2008 Act.⁶ The Condominium Act of 2008 is modeled on the Uniform Condominium Act (1980), not the broader Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act; a Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations comparison treats the 2008 Act as derived from the Uniform Condominium Act.⁷ Tennessee therefore shouldn't be described as a full UCIOA state. Planned communities, traditional single-family HOAs, have no comprehensive planned-community statute in Tennessee. They answer to recorded CC&Rs, the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act, Tenn. Code Title 48, and common law, supplemented by limited provisions in Chapter 27 Parts 6 through 8, covering dedicatory instruments, homeowners' associations, and gated subdivisions.⁸ None of these authorities contains a solar carve-out.

2C. The solar easement statute, governing documents, and order of precedence

Tennessee's voluntary solar easement statute is the Solar Access Law of 1979, Tenn. Code § 66-9-201 et seq. The short title reads: "This part shall be known and may be cited as the 'Solar Access Law of 1979.'"² The legislative findings state that "solar easements may be established to allow the owner of a solar energy system to negotiate for assurance of continued access to sunlight," and any easement obtained under the statute "shall be in writing and shall be recorded with the register of deeds in the county in which the land is situated."⁹ The statute directs preparation of a sample easement instrument but creates no installation right against an association.¹⁰ On order of precedence: any restriction-override statute, if one existed, would control over conflicting declaration provisions; because Tennessee has none, the declaration controls, subject to general contract and property doctrines and the applicable condominium statute. Architectural review has a residual but central role. In a condominium, the 2008 Act bars a unit owner from changing the exterior appearance of a unit or the common elements without association permission, so a rooftop installation typically requires board approval.¹¹ In a planned community, the same result flows from the CC&Rs and any architectural control committee they establish, enforced as a contract.

Section 3 — What a Tennessee association can and cannot do regarding solar

A. Approval and architectural review

A solar installation generally stays subject to architectural review where the governing documents require prior approval for exterior modifications; in a condominium, the 2008 Act independently bars changes to a unit's exterior appearance without association permission.¹¹ This authority, grounded in the Condominium Act of 2008 and the declaration, reaches condominiums by statute and planned communities by CC&Rs, and is mandatory where the documents so provide.

B. Permissible and impermissible restrictions

Because no restriction-override statute exists, there is no statutory cap on what an association may restrict; the declaration's terms and general doctrines set the limits, and a covenant may even prohibit solar outright if clearly drafted.¹ This basis, drawn from the declaration and general law, applies to all associations. The practical limit is contractual reasonableness and consistent enforcement, not a solar statute.

C. Governing-document and disclosure considerations

Solar rules typically appear in the declaration or CC&Rs and in architectural guidelines adopted by the board; amendments follow the procedures in the declaration and, for condominiums, the 2008 Act.⁵ Under Part 5 of the Condominium Act, an association must supply specified information to a prospective purchaser, lender, or owner on request, which can surface recorded solar-related restrictions.¹² This disclosure requirement under the Condominium Act of 2008 stays mandatory for condominiums; planned-community disclosure depends on the documents.

D. Dispute resolution and remedies

Enforcement turns on the relief sought. Tennessee has bifurcated trial courts: the Chancery Court, a court of equity, hears actions for injunctions, declaratory judgments, and specific performance, the usual vehicle for enforcing or challenging a covenant, while the Circuit Court, a court of law, hears claims for money damages, with jurisdiction that overlaps in some areas.¹³ Civil appeals go to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, with discretionary review by the Tennessee Supreme Court; the Court of Criminal Appeals is criminal-only and isn't part of this path.¹³ Tennessee courts enforce architectural covenants as written, ordering removal of noncompliant improvements installed without approval.¹⁴ No solar-specific statutory remedy or fee-shifting provision exists; attorney fees are available only where the declaration or a separate statute provides for them.

Section 4 — Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

No bill in the 113th (2023-2024) or 114th (2025-2026) Tennessee General Assembly creates or amends a provision affecting an association's authority over residential rooftop solar. The solar legislation enacted in this window runs utility-side and doesn't reach HOAs: SB2486, 113th General Assembly, amended Title 66, Chapter 9, Part 2 relative to solar power facilities, utility-scale generation, not association authority.¹⁵ No audience-implication table appears here because no qualifying HOA-solar bill exists.

B. Recent appellate rulings

No published decision of the Tennessee Court of Appeals or Tennessee Supreme Court in the past 36 months addresses association architectural authority as applied to solar specifically. Tennessee appellate courts continue to enforce architectural and use covenants generally; in Royalton Woods Homeowner Association, Inc. v. Soholt (Tenn. Ct. App. 2019), the court upheld an injunction requiring removal of exterior improvements made without required association approval, illustrating the enforcement posture that would apply to an unapproved solar installation.¹⁴ No solar-specific holding is available to report.

C. Active legislative debates

No active proposal to enact solar protection for Tennessee HOAs has turned up in the current General Assembly.

