Satellite Dish & Antenna Regulations for Homeowner Associations

FCC (Federal Communications Commission) regulations dictate where and how satellite dishes and TV antennas can be located.  These regulations have significant impact on homeowner associations that have restrictions against these devices.  Prohibiting these devices is no longer legal and any governing documents that say so should be amended to comply with regulations.  While the association can no longer prohibit them, they can dictate their placement as long as it doesn't diminish the signal, significantly raise costs or impose unreasonable delays.   

Here are portions of regulation that deal specifically with HOAs.

September 25, 1998 Over-The-Air Reception Devices Rule
Section 1.4000 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended to read as follows:

(a) Any restriction, including but not limited to any state or local law or regulation, including zoning, land-use, or building regulation, or any private covenant, homeowners' association rule or similar restriction on property within the exclusive use or control of the antenna user where the user has a direct or indirect ownership interest in the property, that impairs the installation, maintenance, or use of:

(1) an antenna that is designed to receive direct broadcast satellite service, including direct-to-home satellite services, that is one meter or less in diameter;
(2) an antenna that is designed to receive video programming services via multipoint distribution services, including multi-channel multipoint distribution services, instructional television fixed services, and local multipoint distribution services, and that is one meter or less in diameter or diagonal measurement;
(3) an antenna that is designed to receive television broadcast signals; or
(4) a mast supporting an antenna described in subparagraphs (1), (2) and (3) above

is prohibited, to the extent it so impairs, subject to paragraph (b). For purposes of this rule, a law, regulation or restriction impairs installation, maintenance or use of an antenna if it:

(1) unreasonably delays or prevents installation, maintenance or use,
(2) unreasonably increases the cost of installation, maintenance or use, or
(3) precludes reception of an acceptable quality signal. Any fee or cost imposed on a viewer by a rule, law, regulation or restriction must be reasonable in light of the cost of the equipment or services and the rule, law, regulation or restriction's treatment of comparable devices. No civil, criminal, administrative, or other legal action of any kind shall be taken to enforce any restriction or regulation prohibited by this rule

except pursuant to paragraph (c) or (d). In addition, except with respect to restrictions pertaining to safety and historic preservation as described in paragraph (b) below, if a proceeding is initiated pursuant to paragraph (c) or (d) below, the entity seeking to enforce the antenna restrictions in question must suspend all enforcement efforts pending completion of review. No attorney's fees shall be collected or assessed and no fine or other penalties shall accrue against an antenna user while a proceeding is pending to determine the validity of any restriction. If a ruling is issued adverse to a viewer, the viewer shall be granted at least a 21 day grace period in which to comply with the adverse ruling; and neither a fine nor a penalty may be collected from the viewer if the viewer complies with the adverse ruling during this grace period, unless the proponent of the restriction demonstrates, in the same proceeding which resulted in the adverse ruling, that the viewer's claim in the proceeding was frivolous.

(b) Any restriction otherwise prohibited by paragraph (a) is permitted if:

(1) it is necessary to accomplish a clearly defined, legitimate safety objective that is either stated in the text, preamble or legislative history of the restriction or described as applying to that restriction in a document that is readily available to antenna users, and would be applied to the extent practicable in a non-discriminatory manner to other appurtenances, devices, or fixtures that are comparable in size and weight and pose a similar or greater safety risk as these antennas and to which local regulation would normally apply; or
(2) it is necessary to preserve a prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure or object included in, or eligible for inclusion on, the National Register of Historic Places, as set forth in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, 16 U.S.C. § 470, and imposes no greater restrictions on antennas covered by this rule than are imposed on the installation, maintenance or use of other modern appurtenances, devices or fixtures that are comparable in size, weight, and appearance to these antennas; and
(3) it is no more burdensome to affected antenna users than is necessary to achieve the objectives described above.

(c) Local governments or associations may apply to the Commission for a waiver of this rule under Section 1.3 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.3. Waiver requests must comply with the procedures in subsections (e) and (g) of this rule and will be put on public notice. The Commission may grant a waiver upon a showing by the applicant of local concerns of a highly specialized or unusual nature. No petition for waiver shall be considered unless it specifies the restriction at issue. Waivers granted in accordance with this section shall not apply to restrictions amended or enacted after the waiver is granted. Any responsive pleadings must be served on all parties and filed within 30 days after release of a public notice that such petition has been filed. Any replies must be filed within 15 days thereafter.

(d) Parties may petition the Commission for a declaratory ruling under Section 1.2 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.2, or a court of competent jurisdiction, to determine whether a particular restriction is permissible or prohibited under this rule.

Petitions to the Commission must comply with the procedures in subsections (e) and (g) of this rule and will be put on public notice. Any responsive pleadings in a Commission proceeding must be served on all parties and filed within 30 days after release of a public notice that such petition has been filed. Any replies in a Commission proceeding must be served on all parties and filed within 15 days thereafter.

(e) Copies of petitions for declaratory rulings and waivers must be served on interested parties, including parties against whom the petitioner seeks to enforce the restriction or parties whose restrictions the petitioner seeks to prohibit. A certificate of service stating on whom the petition was served must be filed with the petition. In addition, in a Commission proceeding brought by an association or a local government, constructive notice of the proceeding must be given to members of the association or to the citizens under the local government's jurisdiction. In a court proceeding brought by an association, an association must give constructive notice of the proceeding to its members. Where constructive notice is required, the petitioner or plaintiff must file with the Commission or the court overseeing the proceeding a copy of the constructive notice with a statement explaining where the notice was placed and why such placement was reasonable.

(f) In any proceeding regarding the scope or interpretation of any provision of this section, the burden of demonstrating that a particular governmental or nongovernmental restriction complies with this section and does not impair the installation, maintenance or use of devices designed for over-the-air reception of video programming services shall be on the party that seeks to impose or maintain the restriction.

(g) All allegations of fact contained in petitions and related pleadings before the Commission must be supported by affidavit of a person or persons with actual knowledge thereof. An original and two copies of all petitions and pleadings should be addressed to the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 1919 M St. N.W.; Washington, D.C. 20554, Attention: Cable Services Bureau. Copies of the petitions and related pleadings will be available for public inspection in the Cable Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Copies will be available for purchase from the Commission's contract copy center, and Commission decisions will be available on the Internet.

(h) So long as the property owner consents, a person residing on the property owner's property with the property owner's permission shall be treated as an antenna user covered by this rule and shall have the same rights as the property owner with regard to third parties, including but not limited to local governments and associations, other than the property owner.