HELP! HD Dish is installed and HUGE. Need to hide it!

Q: What types of restrictions are prohibited?

A: The rule prohibits restrictions that impair a person's ability to install, maintain, or use an antenna covered by the rule. The rule applies to state or local laws or regulations, including zoning, land-use or building regulations, private covenants, homeowners' association rules, condominium or cooperative association restrictions, lease restrictions, or similar restrictions on property within the exclusive use or control of the antenna user where the user has an ownership or leasehold interest in the property. A restriction impairs if it: (1) unreasonably delays or prevents use of; (2) unreasonably increases the cost of; or (3) precludes a person from receiving or transmitting an acceptable quality signal from an antenna covered under the rule. The rule does not prohibit legitimate safety restrictions or restrictions designed to preserve designated or eligible historic or prehistoric properties, provided the restriction is no more burdensome than necessary to accomplish the safety or preservation purpose.


Q: What is an unreasonable expense?

A: Any requirement to pay a fee to the local authority for a permit to be allowed to install an antenna would be unreasonable because such permits are generally prohibited. It may also be unreasonable for a local government, community association or landlord to require a viewer to incur additional costs associated with installation. Things to consider in determining the reasonableness of any costs imposed include: (1) the cost of the equipment and services, and (2) whether there are similar requirements for comparable objects, such as air conditioning units or trash receptacles. For example, restrictions cannot require that expensive landscaping screen relatively unobtrusive DBS antennas. A requirement to paint an antenna so that it blends into the background against which it is mounted would likely be acceptable, provided it will not interfere with reception or impose unreasonable costs.



Also, the HOA (not you) must prove that their restriction is enforcable under the FCC regs:

Q: Who is responsible for showing that a restriction is enforceable?

A: When a conflict arises about whether a restriction is valid, the local government, community association, property owner, or management entity that is trying to enforce the restriction has the burden of proving that the restriction is valid. This means that no matter who questions the validity of the restriction, the burden will always be on the entity seeking to enforce the restriction to prove that the restriction is permitted under the rule or that it qualifies for a waiver.

HD AV said:

The HOA CAN make you remove it ONLY if your covenants and/or deed restrictions specifically prohibit a satellite dish. Even with the Fed's ruling, the covenants in effect at the time of purchase may be enforced as they are considered "accepted and binding" upon closing. If you purchased prior to the Fed's dish/antenna ruling and these restrictions were in effect for the very large "old" C Band Dishes, or subsequent to the ruling (then the restriction would not be legal) you have a high probability of prevailing if taken to court by the HOA. In order to get the Fed's involved, you must first exhaust all remedies in jurisdiction (local and state). Check your restrictions, the HOA may not have a "leg to stand on".

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I'd be interested to see the text of the declaratory ruling. I haven't read through all of them on the FCC's website, but it looks to me that there's no mention of anything other than when the rule went into effect. It doesn't say anything about convenants existing before the rule.

I guess you would have to go back and read the legislation that created the ruling, and even then I doubt someone has a "no dishes" covenant dating back to 1934:

The adoption of the Rule followed the enactment of Section 207 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the "Act"), which required the Commission to "promulgate regulations
to prohibit restrictions that impair a viewer's ability to receive video programming services through devices
designed for over-the-air reception of . . . direct broadcast satellite services." The Congressional directive
to the Commission promotes one of the primary objectives of the Communications Act of 1934: "to make
available, so far as possible, to all the people of the United States . . . a rapid, efficient, nation-wide, and
world-wide wire and radio communication service with adequate facilities at reasonable charges."