I agree they should know what they get into, but the thing you mentioned is already illegal anyways. Be damned I’m gonna let some retiree tell me what color my house should be or if I can install an EV charger. HOAs suck
You have a home within a functional or at least semi functional HOA. Many, maybe even most, are not so fortunate.
Federal law is the only concern. State law and even county or city ordinances apply. Many states have laws that restrict the ability of HOAs to prohibit or control the placement of solar panels. Out here, our HOA cannot do much more than insist that a low reflectivity or low glare panel be used. We're also prohibited from reducing the effectiveness of the designed system. So if the street side is facing south, or the panels are visibly from the south, and that's where the owner wants to put them, TS. Personally, that's how I think it should be. To tie it back to the original point in this thread, the same applies to EVSEs here. For the OP (who will never see this in all likelihood), get a permit and move on.
When I was President of our HOA, I was rather fed up with the "Old boys who are angry they're irrelevant in their former occupation" club of HOA board members. So I attempted to at least get some angry old ladies in to help balance things out. Yeah, the angry old guys didn't like that.
Really.
Only when they are complaining about weeds that do not exist on my property. They are known to harass people in my community, I'm not the only one. I asked them to provide pictures of the weeds they complained about and they could not do it because they were not there. They even tried it on the neighbor that also called them that who is meticulous about his yard, yet they let people on another street have knee high grass. They also harassed the same neighbor about a tasteful sign about picking up after your dog, yet let several other people have a larger sign. They are not treating people fairly, nor are they keeping their public areas trimmed properly even after it has been brought to their attention. Speaking to them multiple times in a friendly manner didn't work so think what you want but I refuse to be bullied by them for something I haven't done. Guy I called that isn't a neighbor at all, just a guy who decided to run his own business.
Buying the property binds the contract, nothing else to sign. If a person doesn’t want to participate in an HOA, they need to buy elsewhere.
If you “had it installed,” I assume you used a licensed electrician? If so the electrician more than likely got a permit for the work. Check with your installer to get a copy of the permit and inspection report. ??
But not reading the rules gives you no out.
Unfortunately there are a lot of contractors that don't play things above board like they should. I've talked to some that give a discount if you forego the permitting and inspections. I generally am a do-it-yourselfer as my dad was an electrician in his youth and my brother still is a carpenter (I worked for him in my youth). Nonetheless for some things I get a contractor and if they pull the "discount for under the table" routine I run away as fast as I can from them. As the customer the only leverage/assurance you get is the inspection process. If you've ever watched the show "Holmes on homes" you'll understand exactly what I'm talking about.
Associations are not permitted to prohibit the installation of solar panels on a unit or property which is owned by a member of the association.
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming don't prohibit HOAs from preventing installation per my quick research.
That's when community solar can be beneficial, but that of course requires a community that's forward-looking.