Leasehold houses and rooftop solar: freeholder consent

Read three clauses

The demise. What the lease actually grants. On a leasehold house this is normally the whole building including the roof — but check, because a leasehold house on an estate with retained common parts may be drafted differently.

The alterations covenant. The operative one. Look for whether it forbids alterations outright, or forbids them without consent.

Any covenant about external appearance, which some leases carry separately and which can catch an array even where structural alterations are permitted.

The distinction that decides it

Qualified covenant — “not to make alterations without the landlord’s consent”. Section 19(2) of the 1927 Act implies a proviso that consent is “not to be unreasonably withheld”. You are still asking; but an unreasonable refusal is challengeable.

Absolute covenant — “not to make alterations”. No implied reasonableness, nothing to challenge. The freeholder may still agree, as a matter of negotiation rather than obligation.

Fully qualified — consent required, not to be unreasonably withheld, stated expressly. Same practical position as qualified, but expressly.

The same analysis governs balcony and plug-in installations in flats, and our plug-in leasehold page sets it out at greater length with a free template letter for requesting consent — which works just as well for a rooftop request.

Making the request well

Ask in writing, and identify the covenant you are asking under.

Give them the detail they would need to say yes: capacity, which roof plane, module colour, that panels sit parallel to the roof plane, and that the installation is reversible.

Address the objections before they are raised — who maintains it, who is liable for the roof covering, what happens at the end of the term, and confirmation that the installer is MCS certified and the work notified under the building regulations.

Offer a licence for alterations. Freeholders are used to that mechanism, and offering it signals you intend to do this properly.

Expect a fee, and ask for it up front rather than discovering it later.

Also check for covenants

Separately from the lease, the title may carry restrictive covenants — private obligations enforceable by whoever holds the benefit, often a developer or a management company on a modern estate. These operate independently of both planning and the lease.

Three regimes, three separate checks: planning, lease, covenants. All three have to permit it.

If consent is refused

Ask for reasons in writing. Under a qualified covenant that is the material you would need to challenge the refusal as unreasonable.

Consider a revised proposal. A rear plane, a smaller array, or a different module colour resolves many refusals faster than a dispute.

Take advice before proceeding anyway. Breach of covenant is a real risk with real consequences, and it surfaces on sale even if nothing happens sooner.