Solar Panels as a Renter: Your Rights Explained

If you rent your home, you might assume solar panels are off the table. They are not. Since 1 April 2016, UK tenants have had a legal right to ask their landlord to install solar panels — and landlords cannot unreasonably refuse. The Renters' Rights Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, removed the main reason most renters never exercised that right: the fear of being evicted in retaliation.

This guide covers what you can request, how to request it, what landlords can legitimately refuse, who pays, and what to do when they say no.

The legal right to request solar panels

The right dates to 2016, not 2025. Part 2 of the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/962) gave tenants the power to serve a written request on their landlord for energy efficiency improvements. Landlords were required to respond within one month and could not unreasonably refuse. Solar photovoltaic panels were — and still are — explicitly included in the list of qualifying improvements under the Green Deal (Qualifying Energy Improvements) Order 2012.

The right applies to assured tenancies, assured shorthold tenancies, and regulated tenancies — covering the vast majority of private renters in England and Wales. It does not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland, which have separate frameworks.

What the Renters' Rights Act 2025 actually changed

The 2016 right existed on paper but was rarely used. Before October 2025, a landlord who disliked a request could serve a section 21 notice — a no-fault eviction requiring only two months' notice. Tenants knew this and stayed quiet.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished section 21 in England. Landlords can now only evict on specific grounds set out in the Act — rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, wanting to sell, or moving in themselves. Exercising a legal right to request energy improvements is not among them. Using an eviction to punish a tenant for asking is itself unlawful under the Act.

The 2025 Act also introduced a Renters Ombudsman for independent dispute resolution and added a general 42-day window for landlords to respond to improvement requests. For energy improvements specifically, the earlier one-month deadline in SI 2015/962 still governs.

How to make the request

Put it in writing. Your request must include three things:

1. The specific improvement — solar PV panels, including approximate system size if you have a quote.
2. Evidence of funding — how the installation will be paid for (see below).
3. Quotes from qualified installers — MCS-certified installers for any grid-tied system.

Your landlord must respond within one month. No response is not an answer — it counts as a failure to comply with the regulations and gives you grounds to escalate.

Who pays for the solar panels?

The landlord does not have to fund the improvement. Under SI 2015/962, the requirement is only that it can be financed at no cost to the landlord — through grants, the tenant's own money, or a combination. You arrange and pay for it; your landlord just has to agree.

Funding routes to include in your request:

• ECO4: the government's Energy Company Obligation covers solar PV for households on low incomes or qualifying benefits. Your energy supplier applies on your behalf.
• Local authority grants: some councils offer retrofit grants — check your council's website or the Simple Energy Advice service on GOV.UK.
• Self-funding: if you expect to stay long enough to recoup the savings, you can fund it yourself. A 3.5 kWp system typically costs £6,000–£8,000 installed; see our solar panel cost guide for a full breakdown.
• 0% VAT: solar panels and installation are zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027 under SI 2023/376, reducing your upfront cost by 20% versus the standard rate.

What landlords can and cannot refuse

Landlords cannot unreasonably refuse. That is the statutory standard in Regulation 10(1) of SI 2015/962. The grounds on which they can legitimately say no are narrow:

• An independent surveyor confirms the improvement would reduce the property's market value by more than 5%.
• A third-party consent is needed — for example, a freeholder's permission for a flat — and that consent has been genuinely sought and refused despite reasonable effort.
• Structural or damp concerns specific to wall insulation (less relevant to rooftop solar PV).
• A similar request from another tenant was complied with in the previous six months.

Vague objections — “I don't think the roof is suitable”, “it will affect the look of the property”, “I'll look into it later” — are not valid grounds. If your landlord claims devaluation risk, they must commission the independent surveyor report themselves; the cost of obtaining that evidence is theirs to bear.

Flats and leasehold properties: if you rent a flat, your landlord may need consent from a superior landlord (the freeholder). That freeholder also cannot unreasonably refuse, and has six weeks to respond under Regulation 11(5). Your landlord must actively pursue that consent — failing to try does not make their refusal reasonable.

What to do if your landlord refuses or ignores you

If your landlord refuses without a valid reason, or simply fails to respond within a month:

1. Write again, citing SI 2015/962 Regulation 10(1) by name. Sometimes this alone changes the outcome.
2. Contact the Renters Ombudsman (created by the Renters' Rights Act 2025) for independent resolution before escalating to a tribunal.
3. Apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) — there is no fee for the application, and the Tribunal can order that consent be granted.

Keep every letter and email. A paper trail is essential at Tribunal; without it, the case becomes your word against your landlord's.

The 2030 EPC C target: a reason for landlords to say yes

The government's proposed update to the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) would require all private rented properties in England to reach EPC band C by 1 October 2030 (subject to legislation — not yet in force). Solar PV panels are included in the proposed “smart readiness” compliance pathway landlords can use to meet that standard.

The proposed cost cap rises from the current £3,500 to £10,000 per property over 10 years — and maximum penalties for non-compliance are set at £30,000 per property per breach. More than 900,000 solar PV installations in the private rented sector are forecast under this framework by 2030.

This gives landlords a practical reason to agree now. Installing solar with a tenant who has secured funding costs them nothing and ticks a regulatory box. You are not just requesting a perk — you are offering to help meet a compliance requirement at no cost to them. Frame your request that way.

If you can't wait: plug-in solar

If the request route is taking too long or your landlord is uncooperative, plug-in solar panels may be an option that sidesteps the process entirely. Under BS 7671 Amendment 4 (in force April 2026), up to 800W of plug-in solar can be connected to a standard socket without planning permission, and many rental agreements do not explicitly prohibit it.

Outputs are smaller than a full roof-mounted system — typically 600–800 kWh per year from 800W — but you will see bill savings immediately, with no installation complexity and no landlord negotiation required. Our plug-in balcony solar guide covers the rules, the best units on the market, and what your lease may or may not allow.