MCS, grants and export
Rent-a-Roof Solar Schemes: What UK Homeowners Need to Know
From around 2010, hundreds of thousands of UK homes got free solar panels through rent-a-roof schemes. The company took the Feed-in Tariff income; you got free daytime electricity. That sounded straightforward, but the 25-year roof lease has caused real problems for homeowners trying to sell, remortgage, or simply claim export payments.
1. How rent-a-roof schemes worked
The Feed-in Tariff, introduced in April 2010, paid a generation tariff for every kWh a solar system produced, plus a separate export tariff for electricity sent to the grid. Rates in the early years were generous enough that a company could offer panels at no cost to the homeowner and recoup the investment purely from FiT income over 20 to 25 years.
The homeowner benefited from free electricity during daylight hours. The company benefited from the FiT payments. The arrangement was recorded in a lease or licence over the roof, usually registered at the Land Registry. The panels, inverter, and associated equipment remained the company's property throughout.
The FiT closed to new applicants in March 2019, but existing registrations continued to receive payments. Companies that signed up large portfolios before the closure are still collecting FiT income today.
2. The complications when selling or remortgaging
The lease attached to your property must be disclosed to any buyer. Some mortgage lenders place restrictions on properties with third-party equipment on the roof; others will lend but require a consent and indemnity from the panel owner. The quality of that paperwork - and how responsive the scheme operator is - varies considerably.
Buyers' solicitors routinely raise enquiries about the lease terms: who is responsible for maintenance, what happens if the inverter fails, who carries liability if a panel causes a roof leak, and what rights the company retains on the roof after the lease ends. If the scheme operator has been acquired (which has happened frequently as portfolios were sold on), tracking down who now holds the agreement can take time.
Some buyers refuse to proceed until the lease is resolved. This can mean the homeowner needs to buy out the panels before exchange, which is possible but comes at a cost.
3. SEG rights and who can claim them
The Smart Export Guarantee replaced the FiT export tariff. Unlike the FiT, which was registered to the system rather than the property owner, SEG is contracted between the electricity supplier and whoever submits the application. On a rent-a-roof system, the panels belong to the company, which makes the legal position on SEG entitlement genuinely unclear.
Some operators have claimed SEG rights for their portfolios. Others have waived them or failed to register, leaving export income unclaimed. If you have a rent-a-roof system and your bill shows no SEG payments, it is worth checking whether anyone has registered the system for SEG, and whether the agreement gives you any right to apply yourself.
Contact the scheme operator in writing, ask for a copy of any SEG registration, and request confirmation of your rights in relation to export earnings. Keep the response for your records.
4. Buying out the lease and what it costs
Many operators offer a buyout option. The price is typically calculated by discounting the remaining FiT income the company expects to receive over the rest of the lease, plus a margin. For a system with ten years of FiT payments remaining at, say, 5p per kWh, that could be several thousand pounds depending on panel capacity and assumed generation.
A buyout removes the lease from your title deeds, transfers ownership of the panels to you, and allows you to register for SEG in your own name. Get the offer in writing, have your solicitor review the transfer documentation, and confirm that the Land Registry entry will be updated once payment is made.
If the operator is unresponsive or has gone into administration, the situation is more complicated. The lease may have been assigned to a successor; your first step is to check the Land Registry entry for who currently holds it. Citizens Advice can help if you are unable to locate the current lease holder.
FAQs
Can I get SEG payments if I have a rent-a-roof agreement?
It depends on your specific agreement. If the company holds the FiT registration and the agreement gives them rights over all export, you may not be entitled to register for SEG separately. Read your agreement carefully and, if in doubt, ask the scheme operator in writing. Where the FiT has ended and the operator no longer receives payments, some are willing to transfer export rights or sell the panels.
What happens to the panels when the 25-year lease ends?
At the end of the lease, the panels typically revert to you, but the exact terms vary. Some agreements give the company the option to remove the panels; others transfer ownership automatically. Check the termination clause in your original agreement. Panels installed in the early 2010s will be around 15 years old by then and may be nearing the end of their useful life.
Can I add a battery to a rent-a-roof system?
In principle yes, since a battery charges from and discharges to your home circuits rather than altering the panels themselves. However, some agreements require you to notify the scheme operator before making any changes to the electrical installation associated with the panels, and a battery that charges from solar reduces the export available to the operator. Check your agreement and notify them in writing before proceeding.