buying a house with existing photovoltaic panels

Martyn1981

firefitter wrote: »

Hi all,

Everyone more or less says the same thing, That the tariff rate for feed in stays with the house for the whole term of the original contract. But every one seems to tag on some sort of conversational proviso "AFAIK" or "I think" or "I'm pretty sure" rather than being able to tell me in convincingly definite terms.

Hi firefitter, I think the problem is that it's hard to find a government site/source with a definitive answer - mainly because these sites are a nightmare to navigate. Also your original question seems to raise some doubts about ownership of the panels, which in turn raises concerns over how they have been registered.

However, assuming there is a current FiT account, then you will need to get a transfer of ownership form for that FiT provider and you and the seller will sign it. For example, here is Scottish Power's transfer form.

On transfer you will then receive the FiT payments, and they will be at the rate appropriate to the date of the original FiT registration, and with the appropriate number of years remaining.

Mart.

wheel_mouse

With the panels I am having fitted this month I was advised:
The FIT tariff is mine for 20 years. If I sell the house the FIT contract is between mine and non transferable to the new home owners if we sell. They would simply benefit from the general day usage savings in units only.

It doesn't answer the question for your specific query but may result in a similar outcome.

firefitter

Hi Mart,

Thanks for the reply, it echoes the majority of what I've been told. I'm trying to get some of the relevant info from my conveyancer to be able to find out. The ambiguity of ownership probably stems from my not having all the documents in front of me. As for the installation, they were installed and have been maintained by a large regional company who are more than scrupulous in what they do so I have no concerns about it having been done to the letter of the rules. It's just a matter of finding out the info to ascertain that what you say (and what I suspect) is true.

Wheel mouse - I don't see how that works. Surely when you sell the property then the new owners must be able to sell their excess electricity to someone and benefit from it financially.

I'll keep all posted.

EricMears

I think (but don't really know) that if a seller does nothing, he'll retain the ownership of panels and his FIT contract. But he'd probably have problems in reading the generation meter or of course can't rely on buyer continuing to keep the system connected to the grid.


It would make far more sense if he was able to transfer the FIT contract to buyer. Some of the wording in the ScotsPower form that Martyn linked is a bit ambiguous and might be construed to read that he can't transfer it to just anyone. However, there would be a way round that if seller retains the contract but changes the bank details and email address to those of buyer

pinnks

Not sure about rent-a-roof but in normal cases anything in or on the house becomes the property of the purchaser on completion. As I understand UK law you actually buy the land and by inference anything on it, or at least the freehold interest in the land which is the nearest thing we have to outright ownership of land in the UK.

So the panels etc and the right to the FIT transfers. Just a question of the paperwork I think.

Martyn1981

EricMears wrote: »

Some of the wording in the ScotsPower form that Martyn linked is a bit ambiguous and might be construed to read that he can't transfer it to just anyone.

Fair Point, the form is a little ambiguous. I should have included the first link, which was to the Scottish Power FIT FAQ page. The download is from this Q & A:

What happens if I buy a property with FIT technology?

If you purchase a property which already has FIT technology installed and has been registered for FIT by the previous owner, you will need to agree as part of the sale that you will take over the FIT contract. You should also obtain details of the FIT licensee and the FIT ID. If the associated FIT licensee is ScottishPower, we require that you complete the 'Change to FIT Generator or Nominated Recipient Form' and provide this along with proof of ownership of the property. Download the form

Mart.

EricMears

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Fair Point, the form is a little ambiguous. I should have included the first link, which was to the Scottish Power FIT FAQ page. The download is from this Q & A:



Mart.

That makes it a lot clearer ! But the bit previously quoted seemed to be suggesting that you could only transfer within the family - I guess that was one 'typical example' that they'd have been better leaving out.

pinnks

I took a look at the eon T&C, which contains the following.

12. Changes of Ownership, Assignment of Rights and Nominated Recipients
12.1 We will only make FiT Payments to the person named on the Central FiT Register as the Generator unless you have provided a Nominated Recipient.
12.2 If you are planning to transfer ownership of your Generation Unit(s) or make a change to the Nominated Recipient you must contact us to request a Transfer Form. When this form has been completed, signed, dated and returned to us along with the requested documentation, we will arrange for the Authority to update the Central FiT Register. We will then write to you and the new Generation Unit(s) owner to confirm that this change has taken place. You must notify us as soon as reasonably possible prior to your planned change of ownership and provide the relevant Meter Readings on the date of the change of ownership. FiT Payments will continue to be made to the person (or their Nominated Recipient) as named on the Central FiT Register.
12.3 If you wish us to make payments to your Nominated Recipient you will continue to be responsible for the Generation Unit and responsible to the obligations under this Agreement. It is your responsibility to provide Valid Meter Readings as set out in clause 5 in order for the Nominated Recipient to receive regular FiT Payments.
12.4 If you have taken ownership of a Generation Unit that is already registered on the Central FiT Register, you will only receive FiT Payments for the duration of the period it remains eligible. Before any FiT Payments will be made you must agree to the Terms and Conditions of this Agreement and sign and date your FiT Plan.

You can get the relevant forms to transfer your contract to another person from the eon FIT team. Seems that your solicitor/conveyancer will need to ensure the vendor does this as part of the completion process etc.