Want solar panels without paying thousands of pounds upfront?
Leasing might sound like the answer.
A company installs the panels, you enjoy cheaper electricity and your savings remain safely tucked away for holidays, emergencies and increasingly expensive meal deals.
Lovely.
But there’s a catch. Because of course there is.
When you lease solar panels, they usually belong to somebody else.
Depending on the agreement, that company may also gain rights over your roof, collect the export income and remain involved with your home for the next 20 years or more.
So, is leasing solar panels a clever way to cut your electricity bills - or a contractual barnacle stuck to your roof?
Let’s get into it…
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Can you lease solar panels in the UK?
Yes, although leasing solar panels is less common in the UK than buying them outright or using finance.
“Solar leasing” can also mean several different things:
A traditional rent-a-roof scheme
A monthly solar subscription
A hire or rental agreement
A Power Purchase Agreement
A financed purchase wearing a lease-shaped hat
That last one catches people out.
If you use solar finance, you generally buy the system using borrowed money. You own the panels and repay the lender.
With a genuine solar lease, another company owns the equipment. You are paying to use it - or allowing the company to use your roof in exchange for some of the electricity.
Same shiny rectangles. Completely different paperwork.
How does solar panel leasing work?
A solar company installs panels on your home but retains ownership of the system.
Depending on the agreement, you might:
Pay a fixed monthly fee
Pay for each unit of solar electricity generated
Receive some of the electricity for free
Allow the provider to collect export payments
Have servicing and repairs included
The provider gets a long-term return from the equipment. You get cheaper electricity without purchasing the entire system upfront.
That is the basic idea, anyway.
The exact arrangement lives in the contract - the place where phrases such as “simple monthly subscription” sometimes develop 43 pages, three appendices and a sudden interest in your roof space.
What is a rent-a-roof solar scheme?
Rent-a-roof schemes became popular during the Feed-in Tariff era.
A company would install solar panels on a homeowner’s roof for little or no upfront charge. In return, the homeowner granted the company a long lease over the roof space.
The homeowner could use some of the electricity generated during the day. The solar company owned the panels and usually received the Feed-in Tariff income.
Or, put more simply:
You supplied the roof. They supplied the panels. You got some free electricity. They got the juicy tariff payments.
The Feed-in Tariff closed to new applicants in March 2019, so traditional rent-a-roof deals are now mainly found on properties where solar panels were installed years ago.
Ofgem confirms that, under many third-party ownership arrangements, the homeowner receives the generated electricity while the system owner receives the associated Feed-in Tariff payments.
That distinction becomes particularly important when the house is sold, remortgaged or needs roof repairs.
Future You may have questions for Past You.
Solar leasing vs solar finance
Solar leasing and solar finance are not the same thing, no matter how enthusiastically a brochure uses the phrase “affordable monthly payments”.
With finance, you borrow money to buy the system. You normally own the panels while repaying the balance.
With a lease or rental agreement, the provider may retain ownership throughout the contract.
Here’s the non-waffly version:
Feature | Solar lease | Solar finance | Buying outright |
Who owns the panels? | Usually the provider | Usually you | You |
Large upfront payment? | Usually you | Usually you | Yes |
Monthly payment? | Usually you | Yes | No |
Interest charged? | Not necessarily, but other fees may apply | Usually, unless it is 0% finance | No |
Maintenance included? | Often | Usually not | Usually not |
Who gets export income? | Depends on the contract | Usually you | You |
Freedom to change the system? | Limited | Usually greater | Greatest |
Potential house-sale faff? | Higher | Possible | Usually lower |
Do not compare deals using the monthly payment alone.
Check the total amount payable, whether prices rise each year, who receives export income and how much it costs to escape early.
A small payment multiplied by 240 months can become a very large payment.
Calculators: ruining seductive monthly pricing since 1623.
Solar lease vs Power Purchase Agreement
A Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA, is another form of third-party solar ownership.
With a standard lease, you usually pay a fixed amount each month for the equipment.
With a PPA, you pay an agreed price for the electricity the panels generate or supply to your home. The charge is normally calculated per kilowatt-hour.
Domestic PPAs are much more common in America. UK homeowners are more likely to encounter solar finance, subscription-style products or older rent-a-roof agreements.
If you are offered a PPA, check:
The price charged per kilowatt-hour
Whether that price increases annually
Whether you pay for all generation or only what you use
Who receives export payments
What happens if the panels underperform
How long the contract lasts
What happens when you sell the property
The important question is not simply whether the starting solar rate is cheaper than grid electricity.
You need to know whether it is likely to remain cheaper.
