Dive Brief:

• Texas homebuilders will no longer be able to forbid homeowners from adding solar panels to their newly purchased houses in unfinished subdivisions.

• Residential developers had argued that the after-market addition of solar to some homes while others in the same neighborhood were still under construction could change the character of a neighborhood and prevent sales of the unfinished homes.

• But a new Texas law, which starts Sept. 1, allows homeowners to add solar, even in communities still under construction. The Texas Association of Home Builders has said it supports the new law.

Dive Insight:

The rule applies to developments with more than 50 homes, but builders of smaller communities will still be allowed to stop new homeowners from adding solar panels.

In 2011, state law stopped homeowner associations from restricting the addition of solar. But what some have called a “loophole” in the law allowed builders to require buyers to wait until a community was completely built before introducing rooftop panels.

Solar advocates and homeowners worked to close the loophole, saying some developments take years to build and even longer to expand.

Homeowners will still have to get approval through their homeowner associations and follow any HOA guidelines for the size or location of the panels.