FCC Rule Gives Renters Right to Install TV Antennas

The Federal Communications Commission gave renters permission Friday to install small satellite dishes or other TV antennas on balconies, patios or gardens that aren’t shared with other tenants.

The rule, which the agency said will supersede any existing restriction on the devices in lease agreements, should take effect in about two months.

The action applies to rental properties such as apartments and single-family homes, but it won’t affect “common areas,” such as apartment lobbies or roofs.

The rules also will permit people to install the devices inside rented homes or apartments as long as they don’t drill into walls or otherwise damage the property, FCC officials said.

That part of the FCC’s order anticipates a time when technology advances and becomes widespread to allow satellite dishes, wireless antennas and other receiving devices to pick up TV signals indoors. At least one new wireless antenna can do that, the FCC said.

The FCC already has similar rules in place for people who live in condominiums, cooperatives and manufactured homes.

“The commission has thus eliminated the have-and-have-not distinction that gave homeowners access to the competitive video market but denied it to all apartment dwellers,” FCC Chairman William E. Kennard said.

Consumer groups, satellite TV companies, broadcasters and electronics makers were among the groups asking the FCC for the ruling. Associations representing apartment owners, home builders and real estate managers argued against it, contending that such rules would unconstitutionally tread on their property rights.