A bargain in year one can become considerably less bargaintastic after repeated annual increases.
What are the benefits of leasing solar panels?
Leasing is not automatically a bad deal. Done properly, it can offer some useful benefits.
Little or no upfront cost
This is the big attraction.
A lease may let you start using solar electricity without finding the full installation cost on day one.
That can make solar more accessible if your bank balance currently has other priorities.
Lower electricity bills
Your home can use the power generated while the sun is out.
Every solar unit used at home is electricity you do not have to buy from the grid.
You will still need your electricity supplier at night and whenever generation cannot meet demand, but daytime imports could fall.
The more solar electricity you use directly, the greater the potential benefit.
So run the washing machine at lunchtime. For once, procrastinating until midday may be financially responsible.
Maintenance may be included
Because the provider owns the panels, it may also handle monitoring, repairs and replacement parts.
This can remove some of the risk of an inverter failure or another expensive problem.
However, “maintenance included” can mean anything from comprehensive cover to “we’ll answer your email within three to five geological periods”.
Check whether the agreement includes:
Replacement components
Labour
Call-out charges
Scaffolding
System monitoring
Roof damage
Guaranteed repair times
Predictable payments
A fixed monthly fee can make budgeting easier.
But check whether “fixed” actually means fixed. Some agreements contain annual increases linked to inflation or a predetermined percentage.
The payment may be fixed until it isn’t.
What are the disadvantages?
The main drawback is simple: another company owns equipment attached to your house.
That can create complications.
The panels are not yours
You may use the electricity, but the provider controls the system.
You might need permission to:
Remove or relocate the panels
Install a solar battery
Replace the inverter
Add more panels
Change the export setup
Repair or replace your roof
Build a loft conversion
This is not ideal if you enjoy having the final say over things bolted to your own property.
You could be tied in for decades
Solar leases can run for 20 years or more.
You may currently plan to remain in your home forever.
Life can still intervene with a new job, a growing family or an overwhelming desire to live somewhere the kitchen does not have an inexplicable damp patch.
Before signing, check what happens if you:
Sell the home
Remortgage
Rent it out
Die during the agreement
Need major building work
Want to buy the panels
Want to leave early
Romantic? No.
More romantic than handing your children an unexplained roof lease? Probably.
Selling your home can become harder
Leased solar panels do not make a house impossible to sell, but they can add paperwork and delay.
A buyer may need to take over the agreement. Their solicitor and mortgage lender will probably want to review it first.
The provider may also need to approve the transfer.
If the buyer dislikes the contract - or their lender refuses to accept it - you may have to:
Change the agreement
Buy the panels
Pay an exit charge
Find another buyer
Develop a sudden and intense interest in conveyancing law
None of these necessarily kills the sale. They just make it less delightfully straightforward.
You might not receive export payments
Under the Smart Export Guarantee, eligible generators in England, Scotland and Wales can receive payment for electricity exported to the grid.
With leased panels, the contract determines who can claim that money.
It might be you.
It might be the provider.
It might involve a paragraph so dense that light itself cannot escape.
Ask explicitly:
Who is registered as the generator?
Who receives export income?
Can you choose the export supplier?
Does the provider take a percentage?
Can you add a battery and use a smart export tariff?
Never assume export payments belong to you simply because the electricity departs through your meter.
Your overall savings may be smaller
If you own the panels, the electricity savings and export income generally belong to you.
Under a lease, the provider also needs to recover the cost of the installation, maintenance, administration and finance - plus make a profit.
That does not automatically make leasing poor value. It just means your net benefit may be lower than it would be with an owned system.
Ignore the giant projected-saving figure for a moment.
Subtract every fee, payment and annual increase. That smaller number is the one you actually care about.
Will leased solar panels affect your mortgage?
They can.
Most mortgage conditions require the lender’s permission before you grant another party a lease over part of your property. Roof space counts.
According to UK Finance, lenders have minimum requirements for solar roof leases in England and Wales. Individual lenders may add their own rules.
If your home is mortgaged, speak to the lender before signing anything that creates rights over the roof.
Otherwise, you could breach your mortgage terms—which is not the sort of renewable energy excitement anybody ordered.
When you eventually sell or remortgage, the new lender may check whether the agreement meets its requirements. If it does not, the lender could ask for the contract to be changed or refuse to lend on the property.
Northern Ireland has different requirements, while UK Finance currently provides no equivalent general guidance for Scotland. Get advice appropriate to the part of the UK in which your roof currently resides.
Can you sell a house with leased solar panels?
Yes.
But prepare for additional admin.
