Solar panels when moving house

peachespeaches

I wont go into details but we moved house unexpectedly, our old house is up for sale and has our solar panels on which we own. When we sell I presume we have to transfer the FIT payments thing to the new owners. Has anyone gone through this? How do you do it?
Alternatively, has anyone moved and taken their solar panels with them, having found someone to do the installation?

EricMears

peachespeaches wrote: »

I wont go into details but we moved house unexpectedly, our old house is up for sale and has our solar panels on which we own. When we sell I presume we have to transfer the FIT payments thing to the new owners. Has anyone gone through this? How do you do it?
Alternatively, has anyone moved and taken their solar panels with them, having found someone to do the installation?

Not sure about 1st question but I don't think you absolutely have to transfer the FIT contract. If new owners agree to arrangement you could keep the panels on their roof but continue to collect payments. Could get quite messy though ! I believe (but haven't tested) that transferring contract would just be a matter of telling the FIT provider details of new beneficiary though I expect lawyers would be able to make it more complicated.

You can't move panels - or at least if you do you would lose the FIT payments and not be allowed a new contract for 'used' panels.

peachespeaches

I would be interested in keeping the FIT payments, but have a strange mental image of me sneaking down with a torch in the middle of the night to read their meter!

glentoran99

peachespeaches wrote: »

I would be interested in keeping the FIT payments, but have a strange mental image of me sneaking down with a torch in the middle of the night to read their meter!

You would then need to agree to rent the roof from them

zeupater

glentoran99 wrote: »

You would then need to agree to rent the roof from them

.... and probably have their solicitor advise them to walk away from the purchase !!

If the panels are to be removed then their (the buyers') solicitor will advise that it needs to be done professionally (the housing association which jointly own 50% of the property will/should also insist on this), therefore the cost (labour, scaffold and relevant work guarantees) to be bourn by the seller ... the solicitors should also advise that the property value will likely be affected and that the offer on the table would be open to be adjusted downwards accordingly - this will also impact on the buyers' mortgage valuation survey which if already done will need to be repeated/adjusted at the insistence of the mortgage lender ...

HTH
Z