Installing Antennas or Satellite Dishes in HOA Communities

Under 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000(a)(1), the rule covers:

• Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) dishes one meter or less in diameter — any size in Alaska;
• Antennas one meter or less in diameter (or diagonal measurement) used to receive or transmit video programming through multipoint distribution services — including multichannel multipoint distribution service, instructional television fixed service, and local multipoint distribution service;
• Antennas designed to receive television broadcast signals; and
• Antennas used to receive fixed wireless or broadband internet signals.

The rule defines “fixed wireless signals” as “any commercial non-broadcast communications signals transmitted via wireless technology to and/or from a fixed customer location,” and excludes things like AM radio, FM radio, amateur (“HAM”) radio, CB radio, and Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS) signals. 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000(a)(2).

An association may still enforce reasonable restrictions that do not impair — or unreasonably increase the cost of — installing, maintaining, or using a device. A rule steering antennas and dishes to specific locations is enforceable if an acceptable signal is available there and the placement does not unreasonably increase the owner’s cost.

Restrictions for safety or historic preservation can also hold up, within limits. A safety-related rule must be no more burdensome than the safety objective requires, and the historic-preservation exception applies only if the property is listed on — or eligible for — the National Register of Historic Places. If a restriction is challenged, the association bears the burden of showing it does not violate the rule.