Solar rights and the covenant that cannot stop you
Nevada voids a covenant that prohibits or unreasonably restricts a solar energy system — twice over, in two chapters — and defines two restrictions as unreasonable outright. The full statutory text, hosted for reference, with a plain-language guide for homeowners.
Nevada voids a covenant that blocks solar — and it does so twice, in two different chapters, which is why homeowners and boards so often argue past each other. Both sections are reproduced here in full.
§ 111.239(1) and § 278.0208(2) are word for word the same. A covenant, restriction or condition in a deed, contract or other legal instrument affecting the transfer or sale of, or any other interest in, real property that prohibits or unreasonably restricts — or has the effect of prohibiting or unreasonably restricting — the owner from using a system for obtaining solar energy is void and unenforceable. The effects limb matters: a rule that never uses the word solar but makes a system impractical is caught. One section sits in the conveyancing chapter and the other in planning and zoning; § 278.0208(1) adds a rule the first does not, barring a city or county from prohibiting or unreasonably restricting solar by ordinance, regulation or plan.
Both sections define two restrictions as unreasonable outright, so you do not have to argue the word from scratch. Under § 111.239(2) and § 278.0208(3), it is unreasonable to place a restriction or requirement that decreases the efficiency or performance of the system by more than 10 per cent of what was originally specified — as determined by the Director of the Office of Energy — and that does not allow an alternative system at substantially comparable cost, efficiency and performance. It is also unreasonable to prohibit a system using components painted with black solar glazing. Note this is a different 10 per cent test from the one in § 116.334 below.
§ 701.180(6) is the procedural piece people miss. It makes the Director of the Office of Energy — an office § 701.150 creates within the Office of the Governor — the official who makes that efficiency determination: if asked under § 111.239 or § 278.0208, the Director must decide within 30 days, and within 15 days of receiving any further information requested. No filing fee is prescribed by statute. It is a fast, non-judicial route to an answer.
If you live in an HOA, start somewhere else
For a unit in a common-interest community, §§ 116.333 and 116.334 are the sections you will use in practice — in addition to the two above, which void the covenant itself, not instead of them. They apply where the governing documents authorise the association to restrict architectural improvements, and to the part of the community you have a right to occupy and use exclusively. They give you a request procedure with deadlines, and they cap what the association’s rules may require:
- If the association has adopted rules under § 116.334, it must approve or deny within 35 days, and a denial’s reasons must be based on rules it actually adopted under that section. A resubmission addressing those reasons must be answered within 15 days. Miss either deadline and your request is deemed approved.
- If the association has adopted no rules at all, it must approve your request within 15 days and may not deny it or attach conditions. Do not install before approval either way.
- A rule requiring that the panels not face a street holds only if complying does not cut production by more than 10 per cent, measured on the PVWatts Calculator.
- The 3 per cent cost cap is narrower than it is usually described. It applies only to that no-street-facing rule and to a rule requiring conduits painted to match — not to batteries in a garage, inverter placement, or the recorded agreement that makes you liable for roof damage, insure and indemnify the association, and remove the system at your own expense if the roof needs work. To invoke it you must deliver an itemised written estimate from a licensed solar installer unaffiliated with you or the association, dated within 60 days, showing the cost exceeds 3 per cent of the contract price.
- The association may not unreasonably refuse a physical barrier around the system to keep animals out or hide components, and may not require a particular type of barrier. It may specify a colour only if that colour is commercially available as a stock item; if it is not, it may require black or a colour complementary to the panels or racking.
Those sections are on the chapter 116 page, where the rest of the act that governs your community is.
How it fits with Nevada’s other community laws
What your association may restrict generally comes from chapter 116 and the recorded declaration; a dispute about it goes to mediation before court. Return to the Nevada HOA laws hub for the full set.
Contents · 3 sections ▾
1. Any covenant, restriction or condition contained in a deed, contract or other legal instrument which affects the transfer or sale of, or any other interest in, real property and which prohibits or unreasonably restricts or has the effect of prohibiting or unreasonably restricting the owner of the property from using a system for obtaining solar energy on his or her property is void and unenforceable.
2. For the purposes of this section, the following shall be deemed to be unreasonable restrictions:
(a) The placing of a restriction or requirement on the use of a system for obtaining solar energy which decreases the efficiency or performance of the system by more than 10 percent of the amount that was originally specified for the system, as determined by the Director of the Office of Energy, and which does not allow for the use of an alternative system at a substantially comparable cost and with substantially comparable efficiency and performance.
