Can a rent-a-roof company install solar panels?

Where an installation is owned by a rent-a-roof company, we would expect there to be a signed ‘agreement’ between the relevant parties, i.e. the homeowner and the rent-a-roof company, such as a lease agreement, with the homeowner agreeing to rent their roof to the company for the purposes of installing solar PV panels.

What is a solar panel rent-a-roof scheme?

The Rent-a-Roof scheme lets people who can’t otherwise afford solar panels gain access to them, through installers who will setup solar panels on roofs for reduced prices. Installers can then sell any excess electricity generated back to the grid.

How many homes have a rent-a-roof solar panel scheme?

While the Feed-in Tariff was in effect, more than 900,000 homes in the UK had solar panels installed – so we can estimate that around 27,000 households signed up for a rent-a-roof scheme. What were the problems with rent-a-roof solar panel schemes?

Can you still get solar panels if you rent a roof?

All rent-a-roof schemes which offered free panels in return for Feed-in Tariff payments are shut to new customers, but there are still solar leases that homeowners can access. Solar subscriptions also provide an alternative way for homeowners to get rooftop panels without paying an upfront cost.

How do rent-a-roof solar panels work?

Rent-a-roof solar panel schemes required homeowners to give a solar company the rights to their rooftop or the airspace above it for up to 25 years. That company would then install rooftop solar panels for free, in return for receiving the household’s Feed-in Tariff payments.

Are there any problems with rent-a-roof solar panels?

There were several problems with rent-a-roof solar panel schemes, most of which were impossible to solve after the contract had been signed. Here are the main problems that affected rent-a-roof customers.