A California HOA cannot block an owner from installing solar or an EV charger. A bill pending in Sacramento would add cooling systems to that list.
Solar. California has protected an owner's right to install solar for years. An HOA cannot effectively block a solar installation, and any cost increase the board tries to impose is capped. If your board has been dragging its feet on a solar review, the timeline for that review is limited too.
Key takeaways from the video
- California law protects an owner's right to install solar, and the costs a board can add are capped.
- HOAs cannot prohibit EV charging, including in the owner's own parking space. The owner covers the cost.
- A bill pending when this was recorded would add cooling systems (window, portable, central air) to the protected list.
- These upgrades make a rental easier to lease and worth more later.
Read the full transcript
There are three upgrades your HOA cannot legally stop you from making to your rental. If you own a condo or townhome that you rent out, it can feel like the board holds all the cards. First, solar. California has protected an owner's right to install it for years, and any cost the board tries to add is capped.
Second, EV charging. Boards cannot prohibit it, including inside your own parking space. The owner covers the cost. Third, and this one is new.
A bill moving through Sacramento right now would add cooling systems to that list. Window units, portable units, central air. That one is not law yet. But every upgrade on this list makes a unit easier to rent and worth more later.
So if you have been sitting on an improvement because you assumed the board would fight you, it is worth checking where the law actually stands today.
Transcript from the video's narration script. Informational only, not legal advice.
EV charging. Same story. HOAs cannot prohibit an owner from installing EV charging, including inside a unit's own space. The homeowner covers the cost, and the board's ability to demand excessive insurance coverage has been scaled back over the years.
Cooling systems, coming soon. This is the new one. AB 1684 is moving through the legislature right now and would void any HOA rule blocking a unit owner from installing, upgrading, or using a cooling system, whether that is a window unit, a portable unit, or central air, as long as it meets code. It has not passed yet, but if it does, it joins solar and EV charging as another improvement your board cannot simply say no to.
Here is why this matters for landlords specifically. Every one of these upgrades makes a unit more competitive to rent and, eventually, more valuable to sell. If you have been sitting on an improvement because you assumed the HOA would fight you, it is worth checking where the law actually stands today, not where it stood five years ago. The trend in Sacramento has been consistently in the owner's favor on all three of these.
Questions about how this affects your rental?
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