STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5051
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 4, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to the regulation by
homeowners' associations of the installation of solar panels on roofs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding a new article 16
2 to read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 16
4 HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATIONS; REGULATION OF SOLAR PANEL
5 INSTALLATION
6 Section 480. Homeowners' associations; regulation of solar panel instal-
7 lation.
8 § 480. Homeowners' associations; regulation of solar panel installa-
9 tion. 1. No homeowners' association shall, by deed restriction, coven-
10 ant, or similar binding agreement running with the land, prohibit or
11 have the effect of prohibiting photovoltaic solar panels from being
12 installed on the roofs of buildings erected on lots or parcels of land
13 located within the jurisdiction of the homeowners' association.
14 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,
15 a homeowners' association may require approval for the installation of
16 photovoltaic solar panels on roofs and may establish restrictions for
17 their installation, provided that:
18 (a) such approval requirements and restrictions are reasonable, not
19 arbitrary, and applied in a uniform manner to all homeowners' associ-
20 ation members; and
21 (b) such approval process and restrictions shall not have the effect
22 of impairing the effective operation and performance, or increasing the
23 cost, of the photovoltaic solar panel system.
24 3. A homeowners' association may determine the specific location on
25 the roof where such photovoltaic solar panels may be installed, provided
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11068-01-9
S. 5051 2
1 that such panels face forty-five degrees of due south and such location
2 does not impair the effective operation and performance of the photovol-
3 taic solar panel system.
4 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
5 have become a law.