Before listing the property, locate:
The complete lease or subscription agreement
Details of the current system owner
The remaining contract term
Transfer conditions
Buyout and exit charges
MCS documents
Electrical certificates
Panel and inverter warranties
Maintenance records
Export tariff or Feed-in Tariff information
Evidence of lender consent, where required
Do this before a buyer appears.
Discovering that the original solar company ceased trading eight years ago is best enjoyed without an estate agent repeatedly asking whether you have “made any progress”.
Your conveyancer should review the agreement. The buyer’s solicitor and lender will then decide whether its terms are acceptable.
If not, you may need a deed of variation, provider consent, a buyout or contract termination.
All potentially solvable. None especially speedy.
Can you buy the leased solar panels?
Some providers allow you to purchase the system during or at the end of the agreement.
The price could be:
Agreed in advance
Based on the system’s age
Based on its remaining value
Linked to expected future income
Accompanied by administration or legal fees
Check how the calculation works before signing.
Do not assume that making monthly payments for 20 years means the panels eventually become yours.
This is solar leasing, not a loyalty card.
What happens when the lease ends?
The contract should explain what happens next.
Possible outcomes include:
The panels become yours
You can buy the system
The agreement is renewed
The provider removes the equipment
A new arrangement begins
If the panels are removed, find out who pays and who repairs the roof afterwards.
Also check what happens if the system stops working before the agreement ends. You do not want to spend six years leasing what is essentially expensive roof decoration.
What should you check before signing?
Before accepting a solar lease, interrogate it like it has just returned home three hours after curfew.
Who owns everything?
Confirm who owns the panels, inverter, battery, mounting system and other equipment.
How long is the contract?
Check the full term, cooling-off period and whether it renews automatically.
Can the price increase?
Find out whether payments rise annually, follow inflation or jump after an introductory period.
Are the savings realistic?
The forecast should account for:
Roof direction
Shading
System size
Expected generation
Your electricity usage
When you use electricity
Grid electricity prices
Export payments
Annual lease increases
If the estimate assumes permanently glorious sunshine and endlessly rising electricity prices, perhaps invite it back to Britain.
Who gets the export income?
Get this in writing.
Also check whether you can change export tariff or install a battery later.
What maintenance is included?
Confirm whether parts, labour, call-outs and scaffolding are covered.
Ask how quickly faults must be repaired and what happens if the provider disappears.
What happens during roof repairs?
Find out who can remove and reinstall the system, how much it costs and whether you must compensate the provider for lost generation.
This could become extremely relevant when your roof decides it has developed indoor water features.
What if you move?
Can the agreement transfer to a buyer?
What if the buyer refuses it or fails the provider’s checks?
How much does leaving cost?
Request buyout and early-termination figures for several points during the agreement.
“Calculated at the time” is not a comforting answer.
Is your lender happy?
Get the necessary mortgage consent before granting rights over the roof.
You should also tell your home insurer about the equipment and confirm who is responsible for insuring it.
Is leasing or buying solar panels better?
Buying outright is usually the cleanest option if you can afford it.
You own the equipment, keep the savings and export income, and have greater control over the system.
Finance lets you spread the purchase price while usually retaining ownership, although interest can substantially increase the total cost.
Leasing may suit you if:
You cannot cover the upfront cost
The payments still leave a worthwhile saving
Maintenance is genuinely comprehensive
The transfer and exit conditions are reasonable
Your mortgage lender accepts the arrangement
You understand who receives the export income
It may be less suitable if:
You expect to move soon
Payments increase steeply
The buyout formula resembles ancient prophecy
You want complete control over the system
You are planning roof work or a loft conversion
You can afford to purchase a suitable system instead
Are leased solar panels worth it?
Possibly.
Helpful, we know.
A fair lease can provide cheaper solar electricity without a large upfront payment. It may also include maintenance and protect you from some equipment costs.
A poor lease can reduce your savings, restrict what you do with the roof and complicate selling or remortgaging your home.
The provider matters.
The system matters.
But above all, the contract matters.
Compare:
The total amount you will pay
The total electricity savings you can realistically expect
The export income you will receive
The worst-case cost of leaving
“No upfront cost” does not mean free.
It means the cost is hiding somewhere else, probably wearing reading glasses and sitting in clause 14.3.
Next Steps For Your Solar Journey:
When planning to install solar panels for your home, there are several important factors to consider. Make sure to refer to the following guides to help you make informed decisions:
To dive deeper into these topics, head over to our advice section, check out our YouTube channel for informative videos, or read a customer case study to see how others have benefited from their solar installation.
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