Buying a house with solar panels.

grumpy_codger

Panels installed in 2018 and owned.

It's an estate, the heir said that the panels come with a 'good' original tariff and in my solicitor's paperwork I see: " Enquiries.... Please supply copies of the Feed in Tariff agreement". 

However, I don't see these copies in the pack the solicitor sent me.

So, before I ask the solicitor and assuming that the heir doesn't have the copies, what other options are available? The current supplier is EON if this makes any difference.

I've never had solar panels and know nothing about the formalities. I guess the tariff is important as there is no battery.

Baldytyke88

The FIT scheme closed to new applications on March 31, 2019, so they should be registered.

OEN may be the supplier, but the FIT could be a different company. The tariff is the same who ever its registered with, some people moved to the  Smart Export Guarantee.

grumpy_codger

Baldytyke88 said:

...

OEN may be the supplier, but the FIT could be a different company.

Do I need to know what company it is? I think EON must know, right?

Keep_pedalling

grumpy_codger said:

Baldytyke88 said:

...

OEN may be the supplier, but the FIT could be a different company.

Do I need to know what company it is? I think EON must know, right?

Not if they only supply electricity. In the house we recently sold Octopus supplied our electricity and Scottish Power paid our FIT payments. This is information the vendor should be able to supply although it is a bit more tricky on probate sales.

paul991

main thing is to make sure the FIT is transferred into your name. 

Reed_Richards

I recently changed FiT supplier and my new supplier asked for proof of ownership.  So I think you would need proof that your vendor owns the panels and then proof that ownership has been transferred to you as part of your purchase agreement.

grumpy_codger

paul991 said:

main thing is to make sure the FIT is transferred into your name. 

Then the questions are:

• Who manages the transfer? The solicitor(s)?
• What information is needed for this? Will the name of the 'different company' suffice? Hopefully, it's the same EON if the elderly owner, typically, wasn't a keen switcher.

I'm asking because I don't put much trust in my solicitor, especially after receiving the papework with this important information missing. And I don't want big delays as the new financial year is coming with a hike in SDLT.

Heedtheadvice

As part of the heritable property the solicitor manages the transfer of all aspects of the property on your behalf.

If you are not happy with what has been provided then they are who you should contact.

If they get the solar paperwork and you purchase them as part of the house transaction then you have evidence of ownership and that plus the FIT/install paperwork ought then to satisfy the need to make FIT payment changes.

Without a that you should make a reduction in price allowance as you have no proof of ownership, possibly risk potential claims from an actual owner ( maybe not likely but possible) and could find another is still getting the FIT payments ( especially if there is a smart meter ).

Just as with electricity supply you should have an agreed meter reading at entry.

Well all that might be theory as I doubt if there are any other processes involved as 'standard' through set up systems like there are with land registry, Council tax etc.

You don't trust your solicitor? Why are you using them then for one of the biggest transactions of your life?

Petriix

Well done for asking exactly the right questions up front. My advice is to not proceed until everything is lined up correctly for the transfer. You need several things as mentioned above but the simplest approach would be to establish who the current FIT provider is and contact them directly and ask exactly what documents and evidence they require to transfer the FIT payments to your name.

If the provider is indeed EON then they actually provide some clear information about how this works here https://community.eonnext.com/threads/8962-Feed-in-Tariff-Transfer-of-Ownership

grumpy_codger

Heedtheadvice said:

As part of the heritable property the solicitor manages the transfer of all aspects of the property on your behalf.

If you are not happy with what has been provided then they are who you should contact.

If they get the solar paperwork and you purchase them as part of the house transaction then you have evidence of ownership and that plus the FIT/install paperwork ought then to satisfy the need to make FIT payment changes.

Without a that you should make a reduction in price allowance as you have no proof of ownership, possibly risk potential claims from an actual owner ( maybe not likely but possible) and could find another is still getting the FIT payments ( especially if there is a smart meter ).

Just as with electricity supply you should have an agreed meter reading at entry.

Well all that might be theory as I doubt if there are any other processes involved as 'standard' through set up systems like there are with land registry, Council tax etc.

You don't trust your solicitor? Why are you using them then for one of the biggest transactions of your life?

I do have all the evidence for the installation (and the owneship? - will check when I get back home), but I don't see anything about the FIT company there.

Regarding the solicitor, it wasn't  bad so far, although took almost 3 month to get to this point with a simple transaction without chains on both sides. Possibly, probate and three heirs make it not as simple as I think.
And I had very bad experience with two other solicitors in the recent two years when two other purchases fell through. As an afterthought it was possibly good for me, but regardless I blame them for that. All are old local companies with offices in my town. The current one is a national chain with a local office. It's possibly just me, but I have very low opinion of solicitors in general and conveyancers in particular. At least because they like dragging their heals for months. When I was a FTB, it took them half a year for my current house that was chain-free.

Heedtheadvice

Firstly probate can be a delaying issue   and the estate beneficiaries (those with legal benefit such as hiers etc. ) are not necessarily the delaying cause as it is the Executors that have responsibility for dealing with the property, once they have the authority and that most likely mean they have grant of probate. The next step then depends upon the terms of the will, if there is one. In England Probate has recently been very slow and can take many months.

You need to be clear if it is the Executors or one or more beneficiaries selling the property. I.e. know who you are dealing with and find out, for info if nothing else, what stage the 'seller' is at w.r.t probate from your solicitor.

All that is really out of the scope of this forum ( and my expertise) but it may affect the easy production of historical or purely necessary documents in due course! Knowi g where you stand is good?

However Ofgem recognise the situations  for property sale and can help with transfer. Have a look on their website. Quote'

Transfer to a new owner

Provide the new owner with documentation that proves ownership of the installation. This could include a copy of the Land Registry or a document that confirms the installation was included in the sale contract. You should also: 

• Take a meter reading on the day of the sale and send it to the new owner's supplier 

• • 
    

Solar panels are usually included in the sale of a property and are considered fixtures. Moving solar panels to a new property would make them "second hand" and you wouldn't be able to claim payments. 

Provide your forwarding address in case the supplier needs to contact you  Confirm the date of completion, the new owner's name, and the site address "

Not from their web site but typical info is as the following website site that ( despite the link description ) covers sale info.

"https://www.goodenergy.co.uk/support/articles/changes-to-your-fit-installation/