Pigeons nesting under Leased Solar Panels from A Shade Greener

oatcake40

Grumpyman27 said:

Does anyone else have problems with pigeons nesting under their leased solar panels, and the Tenant (A Shade Greener) not being willing to do anything about it unless you pay them?

We have been quoted £500 to fix the problem plus the provision of access scaffolding, and I have seen on line others complaining of being asked to pay £1500 or more.

As we only get a very small amount of 'free' electricity from the panels in lieu of rent for them leasing the roof area, and they take virtually all of the benefit from the panels, resolving this problem is likely to cost us more than we will ever get back from the deal.

The matter came to a head recently when our neighbour complained that the pigeons were creating such a mess that their gutters and drains needed clearing out, and they further complained they were being kept awake by the constant noise. We too were suffering from similar problems.

There was no mention of this as a potential problem at the sales stage, and the Lease Agreement makes no mention of how such matters should be dealt with. On that basis ASG claim they have no obligation to do anything unless they are paid for it.

However we have been told that under civil/tort law (not contract law) the Tenant (A Shade Greener) has an obligation not to cause nuisance to the Landlord (us) either by its action or inaction.  As they were responsible for the design and installation of the panels, and did not include for bird protection, we consider they were negligent and should now remedy the situation at their cost. 

The situation is further complicated by the fact that the Lease Agreement is not with A Shade Greener Limited, but with a subsidiary company that appears to no longer be owned by ASG. 

I do not want to have to pay out a lot of money to fix a problem that ASG caused, and possibly even more to take this to court (if indeed I can even identify the right company to sue!)   

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.  

I'm having the same problems with pigeons and ASG not helping at all they can't even provide me with a copy of the lease or terms and conditions they said we will have to pay£180 to view them 
I'm not sure what I can do to fix this problem surely it's there responsibility 

inspectorperez

Pigeons under solar panels are an absolute nightmare! I observed pigeons nesting under my own panels (problem now sorted) through a dormer window in my loft. They will definitely peck at wires and there is a risk that they will interfere with the generation of solar power. It may be a strategy to switch off the inverter if there is a risk which might result in harm to the birds. Unfortunately this would I think result also in the termination of FIT payments to the installation owner until the problem was rectified and inverter rebooted.