Solar Panel Scams Guide: Florida & California Rights

Florida and California represent the two largest residential solar markets in the United States—and lead the nation in predatory sales complaints, PACE assessment abuses, and net-metering misrepresentations.

Homeowners in both states are protected by rigorous state consumer statutes and regulatory oversight boards. If you were misled by deceptive sales pitches, predatory financing, or defective installations in either state, specific legal avenues exist to void contracts and recover damages. Last updated: July 27, 2026.

California Solar Consumer Protections

California maintains some of the nation’s strictest consumer and contractor statutes:

Contractors State License Board (CSLB): Under California Business and Professions Code § 7159, home improvement contracts must follow strict formatting, including explicit cancellation notices and payment schedules. Down payments cannot exceed $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less. Violations can render the entire agreement unenforceable.
Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA, Cal. Civ. Code § 1750 et seq.): Prohibits deceptive practices, such as misrepresenting energy production or government affiliation. Homeowners who prevail are entitled to actual damages, punitive damages, and mandatory attorney fee awards.
NEM 3.0 Net Billing Tariff Disclosures: Since April 2023, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) shifted from traditional NEM 2.0 to the Net Billing Tariff (NEM 3.0), drastically reducing export credits. Installers who promised homeowners that solar panels alone would "wipe out electric bills" under NEM 3.0 without battery storage committed actionable consumer fraud.

Florida Solar Consumer Protections

Florida homeowners face unique risks involving door-to-door solicitation, roof damage from hurricanes, and PACE loan liens:

Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA, Fla. Stat. § 501.201 et seq.): Enforces broad consumer protections against unfair methods of competition and deceptive practices, with mandatory attorney fee shifting.
Home Solicitation Sale Permits (Fla. Stat. § 501.021): Door-to-door solicitors must hold valid municipal and county permits. Contracts entered into without compliant statutory cooling-off disclosures can be cancelled by the buyer.
PACE Financing (Fla. Stat. § 163.08): Property Assessed Clean Energy loans place senior tax liens directly on property tax bills, risking mortgage escrow shocks and tax deed sales. Florida courts and county tax collectors have increasingly scrutinized predatory PACE originations that bypassed borrower income verification.

This page is educational information from Solar Panel Scam Center, a consumer-education organization, not a law firm. It is not legal advice.

Solar Panel Scams Resource Center

Solar panel scams usually involve more than a single bad sales call. Homeowners often need to connect misleading savings promises, financing disclosures, installer performance, lien filings, warranty failures, and state complaint options before they know what happened. This resource center is organized so a visitor can move from symptom to evidence to next step without relying on JavaScript navigation.

Use the guides below to compare your situation against common solar fraud patterns, understand federal and state consumer-protection rights, prepare a complaint record, and decide whether an eligibility review makes sense. Keep copies of contracts, loan statements, utility bills, screenshots, emails, inspection notes, and any sales materials that promised tax credits, no electric bill, or guaranteed savings.