"Tens of millions of Americans live under HOAs, which sometimes block rooftop solar for aesthetic reasons. Michigan is the latest state to protect access to solar."
"When a homeowner decides to get solar panels, it sets off a series of to-dos. They have to find a contractor, make sure their roof is ready, and — for some of the millions of Americans living under homeowners’ associations (HOAs) — make sure their neighbors won’t complain about the shiny new additions to their roof.
Until now, the latter reason could have prevented 1.4 million Michiganders from saving money on utility bills and cutting their reliance on fossil fuels by using rooftop solar.
HOAs govern housing communities and enforce rules for residents aimed at keeping common aesthetics, meaning they could say no to solar for reasons as simple as not liking the way the panels look. A bill passed last month will prohibit HOAs in the state from banning rooftop solar and other energy efficiency updates, like heat pumps, electric vehicle chargers, and clotheslines.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is expected to sign the legislation into law in the coming days, allowing Michigan to officially join 29 other states and Washington, D.C., in taking away this barrier to rooftop solar adoption. While it’s a shift that applies only to a specific group of homeowners, laws like these help make solar accessible for the roughly 75.5 million people in the United States who live in communities governed by HOAs."
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