Section 5 — National positioning and related coverage

Solar-rights regimes fall into three broad categories. Strong-protection states void or limit association solar restrictions by statute, including California, Civ. Code § 714; Florida, Fla. Stat. § 163.04; Arizona, A.R.S. § 33-1816; Colorado, C.R.S. § 38-30-168; Nevada, Nev. Rev. Stat. § 278.0208; and Texas, Prop. Code § 202.010. Solar-easement-only states enable voluntary easements but don't override associations. No-protection states leave the declaration in full control. Tennessee sits in the solar-easement-only category: its Solar Access Law of 1979 enables recorded easements but contains no restriction-override, which is what separates easement-only states from strong-protection states.¹⁶ For multi-state operators, this means a Tennessee portfolio is governed by each association's declaration rather than by a statewide solar mandate, so board discretion runs wider than in California, Florida, or the neighboring override states. Legislative momentum toward a Tennessee solar-restriction override has stayed absent through the 114th General Assembly.

HOA Weekly's Tennessee Solar Rights coverage updates quarterly as the legislature and Tennessee courts act. No federal rule comparable to the FCC's OTARD rule, 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000, extends to rooftop solar, so Tennessee's state law controls here.

Recommendations

For property managers. Treat each Tennessee community's declaration and architectural guidelines as the controlling authority on solar, because no state statute limits or expands that authority. Confirm whether a community is a condominium, Condominium Act of 2008 or Horizontal Property Act, or a planned community, CC&Rs plus Title 48, since disclosure and exterior-modification rules differ. Require written solar applications and document approval or denial in writing.

For HOA board members and treasurers. Solar rules should live in the declaration or in board-adopted architectural guidelines, and denials should rest on the documents' express terms applied consistently. Because Tennessee imposes no statutory "reasonableness" cap, the main litigation risk is inconsistent enforcement or ambiguous covenant language, not a solar statute. Have counsel review any blanket solar prohibition before relying on it.

For community association attorneys. File covenant-enforcement or declaratory actions in Chancery Court when injunctive relief is sought, and reserve Circuit Court for damages claims. Don't plead the Solar Access Law of 1979 as a constraint on the association; it is an owner-to-owner easement statute. Draft or amend solar provisions to state the standard, the review process, and any fee-shifting expressly.

For homeowners. In Tennessee, a well-drafted covenant can restrict or bar rooftop solar, so review the declaration before contracting for an installation, obtain any denial in writing, and recognize that the solar easement statute secures sunlight access by agreement and doesn't override the association.

Benchmarks that would change this guidance. Enactment of a Tennessee bill voiding or limiting declaration-based solar restrictions, a restriction-override, or a published Tennessee Court of Appeals or Supreme Court decision applying architectural authority specifically to solar. Either would move Tennessee toward the strong-protection category and trigger an off-cycle update.

Caveats

The central finding is the absence of a statute. This page reports that Title 66, Chapters 9 and 27, and the Code generally contain no solar restriction-override; that is a negative supported by direct review of the relevant chapters and by independent state-by-state surveys that don't list Tennessee among override states. As with any negative, a future enactment would change it.

Several commercial solar-industry websites misstate Tennessee law, describing a "Solar Access Act" at Tenn. Code § 66-27-101 that voids HOA solar bans. That citation is the Horizontal Property Act, and no such override exists; those sources weren't relied upon.

The Uniform Condominium Act (1980) basis of the 2008 Act is drawn from a TACIR comparative analysis and practitioner commentary rather than a single verbatim statutory statement; the structure of the analysis, cataloguing which Uniform Condominium Act sections were omitted, supports the characterization.

Bill-status verification relied on LegiScan's mirror of the Tennessee legislative record plus corroborating sources, because the capitol.tn.gov live bill-search application blocks automated access. All available evidence indicates no HOA-solar restriction-override bill in the 113th or 114th General Assembly; a manual keyword search of the capitol.tn.gov subject index is the final confirmatory step.

This page states the framework and doesn't substitute for a covenant-specific legal opinion; enforceability of any particular restriction depends on the exact language of the governing documents.

Footnotes

1. Tenn. Code Title 66, Ch. 9 and Ch. 27 (Property) — no solar restriction-override provision ↩
2. Tenn. Code § 66-9-201, Solar Access Law of 1979 (short title) ↩
3. DSIRE, Tennessee — "Tennessee does not offer net metering and does not have standardized interconnection rules"; TVA and 153 local power companies ↩
4. Tenn. Code Title 66, Ch. 27 (Horizontal Property / Condominium Act framework) ↩
5. Tenn. Code § 66-27-201, Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008 (short title) ↩
6. Tenn. Code § 66-27-202, applicability (post-2009 condominiums; universal provisions) ↩
7. TACIR, Comparison of HOA Statutes and Model Acts (Tennessee Condominium Act 2008 vs. Uniform Condominium Act 1980) ↩
8. Tenn. Code Title 66, Ch. 27, Parts 6-8; Tenn. Code Title 48 (Nonprofit Corporation Act) ↩
9. Tenn. Code § 66-9-206, writing and recordation required; § 66-9-202, legislative findings ↩
10. Tenn. Code § 66-9-204, instruments creating solar easements ↩
11. Tennessee Condominium Act — unit owner may not change exterior appearance without association permission ↩
12. Baker Donelson, The Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008 (Part 5 disclosure, § 66-27-503) ↩
13. Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, Circuit, Criminal, Chancery Courts ↩
14. Royalton Woods Homeowner Ass'n, Inc. v. Soholt, No. M2018-00596-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. 2019) ↩
15. TN SB2486, 113th General Assembly, relative to solar power facilities (utility-scale) ↩
16. Kansas Legislative Research Dept., State Regulations of HOA Abilities to Restrict Solar Panels (Tennessee not among override states) ↩