(b) The prohibition of a system for obtaining solar energy that uses components painted with black solar glazing.
(Added to NRS by 1995, 1105; A 2005, 1819; 2009, 1598)
1. A governing body shall not adopt an ordinance, regulation or plan or take any other action that prohibits or unreasonably restricts or has the effect of prohibiting or unreasonably restricting the owner of real property from using a system for obtaining solar energy on his or her property.
2. Any covenant, restriction or condition contained in a deed, contract or other legal instrument which affects the transfer or sale of, or any other interest in, real property and which prohibits or unreasonably restricts or has the effect of prohibiting or unreasonably restricting the owner of the property from using a system for obtaining solar energy on his or her property is void and unenforceable.
3. For the purposes of this section, the following shall be deemed to be unreasonable restrictions:
(a) The placing of a restriction or requirement on the use of a system for obtaining solar energy which decreases the efficiency or performance of the system by more than 10 percent of the amount that was originally specified for the system, as determined by the Director of the Office of Energy, and which does not allow for the use of an alternative system at a substantially comparable cost and with substantially comparable efficiency and performance.
(b) The prohibition of a system for obtaining solar energy that uses components painted with black solar glazing.
(Added to NRS by 1995, 1105; A 2005, 1820; 2009, 1599)
The Director shall:
1. Acquire and analyze information relating to energy and to the supply, demand and conservation of its sources, including, without limitation, information relating to any money distributed pursuant to NRS 702.270.
2. Review and evaluate information which identifies trends and permits forecasting of the energy available to the State. Such forecasts must include estimates on:
(a) The level of demand for energy in the State for 5-, 10- and 20-year periods;
(b) The amount of energy available to meet each level of demand;
(c) The probable implications of the forecast on the demand and supply of energy; and
(d) The sources of renewable energy and other alternative sources of energy which are available and their possible effects.
3. Study means of reducing wasteful, inefficient, unnecessary or uneconomical uses of energy and encourage the maximum utilization of existing sources of energy in the State.
4. Solicit and serve as the point of contact for grants and other money from the Federal Government, including, without limitation, any grants and other money available pursuant to any program administered by the United States Department of Energy, and other sources:
(a) To promote energy projects that enhance the economic development of the State;
(b) To promote the use of renewable energy in this State;
(c) To promote the use of measures which conserve or reduce the demand for energy or which result in more efficient use of energy;
(d) To develop a comprehensive program for retrofitting public buildings in this State with energy efficiency measures; and
(e) If the Director determines that it is feasible and cost-effective, to enter into contracts with researchers from the Nevada System of Higher Education for the design of energy efficiency and retrofit projects to carry out the comprehensive program for retrofitting public buildings in this State developed pursuant to paragraph (d).
5. Coordinate the activities and programs of the Office of Energy with the activities and programs of the Consumer’s Advocate and the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, and with other federal, state and local officers and agencies that promote, fund, administer or operate activities and programs related to the use of renewable energy and the use of measures which conserve or reduce the demand for energy or which result in more efficient use of energy.
6. If requested to make a determination pursuant to NRS 111.239 or 278.0208, make the determination within 30 days after receiving the request. If the Director needs additional information to make the determination, the Director may request the information from the person making the request for a determination. Within 15 days after receiving the additional information, the Director shall make a determination on the request.
7. Cooperate with the Department of Wildlife in carrying out the provisions of NRS 701.600 to 701.640, inclusive.
8. Upon request by a developer of an energy development project or a local government in a county in which an energy development project is proposed to be located, coordinate discussions, not otherwise required by any existing regulatory agency, with interested parties concerning any potential effect of the energy development project.
9. Carry out all other directives concerning energy that are prescribed by the Governor.
(Added to NRS by 1977, 1164; A 1983, 2093; 2001, 3264; 2009, 1371, 1372, 1596; 2011, 93, 2057, 2550, 2558, 2563; 2013, 3347, 3815)
Cites other chapters: NRS 111.239, NRS 278.0208, NRS 702.270
General information, not legal advice. Statutory text is reproduced from the Nevada Revised Statutes and may not reflect the most recent amendments.