Missouri Supreme Court invalidates pre-2023 HOA solar restrictions

The Supreme Court of Missouri has ruled that Missouri law prevents homeowners’ associations from enforcing covenants that restrict rooftop solar panel installations, including covenants adopted before January 1, 2023. The decision overturns a lower court ruling that had limited the statute’s application to newly adopted covenants. The Supreme Court of Missouri explained that the law applies going forward but makes any conflicting preexisting restrictions unenforceable after its effective date. It also found that applying the statute does not violate Missouri’s constitutional prohibition on retrospective laws or impair vested contractual rights. The ruling further clarifies that homeowners’ associations may impose reasonable placement or design requirements, but only if those rules do not increase installation costs or reduce system efficiency. In this case, a restriction banning street-facing solar panels was found to raise costs and reduce efficiency and therefore could not be enforced.