Texas Law · Restrictive Covenants

What a Texas HOA Cannot Prohibit: The Chapter 202 Protected Property Uses

The declaration is not the last word. Chapter 202 voids restrictive covenants against a growing list of property uses — solar devices, flags, religious displays, rain barrels, xeriscaping, security measures, pool safety fences — while leaving associations a defined lane of permissible regulation. Boards that know the lane markings enforce with confidence; boards that don’t enforce void rules.

The Bottom Line

Chapter 202 of the Texas Property Code overrides private deed restrictions for a defined set of protected property uses. A Texas property owners’ association may not prohibit: solar energy devices, including solar roof tiles (§ 202.010); the United States flag, the Texas flag, or military branch flags, including at least one flagpole up to 20 feet (§ 202.012); religious items displayed out of sincere religious belief (§ 202.018, expanded by S.B. 581 in 2021); rain barrels, rainwater harvesting, efficient irrigation, composting, and drought-resistant landscaping (§ 202.007); security measures such as cameras, motion detectors, and perimeter fencing (§ 202.023); and conforming swimming pool safety enclosures (§ 202.022). The 2025 session added protections for lawns during watering restrictions (§ 202.008) and candidate meetings in common areas (§ 202.013). In each case the statute preserves a defined scope of permissible regulation — placement, dimensions, appearance, safety, prior review — but a covenant that flatly prohibits a protected use is void, regardless of when the declaration was recorded.

Operational Context: Where Chapter 202 Sits in the Hierarchy

Texas community associations derive their authority from a hierarchy: constitution, statute, declaration, bylaws, rules. Chapter 202 is the legislature reaching down into that hierarchy and marking certain uses off-limits to private restriction — usually after a wave of publicized disputes. The solar protection followed the residential solar boom; the flag statute followed veterans’ flagpole disputes; the religious-display expansion followed a mezuzah controversy; the security and pool-enclosure sections arrived in the omnibus S.B. 1588 (2021); the 89th Legislature (2025) added drought, political-access, and livestock provisions. The pattern: when associations over-enforce against a sympathetic use, the legislature converts that use into a statutory right.

For boards, the practical consequence is that the age of the declaration is irrelevant: these statutes apply notwithstanding the dedicatory instruments, with only narrow grandfathering. Enforcing a void restriction is not merely unsuccessful — it generates fee exposure and the publicity that produces the next statute, a core theme of things your board can no longer do and the education-first posture of Compliance Before Conflict: Texas.

The Protected Uses at a Glance

Solar Energy Devices: § 202.010

A dedicatory-instrument provision that prohibits or restricts an owner from installing a solar energy device is void. “Solar energy device” takes its definition from § 171.107 of the Tax Code, and House Bill 431 (2025) amended the section to expressly include solar roof tiles. The statute then enumerates the only grounds on which an association may still deny or restrict a device — one that:

• Has been adjudicated by a court to threaten public health or safety, or violates a law;
• Is located on association property or common-ownership property;
• Is located anywhere other than the roof (of the home or another permitted structure) or a fenced yard or patio maintained by the owner;
• If roof-mounted: extends higher than or beyond the roofline; sits outside an association-designated area, unless the alternate location increases estimated annual energy production by more than 10 percent under National Renewable Energy Laboratory modeling; does not conform to the roof slope with the top edge parallel to the roofline; or has frames, brackets, or visible piping or wiring in other than a silver, bronze, or black tone;
• If ground-mounted in a fenced yard or patio: is taller than the fence line;
• As installed, voids material warranties; or
• Was installed without prior approval, where the association requires review and acts within a reasonable, specified period.

During the development period of a project with fewer than 51 planned units, the declarant retains broader authority. Outside that window, the enumerated list is the entire lane — a committee reviewing a solar application works down these grounds and no others, using the denial-and-appeal mechanics of § 209.00505 where they apply.

Flags and Flagpoles: § 202.012

Associations may not restrict owners from displaying the flag of the United States, the flag of the State of Texas, or an official or replica flag of any branch of the United States armed forces. (A common citation error: flags are § 202.012, not § 202.011 — the latter protects certain shingles.)

