LCO No. 120 1 of 6
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5168
February Session, 2024
LCO No. 120
Referred to Committee on PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduced by:
(PD)
AN ACT CONCERNING SOLAR INSTALLATIONS IN CONDOMINIUMS
AND COOPERATIVES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 47-257 of the general statutes is amended by adding 1
subsection (h) as follows (Effective January 1, 2025): 2
(NEW) (h) If any addition, alteration or improvement made by, or at 3
the direction of, a unit owner results in an increase in common expenses, 4
including, but not limited to, any cost of maintenance, repair or 5
insurance, the amount of such increase shall be assessed solely against 6
the unit owned by the unit owner who caused such addition, alteration 7
or improvement to be made. 8
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2025) (a) For purposes of this 9
section, "single-family detached unit" means a building in a common 10
interest community that does not contain units divided by horizontal 11
boundaries or vertical boundaries that are comprised by, or are located 12
in, common walls between units. 13
(b) On and after January 1, 2025, any provision of a declaration or the 14 Raised Bill No. 5168
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bylaws of an association that prohibits or unreasonably restricts the 15
installation or use of a solar power generating system on the roof of a 16
unit that is a single-family detached unit, or is otherwise in conflict with 17
the provisions of this section, shall be unenforceable. In any common 18
interest community where a unit is a parcel of land, this section shall 19
apply to any single-family detached unit constructed on such unit. This 20
section shall not apply to any unit that has vertical boundaries that are 21
comprised by, or are located in, common walls between units. 22
(c) To obtain approval to install a solar power generating system 23
under this section, the owner of a unit shall submit an application to the 24
executive board of the association. The executive board shall (1) 25
acknowledge, in writing to the unit owner, the receipt of any such 26
application not later than thirty days after such receipt, and (2) process 27
such application in the same manner as an application for an addition, 28
alteration or improvement pursuant to the declaration or bylaws of the 29
association. The approval or denial of such application shall be in 30
writing and be issued to the unit owner not later than sixty days after 31
the date of receipt of such application. Unless the executive board 32
requests specific information from the unit owner concerning the 33
proposed installation of a solar power generating system, the 34
application shall be deemed approved if sixty days pass from the date 35
of the executive board's receipt of the application and the executive 36
board has not denied such application in writing. If a unit owner has 37
complied with the provisions of this section, the executive board shall 38
not unreasonably withhold approval of the unit owner's application. 39
(d) If a unit owner's application to install a solar power generating 40
system is granted or deemed granted by the executive board, the unit 41
owner shall enter into a written agreement with the association, which 42
may be recorded on the land records in every town in which the 43
common interest community is located, that requires the unit owner to: 44
(1) Comply with the provisions of the declaration or bylaws 45
regarding an addition, alteration or improvement; 46 Raised Bill No. 5168
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(2) Engage a registered and insured contractor to install the solar 47
power generating system who shall, within fourteen days of the 48
execution of the written agreement, (A) provide a certificate of insurance 49
that demonstrates liability insurance coverage in an amount not less 50
than one million dollars and names the association, the association's 51
manager, if any, and the unit owner as insured parties, (B) provide 52
evidence of workers' compensation insurance as may be required by 53
law, and (C) submit to the association a mechanic's lien waiver in favor 54
of the association for any work performed on behalf of such unit owner 55
concerning the installation of such solar power generating system; 56
(3) Pay any cost associated with the installation of the solar power 57
generating system, including, but not limited to, increased master policy 58
premiums, attorney's fees incurred by the association, engineering fees, 59
professional fees, permit fees and fees associated with applicable zoning 60
compliance requirements; 61
(4) Indemnify the association, the unit owners of the association and 62
the association's executive board, officers, directors and manager, as 63
applicable, for (A) any damage or loss caused by the solar power 64
generating system, or (B) any financial obligations concerning the solar 65
power generating system; and 66
(5) Assume full responsibility for the maintenance, repair and 67
replacement of the roof over the unit owner's unit at the unit owner's 68
sole expense. 69
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) to (d), inclusive, 70
