Thread: FCC Says you CAN put up that antenna - HoA can't stop you (FCC OTARD reference)

Congress passed the OTARD (Over-the-Air Reception Devices) rules back in 1996 which give citizens the right to erect antennas and satellite dishes. For the most part, the rules prevent municipalities and HoAs from enforcing rules that forbid antennas, require permits or approvals, or anything else that would cause a hardship. The rule also applies to renters if they have a balcony or patio.

See the following for details:
FCC Fact Sheet on Placement of Antennas

Then go tell that HoA to stuff it.

I worked as an installer for DirecTV for six months, and we spent the better part of a day during the training period discussing OTARD. The law does protect you from your own HOA in the legal sense, but you still have to live with the uptight morons you call neighbors. You have the right to buy that house, and you have the right to put up an antenna, but they're going to make your life hell if you exercise that right in a tactless or inconsiderate way.

I would not tell the HOA to stuff it as if you read further down the law it states

"This definition does not include, among other things, AM/FM radio, amateur ("HAM") radio (but see 47 C.F.R. §97.15), Citizens Band ("CB") radio, and Digital Audio Radio Services ("DARS") signals."

It only affects tv reception.