In the booming Texas solar market, the promise of harnessing the state’s abundant sunshine is incredibly appealing. For many homeowners, it’s a path to lower energy bills, energy independence, and a smart home investment. But the rapid, often loosely regulated growth of the industry has created a “Wild West” environment for sales. All too often, the grand promises made at your kitchen table by a convincing salesperson don’t match the reality of the system installed on your roof, leaving you with a financial burden instead of a benefit.
When this happens, you can feel powerless and unsure where to turn. The decision to even consider legal action is a major one. Finding the right attorney to sue a solar company in Texas can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re already dealing with a frustrating situation. The good news is that Texas law provides a powerful shield for consumers, even if it’s not a simple “Solar Bill of Rights.” The key lies within a broad and potent statute: the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA). Understanding how to leverage this act is the first step to building a powerful case.
The Great Disconnect: Sales Promises vs. Licensed Installers
Before we dive into the law, it’s important to understand the structure of the Texas solar industry, as it’s often the source of the problem. Picture this: A friendly, persuasive salesperson from “Sun-Pro Marketing” sits at your kitchen table. They show you impressive charts, guarantee your electricity bill will vanish, and assure you of massive government rebates. You’re sold. However, the contract you sign might have the letterhead of a different company entirely, “Texas Premier Installers, LLC,” who you may never speak with until the day a crew shows up at your house.
This disconnect is critical. The marketing company that made the promises isn’t the one bound by the installation contract. When a problem arises—like the system wildly underperforming—the installation company points to the fine print in the contract, while the marketing company that made the verbal promises is nowhere to be found. This gap is precisely what the DTPA is designed to address.
Your Primary Weapon: The Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA)
The DTPA is one of the most powerful consumer protection laws in the United States. It is designed to protect consumers from any “false, misleading, or deceptive acts or practices” in the marketplace. It has a long “laundry list” of specific prohibited actions, and a knowledgeable attorney can often find violations that aren’t immediately obvious. In solar cases, it’s the primary tool for fighting back.
Here are just a few common violations under the DTPA we see in solar disputes:
Misrepresenting System Performance
This is the most common issue. A salesperson promises you’ll “wipe out your electricity bill” or generate a specific amount of power, often using a “best-case scenario” proposal that ignores real-world factors like your specific roof orientation, local weather patterns, or how solar panels naturally degrade over time. If they guaranteed savings that are physically impossible for the system they installed to achieve, it’s a clear misrepresentation.
False Advertising of Financial Incentives
A classic deceptive tactic involves the 30% federal solar tax credit (the ITC). Salespeople often present it as a guaranteed cash rebate or discount. However, it is a non-refundable tax credit, meaning it can only reduce the federal income tax you owe. If you are retired, on a fixed income, or otherwise have little to no federal tax liability, you get little to no benefit from the credit. A salesperson who guarantees you will get a specific dollar amount back from the government, without knowing your personal tax situation, is making a potentially fraudulent claim.
Failure to Disclose Key Information & Predatory Financing
This is one of the most damaging violations. Many solar loans come with hidden “dealer fees” or “origination fees.” A salesperson might quote you a low interest rate (e.g., 2.99%) without mentioning that to secure that rate, the finance company charged a 20-30% fee that was added to the principal of your loan. This can massively inflate the true cost of your system by thousands of dollars. Failing to disclose this fee clearly and upfront is a classic deceptive practice under the DTPA.
The Power of “Treble Damages”
What makes the DTPA so powerful is a provision for additional damages. If a court finds that the solar company knowingly deceived you, they may be required to pay up to three times the amount of your economic damages. This “treble damages” provision serves as a strong punishment and a powerful incentive for companies to settle a case rather than risk a large judgment at trial. Finding an attorney for your solar lawsuit in Texas who has experience with the DTPA is crucial to leveraging this.
Protecting Your Homestead: Liens and Property Rights
Texas law holds the family home—the homestead—in special regard, providing protections that don’t exist for other types of property. For a company to place a valid lien on your home for an improvement like solar panels, the contract must meet a strict set of requirements under the Texas Property Code. For example, it must be in writing and signed by all owners (including both spouses) at an approved location, such as a title company or an attorney’s office—not your kitchen table. Many solar contracts fail to meet this high standard, giving a homeowner powerful grounds to challenge the validity of the lien itself.
The Federal “Cooling-Off” Rule in Texas
While Texas doesn’t have an extra state-mandated cancellation period, the Federal Trade Commission’s “Cooling-Off Rule” still applies to almost all in-home sales. This gives you three business days to cancel the contract for any reason. The critical detail is how this right is communicated: the salesperson must provide you with a copy of your contract and two copies of a separate cancellation form at the time of the sale. If they failed to provide these forms in the correct manner, your right to cancel may be extended.
Your Next Step: Building Your Case with Experts
As you can see, suing a solar company in Texas requires a deep understanding of broad, powerful laws like the DTPA and the Texas Property Code. It’s a different battlefield than in other states.
This is why a professional case review is so critical. At SolarDispute.com, we are industry experts who analyze your entire situation for these specific types of violations. We build the evidence file, document the misrepresentations, and calculate the true financial damages from things like undisclosed dealer fees.
This evidence-based approach gives the attorneys in our network the ammunition they need to effectively leverage the DTPA on your behalf, turning your frustrating situation into a powerful case for resolution.