We are advising PRs on selling a property in the estate. The property has solar panels but there is no documentation about installation, ownership ,FiT etc. The buyer’s solicitor will not accept an indemnity and is demanding details of ownership of the panels, finance etc. Has anyone had any success finding out about potential third party liabilities on solar panels or generally able to give any advice.
We have a similar issue. The deceased has solar panels and the son believes it’s linked with British Gas - we phoned British Gas and got transferred to their solar panel department but they wanted the serial number of the solar meter, the supply and pin or the installation number - none of which we have.
Going to have to search through and see what we can find to get more information on this estate.
It might be worth seeing what the energy supplier knows if it’s linked to them? Or having a good rummage through any remaining paperwork. I’d be keen to know what progress you do have as we’ll likely be looking to sell this property in due course.
I wonder if there have been monthly / annual payments going out of the deceased’s current account or some adjustments made to the electricity bill which might indicate that full ownership has not been acquired. If there are none over the last few years, then that suggests that the solar panels are fully owned.
If there is an account for “feed-in” payments being received by the deceased (ie for selling solar energy to the grid), that too might give an indication. You could contact whoever makes those payments to see if the payments are split between the deceased and some third party (and, if so, that third party are probably the ones ask about ownership).
Another idea (quite a good one, in my opinion!) is to ask the local “DNO” - “Distribution Network Operator”. If memory serves, when you want to install solar panels, you have to get permission from the DNO. It is most likely it was the installer who made that application. If you contact the DNO, they may be able to tell you who made that application and, hopefully, that will lead you to the installer. You can find out who the DNO is by putting in the postcode here: Who is my distributor? - SSEN
If you have any idea how old the panels are (maybe ask the neighbours if they remember when they were installed), and if that was not too long ago, there might be payments showing in the bank account / credit card bill. The electricity provider might also have a record of when the panels were installed (and possibly who installed / supplied them).
Also, do any of the neighbours have solar panels? Maybe they used the same installers / suppliers?
This site has a map showing foreign ownership of English and Welsh properties. Some solar panels are shown as some offshore companies seem to own the air space above the properties. It won’t be complete as presumably not all contracts work in that way.
We bought a house some time ago which had solar panels. It was also an estate. The seller’s PR was extremely reluctant to provide any information but we did ultimately get a copy of a request for a meter reading which at least gave us the utility that managed the Feed in Tariff. That was a great help.
There would be some communication by email or post but I am sure the PR’s have already tried to find it. I think the accounting is quarterly.
Somewhere in the property there will be an inverter and one or two meters. The inverter will be a reasonable size and is probably in the loft. It may have a sticker on it with the installers details and call this number for maintenance etc.
If there is only one meter it is probably on the original FIT contract which ran from 2009 to 2019.
With an original feed in tariff, the payments were fixed and there was less motivation not to use your normal electricity supplier - it will probably be a different department and separate accounting but it might be worth a shot. They will of course want a reference number.
There is an operation called MCS which certified installations post 2009. They may be able to give a solicitor information but they were reluctant to help us before we had bought.
I have had some success with the following organisations:
MCS - they will check the database and inform you of the installer if they hold an MCS certificate: www.mcscertified.com.They told us the installer of the PVs and confirmed that they are still in business.
Ofgem - I didn’t have any luck with the DNO (though I agree it’s a good idea Paul), but Ofgem will help you to check the ‘Central FiT Register’ - email: fitownership@ofgem.gov.uk
British Gas - sorry to be negative, but the FiT team are worse than hopeless (unlike the BG bereavement team, who I find helpful, but can’t help you on FiT) - As you all probably know from dealing with them on estates, the FiT team just send irrelevant standard emails.
Thanks again everyone - problem solved on my estate. I hoe the Power of TDF can help someone else with these contact details.