Rent-a-Roof Solar Schemes and Leased Panels

The defining feature is not the price, which is nil up front, but the lease. The lease stays with the property, so it passes to whoever buys the house next, and the contract Which? examined required the householder to get the company's consent during the term of the lease before selling, or before making alterations or additions to the building near the system¹. That is why these arrangements still surface in conveyancing years after the offer was signed.

For a household's energy independence the picture is mixed. The panels generate on the roof and the electricity is free to use once installation is paid for, but in a leased system the installation was never the household's cost and the asset was never the household's property. A third party finances the upfront and maintenance costs and owns the generating asset². The home remains connected to the grid and to a supplier, and the roof carries an obligation that outlasts the original owner.

How the "free" offer is paid for

The economics of a rent-a-roof scheme rest on the tariff income, not on the panels' output. Which? states that the rent-a-roof company usually takes all the generation and export tariff payments paid out under the Feed-in Tariff scheme¹. The household's benefit is the electricity it uses directly; the company's return is the subsidy stream plus, in many contracts, the export payments.

Confused.com describes the same structure from the consumer side: some companies offer free solar panels if the household returns any income made through selling the energy back⁵. The offer is therefore a trade, not a gift. The household contributes roof space and a long-term legal commitment; the company contributes capital and maintenance.

The Renewable Energy Consumer Code sets out what a household should expect to be told in writing before signing. Its list for free solar PV systems covers legal ownership of the system, the up-front cost of the system if purchased with a loan, any additional charges, and the arrangements for terminating the agreement⁶. For hire purchase agreements specifically, it also covers details of the consumer credit licence⁶. Where a genuine grant is involved the position is different: in real grant schemes the household owns the panels once installed, with no lease and no repayments⁷.

Finance is not limited to leasing. Energy Saving Trust notes that some installers let households spread the cost of solar panels, with or without battery storage, over a number of years with low or zero interest, and that finance may also be available from local authorities, banks or other financial organisations⁸. Those are purchases, and the household ends up owning the asset.

The lease stays with the property when you sell

This is the point that catches households years later. Which? states plainly that the lease stays with the property¹. The seller does not take it away and the buyer does not choose whether to accept it; it runs with the roof.

The contract Which? saw went further, stipulating that the householder would have to get consent during the term of the lease if they wanted to sell their house, or make any alterations or additions to the building near the solar PV system¹. Consent requirements of that kind put a third party into decisions a homeowner would normally make alone, including work near the array.

There is a parallel in another long-lived property charge. The Green Deal loan is attached to a property rather than an individual, so if a homeowner sells their home the loan passes to the new owner⁹. The mechanism is the same in principle: an obligation registered against the property rather than the person.

For a sale, the paperwork matters as much as the panels. Energy Saving Trust advises that a solicitor should be able to help a buyer understand the documents relating to the solar panels, including any ownership and transfer forms, and that a change of ownership form is needed to ensure export payments reach the right person¹⁰. The RECC list includes the arrangements for assigning the arrangement if the property changes hands⁶.

Where the panels were bought outright rather than leased, none of this applies in the same way, and the guide to selling or buying a home with solar, a heat pump or insulation work sets out the general position.

What leased panels mean for energy independence

A leased array delivers part of what a household wants from solar and withholds the rest. The generation is real and the electricity is free to use once installation is paid for, though in a leased system the household did not pay for that installation¹¹. What the household does not hold is the asset, the tariff income, or full control of the roof.

The dependence that remains is layered. The home stays connected to the grid and buys from a supplier for everything the panels do not cover at the moment it is needed. The system itself belongs to a company, so maintenance, removal and modification decisions sit with that company or require its consent¹. And the arrangement is contractual, so it depends on the company continuing to exist and honour its side.

Ownership changes the picture. Where a household buys the system, the panels are its own property and the surplus can be sold: Oxfordshire Council notes that a solar PV system allows a household to sell any surplus energy it does not use back to the grid¹². That option is not available to every technology. Plug-in solar panels, for instance, cannot be used to sell excess power back into the grid, so the electricity has to be used when it is generated¹³.

For leaseholders and renters the permission layer comes first. Islington Council advises that a leaseholder will need the permission of the freeholder to install solar panels¹⁴, and Richmond Council makes the same point, that a leaseholder may still need permission from their landlord, freeholder or management company¹⁵. Plug-in solar carries a similar condition: renters and flat owners need permission from their landlord or freeholder before installing¹⁶, and permission may be needed from a landlord, freeholder or managing agent, particularly where the installation affects the building¹⁷.

Leased or bought panels: which fits which household

The choice is between holding an asset and holding a contract. A bought system is the household's property, generates free electricity once paid for, and can export surplus¹². A leased system costs nothing up front but assigns the tariff income to the company and leaves a lease on the property¹.

For households that cannot install a roof system at all, the alternatives are different in kind. Plug-in solar panels are recommended for renters, people in smaller homes such as flats, and those unable to afford full roof system installation costs¹⁸. Citizens Advice notes they can work well for renters and those living in flats with outdoor spaces, and that they do not need professional installation or a roof¹⁹. Energy Saving Trust adds that renters and flat owners need permission from their landlord or freeholder before installing them¹⁶.

Where a roof system is possible, roof mounting is by far the most common option for domestic installations, with ground mounting as the alternative³. Solar roof tiles are best suited to existing roofs²⁰.

For households in the private rented sector, landlord funding exists in some nations. The Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan Scheme in Scotland provides private registered landlords with interest free and low interest loan funding to invest in improving the energy efficiency of their properties and installing clean heating systems²¹. Social leasing, a model discussed at European level, means low-income households can rent clean technologies by paying an affordable monthly fee²²; that is a different structure from a roof lease, and it is not a UK scheme.

Switching supplier, batteries and the limits of the lease

Switching energy supplier is governed by who pays the bill, not by who owns the panels. Ofgem states that if a household has to pay its energy bills, it can choose to switch supplier or tariff at any time⁴. Confused.com says a renter can switch supplier if the lease says the bills are their responsibility²³, and Uswitch says the same for gas: a renter responsible for utility bills can switch, while a renter whose landlord is responsible cannot²⁴.

Where the landlord pays the supplier directly, the position reverses. Which? notes that the landlord will choose the energy supplier, and a tenant can ask them to change supplier but they do not have to²⁵. Citizens Advice states that a tenant cannot switch energy supplier or tariff themselves if the landlord pays the supplier for them²⁶. The Green Deal has its own rule: a household can change electricity supplier as long as the new supplier is taking part in the Green Deal scheme⁹.

Adding a battery or altering the array is a different question from switching, because it changes the system a third party owns. The contract Which? examined required consent for alterations or additions to the building near the solar PV system¹, and the RECC list expects the termination arrangements to be disclosed before signing⁶. Where panels have to be removed for a period, for example for roof maintenance, Which? reports that the householder would have to compensate the company for the missed Feed-in Tariff payments¹.