Q: Home Buyers Survey Level 2 and solar panels

Kandy1234

Question for any RICS surveyors in the forum; if conducting a level 2 home buyers survey, would you be expected to look at the solar panel installation from the ground (back garden, for example) to check as best you could if it met MCS requirements regarding the border distance to the edges of the roof (400mm)? If there was obviously no gap (panels fitted right to the edge of the ridgeline) would you flag it as a potential issue for legal review? Thanks in advance.

ComicGeek

The MCS isn't a minimum legal standard for solar panel installations - it's a voluntary standard which has been updated and changed over the years. Which version of the voluntary standard applied when the solar panels were installed? I'm not a RICS surveyor, but I can't see how you could check specific standards as you're not a solar specialist - the same way as you don't check the electrics or heating systems etc.

The 400mm distance to ridgeline isn't even a definitive rule, it can be reduced if designed appropriately. My own panels are less than 400mm from ridgeline, but I used appropriate fixings and refitted the ridge tiles during installation.

The MCS certificate is just a way of confirming that the design and installation were compliant with the standards at the time of installation.

user1977

It might help if you explained the context (I am inferring that you may be querying whether a survey which you already have ought to have disclosed this?). But as above I wouldn't expect this sort of technical knowledge to be within the remit of a "normal" surveyor and at most they'd note the presence of the solar panels and recommend you get somebody else to check them.

Niv

I would expect a surveyor to just include a butt covering statement along the lines of ' confirm that the solar panels have the appropriate MCS certification' with no comment on specifics of the installation. Basically, if it has an MCS certificate and isn't causing any issues (leaks etc) - what is your issue with it?

Kandy1234

Thanks for the comments so far. To add: yes we've had they survey, yes it included the "butt covering" statement about MCS, yes we were given an MCS cert issued by the installer 11 years ago. Issue is that they apparently overhang the neighbour's roof (semi-detached) by a few cm, which we would not expect anyone to pick up from ground level, and they need them moving before they have some roof felt replacement work carried out. Sounds easy enough and the original installer says he can just slide them across, but numerous other installers have maintained that this can't be done as there is not a 400mm border to the ridge on the other side and that the install was never compliant with MCS guidelines. Solution appears to be either move them anyway and accept they do not comply and hope no one complains, at least until we come to sell, which will be a while. Or replace with smaller panels that are more powerful (and efficient) these days to maintain the same generation power for the FIT, which could cost between £2,500 and £5,000, although would improve our yield. Wondering if we have any sort of recourse to either surveyor or original installer, as this was all picked up between exchange and completion; had we known before exchange, we would have been able to negotiate with the seller on a share of the expense to put right/make compliant. And yes, we know that in hindsight we could/should have had a specific check made on the panel installation by an expert, but where do you draw the line? The house has bricks - do we need an  expert to check these or would the surveyor be expected to have enough knowledge to highlight obvious concerns?  

user1977

You have no legal relationship with the original installer, so unless there's some sort of warranty transferred to you, that's a non-starter.

ComicGeek

Kandy1234 said:

Thanks for the comments so far. To add: yes we've had they survey, yes it included the "butt covering" statement about MCS, yes we were given an MCS cert issued by the installer 11 years ago. Issue is that they apparently overhang the neighbour's roof (semi-detached) by a few cm, which we would not expect anyone to pick up from ground level, and they need them moving before they have some roof felt replacement work carried out. Sounds easy enough and the original installer says he can just slide them across, but numerous other installers have maintained that this can't be done as there is not a 400mm border to the ridge on the other side and that the install was never compliant with MCS guidelines.   

If it was me, I would just get the original installer to slide them across - it's rare that the original installer is still around 11 years later, so must be doing something right. The other installers just don't want to get involved with someone else's install, and take responsibility for panels moved closer to the roof edge where wind loading is higher (and therefore have to rely on someone else's workmanship). They might be correct about the MCS compliance, or just using it as an excuse (which is probably more the case, as they would prefer to fit a whole new system rather than adjust a few existing panels) - either way, you have a valid MCS certificate, so you don't need to unpick this.

Yes, you can spend alot of money checking every aspect, replacing panels etc - but probably over thinking the whole thing.