Unregistered lease for Solar System

kalamu

Hi all,
I am currently selling my property and at present it has a solar system from the Rent-A-Roof scheme on the roof.
The new owner does not want the system and we are working towards getting it removed by paying the owner of the lease/panels a sum of money to surrender the lease.
We have discovered that the lease was never registered in the first place and none of the paperwork was ever done properly.
If I just took the panels off am I breaking any rules? As the lease is not really valid and the owner does not hold the original. Is there anything such as some sort of insurance I can get to cover myself for any comeback on this? I know indemnity can cover the new owner of the property against it, but what about me - can I get in trouble for it?

teddysmum

They could come after you if you damage the system. Are you confident that you won't damage your roof, too ?

csgohan4

Wish I owned the lease to the solar system, I would be rich

ThePants999

csgohan4 wrote: »

Wish I owned the lease to the solar system, I would be rich

The ground rent (space rent?) is a killer.

ProDave

If you DO take the panels off, and the owners do not want them back, please PM me, I might be interested in buying them.

sevenhills

kalamu wrote: »

Hi all,
I am currently selling my property and at present it has a solar system from the Rent-A-Roof scheme on the roof.
The new owner does not want the system and we are working towards getting it removed by paying the owner of the lease/panels a sum of money to surrender the lease.

Just offer him £1000 off the price, I have solar panels, whats the big deal. It does mean that I must have a loft window on the other side, if I do that, but they lower your energy bill.

kalamu

The thing is, the new buyers just do not want the panels and will pull out of the sale if they stay, which means we will lose the house we're buying.
As for removing the panels, I would get a professional solar company to do it and let the owners know they may collect the panels if they wish.

My question is more - can the lease ever be acted upon if never registered or does it still form some sort of contract between us?

anselld

kalamu wrote: »

The thing is, the new buyers just do not want the panels and will pull out of the sale if they stay, which means we will lose the house we're buying.
As for removing the panels, I would get a professional solar company to do it and let the owners know they may collect the panels if they wish.

My question is more - can the lease ever be acted upon if never registered or does it still form some sort of contract between us?

Yes the lease forms a Contract and the buyers will equally pull out if you cannot prove that you have taken the necessary steps to terminate the lease correctly without any future come-back from the solar company. There is no way to cheapskate this.

sevenhills

kalamu wrote: »

The thing is, the new buyers just do not want the panels and will pull out of the sale if they stay, which means we will lose the house we're buying.
As for removing the panels, I would get a professional solar company to do it and let the owners know they may collect the panels if they wish.

My question is more - can the lease ever be acted upon if never registered or does it still form some sort of contract between us?

If it does in the below, the cost is £13k

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/business/brothers-anger-at-bill-to-remove-solar-panels-1-6469100

D00gie72

Hi There, I sold a house with leased solar panels a few years ago - and it was a pain. Your purchasers have probably been put off the Solar Panels by reading scare stories in the press etc about how "terrible" a deal they are and how the panel owners are all sharks and out to make a quick buck.... forgetting that they will be benefiting from reduced electricity costs.......without the expense of maintaining the solar equipment...... Anyway that's my rant over....
Basically getting out of your current lease agreement with the solar owners is likely to be very expensive - as basically you are paying them for the remaining feed in tariffs they would of received up until the end of your original agreement. The panels and associated equipment belongs to them - so if you remove it without permission yes you could be liable for costs which I imagine would be large.
The lease we had - also was not up to current council of mortgage lenders standards. We had to arrange a deed of variation on our lease - basically bringing it up to standards that meet Council of Mortgage Lenders criteria. Talk to your solicitor and the owners of the panels (you may need to speak to their solicitors too) and see what you need to do to achieve this. Then hopefully your new buyer will be reassured about the panels and will go ahead with the purchase.
Removing the panels yourself could lead to a huge amount of trouble and expense for you.

sevenhills

D00gie72 wrote: »

Hi There, I sold a house with leased solar panels a few years ago - and it was a pain. Your purchasers have probably been put off the Solar Panels by reading scare stories in the press etc about how "terrible" a deal they are and how the panel owners are all sharks and out to make a quick buck....

If I was looking for a house and I definitely did not want solar panels, I would not view it, it would be ruled out.