of this section, an association formed on or before January 1, 2025, may, 71
by an affirmative vote of not less than seventy-five per cent of the 72
association's board of directors, opt out of the provisions of said 73
subsections regarding the installation of any solar power generating 74
system, except that, on and after January 1, 2027, no association may opt 75
out of the provisions of said subsections. Any association that opts out 76
of the provisions of said subsections shall record on the land records of 77
any municipality in which the real property of such association is 78 Raised Bill No. 5168
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located a notice of such affirmative vote opting out of the provisions of 79
said subdivisions not more than thirty days after such vote. 80
(f) The unit owner, or upon the sale or other disposition of the unit 81
by such owner, any successive owner of the unit that acquires title to the 82
unit and assumes the duties imposed by any agreement pursuant to 83
subsection (d) of this section, shall be responsible for: 84
(1) Any cost to repair damage to the solar power generating system, 85
common elements of the association or any unit in the association 86
resulting from the installation, use, maintenance, repair, removal or 87
replacement of the solar power generating system; 88
(2) Any cost for the maintenance, repair and replacement of the solar 89
power generating system until such system has been removed; 90
(3) Any cost for the repair or restoration of the roof after the solar 91
power generating system is removed; 92
(4) Any additional common expenses resulting from uninsured losses 93
related to the solar power generating system pursuant to any master 94
insurance policy held by the association of unit owners; and 95
(5) Disclosing to any prospective buyer of the unit (A) the existence 96
of the solar power generating system, (B) the associated responsibilities 97
of the unit owner under this section, (C) the existence of any agreement 98
between the unit owner and the association concerning a solar power 99
generating system, and (D) the requirement that the purchaser accepts 100
the solar power generating system unless it is removed prior to the 101
conveyance of the unit. 102
(g) A solar power generating system installed pursuant to this section 103
shall meet all applicable health and safety standards and requirements 104
under any state or federal law or local ordinance. 105
(h) An association may: 106
(1) Install a solar power generating system on any common elements 107 Raised Bill No. 5168
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of the association for the use of all unit owners and develop appropriate 108
rules for such use; 109
(2) Require that a unit owner remove any solar power generating 110
system installed by the unit owner prior to the unit owner's sale of the 111
unit unless the purchaser of the unit agrees to (A) take ownership of the 112
solar power generating system, and (B) assume and be bound by any 113
agreement between the unit owner and the association that indemnifies 114
the association, the unit owners of the association and the association's 115
executive board, officers, directors and manager, as applicable, for any 116
damage or losses caused by the solar power generating system; and 117
(3) Assess a unit owner for any uninsured portion of a loss associated 118
with a solar power generating system, whether resulting from a 119
deductible or otherwise, regardless of whether the association submits 120
an insurance claim. 121
(i) In any action by an association seeking to enforce compliance with 122
this section, the prevailing party shall be awarded reasonable attorney's 123
fees. 124
Sec. 3. Subsections (g) to (i), inclusive, of section 47-261b of the 125
general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 126
thereof (Effective January 1, 2025): 127
[(g) In the case of a common interest community that is not a 128
condominium or a cooperative, an association may not adopt or enforce 129
any rules that would have the effect of prohibiting any unit owner from 130
installing a solar power generating system on the roof of such owner's 131
unit, provided such roof is not shared with any other unit owner. An 132
association may adopt rules governing (1) the size and manner of 133
affixing, installing or removing a solar power generating system; (2) the 134
unit owner's responsibilities for periodic upkeep and maintenance of 135
such solar power generating system; and (3) a prohibition on any unit 136
owner installing a solar power generating system upon any common 137
elements of the association.] 138 Raised Bill No. 5168
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[(h)] (g) An association's internal business operating procedures need 139
not be adopted as rules. 140
[(i)] (h) Each rule of the association shall be reasonable. 141
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 January 1, 2025 47-257(h)
Sec. 2 January 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 3 January 1, 2025 47-261b(g) to (i)
Statement of Purpose:
To permit the installation of certain solar power generating systems that
serve single-family detached units in common interest ownership
communities.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]