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Solar panels add some challenges to moving house
What do you do with your solar energy system if your sell or rent out your house?
Years of planned and unplanned power outages have encouraged many South African homeowners to turn to renewable energy solutions – mostly solar installations on residential properties. But if you’ve installed a solar system for your home and you decide to sell the property, what happens to your sustainable electricity solution?
It pays to be aware of the different options before you commit to any solar installation.
Selling your house and solar system
If you’re selling your house with an installed residential solar system and you decide to sell the panels, batteries, and inverter along with the house, there are a couple of factors to consider:
- Deciding the value of your system, to build it into the house price – is it old, still under guarantee for maintenance, and does it have a valid electrical compliance certificate?
- Do you have a service-level agreement in place with your installer, to manage the transition to a new owner?
- Selling the equipment and system with the house means you won’t have to remove any installed components and pay for any possible damage in the process.
Taking your solar system with you
This scenario can crop up if there is no solar at your new property and you want to spare yourself the cost of new equipment, or perhaps if potential buyers are being discouraged by the higher price of your home with your system included. Whatever the reason, in this scenario, do the following:
- Check whether your panels are compatible with your new roof.
- Have a clause in your property sale agreement specifying that your home solar system is not included in the sale.
- Remove the system before the electrical compliance inspection ahead of the transfer.
- Cover the cost of any damage caused by removal of the system and get a guarantee for the roof.
Remember that moving a solar panel system to another roof can be expensive. It includes costs like disassembly, packing, transport to your new property and reinstallation.
What if you lease a home solar system?
If you lease your system, you don’t own the panels, inverter, battery, or other components. If you do want to take your leased solar system with you, ask your provider or installer whether moving the panels to your new location will be possible, and what it will cost. If you don’t want to move the system, you’ll usually have the option to buy out the lease. Alternatively, you could negotiate with the buyer to take over the lease, so that they enjoy the benefits of lower energy costs.
Ownership vs rental
It can be difficult to decide whether to lease a solar energy system or buy it outright. Here’s a checklist of pros and cons:
- Owning means reduced electricity bills over the long term – once the cost of the system has been paid, you get all the savings benefits, which include being spared any future Eskom tariff increases. If you rent your system, the rental cost reduces those savings.
- The cost of a lease will typically rise over time because of inflation, but when you own your system and it’s paid off, inflation has no effect on the savings that your system generates.
Nedbank’s market-leading Avo Solar offers a range of tailored, preapproved solutions
- You might be in a municipality that buys excess power from residents. The City of Cape Town already has a system in place to register residents with solar systems that feed excess power into the grid, and other municipalities are looking to follow Cape Town’s example. This could provide a major benefit to you if you own your system, but not if you lease it, as the system won’t be registered in your name.
- Good-quality equipment and competent, professional installation are essential. The boom in the solar industry has seen many new businesses enter the market, so make sure you use an installer with a solid reputation and a verifiable track record. If you’re leasing a system, you’ll have to personally check the quality of the components and the maintenance contracts of the installer that the leasing company has selected. However, if you’re buying your system through Avo Solar, Nedbank experts will connect you with properly vetted installers who offer a range of preapproved equipment and best-in-class maintenance.
- Upfront costs are not as high if you lease your system as they are if you buy it, since all you pay for is the rental cost.
- If you own your system, you are responsible for repair costs in the event of equipment malfunction, if the installer’s warranties or guarantees have expired. This is not an issue with a rented system.
- If you own your system, you also face the risk that the installer may have gone out of business by the time you need any repairs, which is why it’s crucial to use a trusted, fully vetted installer.
Tenant’s rights and home solar
Whether you’re renting out your property with a solar system installed, or you’re a tenant about to rent a property with solar, you need to be aware of tenant rights.
As a tenant, you have the right to a habitable living space and reasonable enjoyment of the property. You’re entitled to inquire about and request alternative energy solutions, such as solar, from your landlord. But if you install solar panels in a rental property without a signed addendum to the lease agreement specifying that you as the tenant remain the owner of the panels and will remove them on termination of the lease, the landlord is legally considered the owner of the installation.
It makes sense for both parties, whether you’re a tenant or landlord, to discuss the feasibility, costs, and benefits of solar installation, or of taking over an already installed solar system. If you do set up an agreement, it should state clearly who is responsible for maintenance and any other costs.
Nedbank’s market-leading Avo Solar offers a range of tailored, preapproved solutions including installation and maintenance.
