As the federal government considers numerous proposals to make rooftop photo voltaic necessary for brand spanking new properties, Mark Greatholder and Aliki Zeri study the authorized, sensible, and monetary points surrounding this type of laws.
“Rooftop photo voltaic for brand spanking new builds to avoid wasting individuals cash” is the strapline that accompanies the proposed modifications to the Future Houses Commonplace, supposed to be issued in Autumn 2025. Below the Authorities’s proposals, builders of new-built properties would wish to attain at the very least 40% photo voltaic photovoltaic (pv) protection (or the place this isn’t potential, obtain a ‘affordable quantity’ of protection), in a transfer that’s supposed to ship appreciable value financial savings for end-consumers.
Shortly after this announcement, the Authorities launched a session on 2 July 2025 introducing minimal power effectivity requirements (MEES) for socially rented properties. If the proposals go forward, socially rented properties might be required to fulfill an EPC ranking of C (or equal) by 2030. This session builds upon the “Reforms to the Power Efficiency of Buildings regime” session launched in 2024, which thought-about introducing 4 new metrics to evaluate the power efficiency of home buildings.
These mixed initiatives point out the federal government’s intention to offer landlords and occupiers of properties with a extra exact understanding of the efficiency of residential buildings, and require landlords and builders to establish the enhancements that must be made to present properties or to design new properties that might be ‘match for goal’ for the longer term.
The mandated set up of photo voltaic pv is due to this fact an extra welcome addition to this bundle of measures, in as far as it demonstrates the Authorities’s steady dedication to the Internet Zero agenda and the efforts to scale back shopper’s electrical energy costs in a unstable geopolitical setting. Nonetheless, extra intervention should be thought-about if significant change is to occur. Heating is without doubt one of the areas the place Authorities intervention might make a big distinction. Owners who use gasoline boilers as their essential supply of heating have, in recent times, been uncovered to the volatility of gasoline costs and the substitute of gasoline boilers is taken into account by the Authorities a key side of the decarbonisation of warmth within the UK. Moreover, the Power Act 2023 grants the Secretary of State powers to introduce warmth community zoning laws in England. Nonetheless, such powers are but to be exercised, thus creating uncertainty of the way forward for district warmth networks (and their related advantages).
Moreover, the set up of photo voltaic pv panels must be considered holistically and extra thought must be given to any obligations or liabilities that the tip shopper might want to assume in alternate of their property benefiting from on-site photo voltaic pv technology.
The expectation is that the upfront expenditure might be funded by the residential developer and that it will then be ‘constructed’ into the acquisition value of the property. The place properties are let and topic to ‘a proper to purchase’, consideration must be given on how the presence of the photo voltaic pv set up will have an effect on the valuation of the property and due to this fact the acquisition value.
As soon as the panels have been put in, these will must be maintained. Relying on the residential developer’s most popular method, the price of upkeep could both be included as a part of the service cost or might be borne immediately by the proprietor of the property. The previous method would seem like preferable, as it might most probably make sure that the identical entity that put in the panels, can be liable for the upkeep of the identical (being greatest positioned to cope with gear they’re intimately accustomed to). Care must be taken such that the service cost is apportioned appropriately throughout the property, such that properties that don’t profit from a photo voltaic pv set up usually are not burdened with this extra value.
Any upkeep and restore of the gear will doubtless require the house owner to grant rights of entry to the third celebration endeavor such actions. In most situations, such actions are more likely to trigger restricted interference with the house owner’s actions and disturbance given the vast majority of the gear is exterior to the property. Nonetheless, gear could fail and will must be eliminated to be repaired. In such situations, efforts must be made to minimise any disturbance and to make sure that any injury, which can happen when eradicating the panels from the roof, is repaired as quickly as fairly practicable. Throughout any interval when the gear is being repaired or changed there could also be discount in power technology, which is able to then quickly improve the price of electrical energy for the end-user. It’s controversial that tenants shouldn’t be worse off than others the place these circumstances happen. Documenting the phrases of any upkeep schedule and the events’ related obligations (house owner and repair supplier) is vital. How these are documented depends upon the contracting construction and whether or not the upkeep is being provided as a bundle of wider companies on the property or the house owner has organized the identical immediately.
It’s at the moment unclear whether or not there may be any expectation from the Authorities for any put in pv set up to get replaced on the finish of the panels’ helpful life. While the projected ‘life’ of the new-generation photo voltaic pv panels is circa 30 plus years, like all gear the efficiency of panels degrades over time. A degradation of their efficiency could have a direct consequence within the power financial savings which can be to be achieved. Will residential builders be required to exchange the put in panels at common intervals or will this be the prerogative of particular person householders? Within the latter case, we anticipate householders weighing the price of removing of the pv panels and set up of recent panels, towards the then present electrical energy costs, prior to creating a call. If the panels have been to fall into disrepair, this might impression on the situation of the roof, thus creating larger points for householders.
It might be unlikely for the Authorities to impose a steady obligation on residential builders to make sure that the panels put in on residential properties stay operational while that property stays in situ. That being the case, subtle householders might want to correctly contemplate the implications of buying a property with photo voltaic pv panels on the roof. Particularly, they’re suggested to think about: the place the accountability for upkeep of the identical rests; what rights (if any) must be granted to 3rd events to facilitate such upkeep; and, what would occur on the finish of the gear’s helpful life? These are advanced questions that not all house owner or occupiers will really feel outfitted or totally knowledgeable to reply, so we’d counsel that, in the end, additional Authorities intervention might be required to handle the end-of-life subsequent steps.
