Your Neighbor's New Addition Could Shade Your Solar: How Solar Easements Protect Your Investment

You did the math, signed the contract and installed solar expecting decades of savings. Then your neighbor announces plans for a second-story addition, or plants a row of fast-growing trees along the property line. Shade can cut a solar system's production for years, and in many cases there's little you can do about it after the fact.

California law offers some protection, but it has gaps. A solar easement is one of the most effective ways to close them.

What the Solar Shade Control Act covers, and what it doesn't

California's Solar Shade Control Act (Public Resources Code §§ 25980–25986) limits how much a neighbor's trees and shrubs can shade a solar collector. After a system is installed, a neighbor may not allow a tree or shrub to be placed or grow so that it shades more than 10 percent of the collector's absorption area at any one time between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. A tree that violates the rule can become a private nuisance if the neighbor doesn't fix it after receiving written notice from the solar owner.

The Act is helpful, but limited:

• It covers only trees and shrubs. It doesn't protect you from a new building, addition, fence or other structure.
• Existing trees are exempt. Trees and shrubs planted before your system was installed aren't subject to the shading limit, even as they grow.
• There are other exceptions. Certain trees, such as those on timberland or commercial agricultural land and some replacement trees, are exempt, and some cities and counties have adopted local ordinances that affect how the Act applies.

How a solar easement fills the gaps

A solar easement is a voluntary agreement between neighboring property owners that protects a solar energy system's access to sunlight. Under California Civil Code § 801.5, a solar easement is the right to receive sunlight across real property of another for a solar energy system. It can restrict what the neighbor builds or plants on their property if it would block that sunlight, covering structures as well as vegetation.

To be valid in California, a solar easement must include, at a minimum:

• A description of the dimensions of the easement, expressed in measurable terms
• The restrictions placed on vegetation, structures and other objects that would impair sunlight
• The terms or conditions under which the easement may be revised or terminated

Because an easement attaches to the property, it should be in writing and recorded, so it binds future owners of the neighboring property, not just the neighbor who signed it.

When to ask for a solar easement

• Before you install, if a neighbor has open space to the south of your roof or plans to build
• When a neighbor is friendly now but the property may change hands
• For larger investments, such as a solar-plus-storage system or a commercial or multifamily project, where lost production is expensive

Neighbors are often more willing to sign than you might expect, especially when the easement is narrowly drawn and clearly explains what it does and doesn't restrict. Some solar owners offer a payment in exchange.

A template to get started

Our Solar Easement Agreement (CA) is an agreement between neighboring property owners that prevents one owner from blocking or interfering with the sunlight a solar energy system needs. It's drafted for California property owners and is also included in our Solar Legal Starter Kit for California Deluxe Edition.

Live in a homeowners' association? Your HOA's rules matter too. See Solar & Common-Interest Developments: Overview of Rules and Regulations (CA) and our California HOA Solar Appeal Letter. For more background, read our earlier post, How Do You Protect Solar Systems From Financial Loss Due to Shading?

This post is general information about California law and is not legal advice. Easements affect property rights, so consider having an attorney review yours before it's signed and recorded.

Has shading from a neighbor's property affected your solar system? How did you handle it?