The permissible-regulation lane is comparatively generous. An association may require display consistent with 4 U.S.C. §§ 5–10 (U.S. flag) and Government Code Chapter 3100 (Texas flag); flagpoles of permanent, long-lasting materials; and a freestanding pole of no more than 20 feet. It may regulate flag size, lighting size, location, and intensity, good condition, and halyard noise, and may bar installation on common property. What it may not do is regulate down to zero: the owner must be permitted at least one flagpole per property.

Religious Displays: § 202.018

The 2021 rewrite in Senate Bill 581 replaced a narrow rule — items on the entry door or doorframe, capped at 25 square inches — with a broad one: associations may not prohibit the display of one or more religious items, motivated by the owner’s or resident’s sincere religious belief, anywhere on the owner’s or resident’s property or dwelling. No size cap, no door-only limitation.

The association’s remaining authority reaches a display only if it threatens public health or safety; violates a law other than one prohibiting religious speech; is patently offensive to a passerby for reasons other than its religious content; sits on association or common-ownership property; violates a building line, right-of-way, setback, or easement; or is attached to a traffic control device, street lamp, fire hydrant, or utility fixture. Nothing in the current statute authorizes a size limit — committees applying the pre-2021 rule are enforcing a void standard.

Water, Landscape, and Lawn: §§ 202.007 and 202.008

Section 202.007 voids covenants that prohibit rain barrels or rainwater harvesting systems, efficient irrigation systems (including drip systems), composting of vegetation, and drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving natural turf. The surviving regulatory lane is specific:

• Rain barrels: installation may be restricted between the front of the home and an adjoining or adjacent street, and color and appearance may be regulated where the barrel displays a finish not typical of the product as manufactured.
• Composting devices: size, type, shielding, and location may be regulated, so long as economical installation remains possible where the lot has reasonably sufficient area.
• Xeriscaping: the association may require a detailed description or plan for review — but may not unreasonably deny approval or reject the proposal as aesthetically incompatible.

New § 202.008 (H.B. 517, effective September 1, 2025) completes the drought picture: no fines for the condition of lawn or vegetation during official watering restrictions or for 60 days after they end. Enforcement calendars should flag this window before any turf-condition letter goes out — and the hearing rights of § 209.007 still apply to whatever enforcement survives.

Security Measures: § 202.023

Added in 2021, § 202.023 prevents associations from prohibiting security measures on an owner’s property, expressly including a security camera, motion detector, or perimeter fence. Two carve-outs were original: the association may prohibit cameras placed anywhere other than the owner’s private property, and it may regulate the type of fencing installed. The section does not apply to condominiums under Chapters 81 and 82 or to master mixed-use associations under Chapter 215.

Senate Bill 711 (effective September 1, 2025) refined the fencing rules after four years of front-yard fence disputes. Associations may now prohibit fencing that obstructs a sidewalk, drainage area, easement, or license area; require a driveway gate set back at least 10 feet from the right-of-way; and prohibit fencing installed on or after September 1, 2025 forward of the dwelling’s front-most building line. Earlier fencing is grandfathered, and the front-yard prohibition yields where the owner’s address is confidential under public-disclosure law or law enforcement documents an enhanced security need.

Pool Safety Enclosures: § 202.022

An association may not prohibit or restrict a swimming pool enclosure that conforms to applicable state or local safety requirements. The statute defines the protected enclosure precisely: a fence surrounding a water feature such as a pool or spa, made of transparent mesh or clear panels set in metal frames, no more than six feet tall, and designed not to be climbable. Appearance regulation survives — including permissible colors — but the association cannot prohibit an enclosure that is black and consists of transparent mesh set in metal frames. The policy is child-drowning prevention; the safety fence is a right, and only the aesthetics at the margin remain regulable.

What This Means for Enforcement Practice

Void restrictions do not age into validity. A 1998 declaration that bans all flagpoles, solar panels, or non-turf landscaping is unenforceable on those points today, amended or not — but leaving void language on the books misleads owners and committees alike, which is why governing-document review appears on the Texas association compliance checklist.

The lane is the defense. An association that writes its design guidelines to track the statutory language — the 20-foot flagpole, the silver/bronze/black solar hardware, the front-of-home rain-barrel line — enforces from strength; one that improvises beyond the lane converts an aesthetic preference into a statutory violation.

Selective enforcement compounds the problem. A rule valid on its face can fail as applied when enforced inconsistently — see how selective enforcement voids a valid rule. Protected-use disputes are where sympathetic plaintiffs, statutory rights, and inconsistent enforcement converge.

Common Mistakes & Pitfalls

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Texas HOA prohibit solar panels?

No. Under § 202.010, a dedicatory-instrument provision that prohibits or restricts a solar energy device is void, and House Bill 431 (2025) extended the protection to solar roof tiles. An association may still deny a device on the specific statutory grounds — for example, a roof-mounted device that extends beyond the roofline, does not conform to the roof slope, or uses frames and wiring that are not silver, bronze, or black in tone.

Can a Texas HOA ban flagpoles or flag display?

Not for protected flags. Section 202.012 protects display of the United States flag, the Texas flag, and official or replica flags of any branch of the U.S. armed forces. The association may adopt reasonable regulations — display consistent with the federal Flag Code, freestanding flagpoles of no more than 20 feet, flag size, lighting, maintenance, and halyard noise — but it must permit at least one flagpole per property.

Can a Texas HOA restrict religious displays?

Only narrowly. After Senate Bill 581 (2021), § 202.018 protects the display of religious items motivated by sincere religious belief anywhere on an owner’s or resident’s property or dwelling — the old entry-door-only, 25-square-inch limit is gone. Associations may still act against displays that threaten public health or safety, violate other law, contain patently offensive content, sit on common or association property, or violate setbacks and easements.

Can a Texas HOA prohibit rain barrels or drought-resistant landscaping?

No. Section 202.007 voids covenants that prohibit rainwater harvesting systems, efficient irrigation, composting, or drought-resistant landscaping and water-conserving natural turf. The association may regulate placement — for example, restricting barrels between the front of the home and the street — and may require a landscaping plan for review, but it may not unreasonably deny xeriscaping or reject it as aesthetically incompatible.

Can a Texas HOA prohibit security cameras or perimeter fencing?

Section 202.023 protects security measures including security cameras, motion detectors, and perimeter fencing. Associations may prohibit cameras placed anywhere other than the owner’s private property and may regulate fencing type. Senate Bill 711 (2025) added fencing limits: associations may bar fences that obstruct sidewalks, drainage, or easements, require driveway gates set back at least 10 feet from the right-of-way, and restrict new front-yard fencing installed after September 1, 2025.

What new protected uses did Texas add in 2025?

Two notable additions took effect in 2025. New § 202.008 bars fines for lawn or vegetation conditions during official watering restrictions and for 60 days afterward. New § 202.013 protects owners’ ability to invite public officials and candidates to address residents in common areas. In addition, § 202.010 now expressly covers solar roof tiles, and Senate Bill 711 refined the § 202.023 fencing rules. Bills that would have protected backyard chickens (HB 2013 and SB 141) did not pass in the 2025 session.

Related CIC-SC Resources

• Compliance Before Conflict — HOA Enforcement in Texas
• Texas HOA Architectural Review Under § 209.00505
• HOA Hearing Rights in Texas
• Texas Association State Compliance Checklist

References & Sources

1. Texas Property Code §§ 202.007, 202.010, 202.012, 202.018, 202.022, 202.023 — protected-use provisions discussed above.
2. Acts 2021, 87th Leg.: S.B. 581 (religious displays); S.B. 1588 and H.B. 3571 (pool enclosures; security measures).
3. Acts 2025, 89th Leg.: H.B. 431 (§ 202.010 solar roof tiles); H.B. 517 (§ 202.008); H.B. 621 (§ 202.013); S.B. 711 (§ 202.023 fencing).
4. Texas State Law Library, Property Owners’ Associations Research Guide.

Tags: Texas Chapter 202 · what Texas HOA cannot prohibit · Texas HOA solar panel law · § 202.010 · § 202.012 · § 202.018 · § 202.007 · § 202.023 · § 202.022 · 2025 legislation