Solar panels when you live in a flat in Southport

Three routes

1. Panels on the roof for your flat

Possible, but the roof is rarely yours. In a converted house or a purpose-built block, the roof normally belongs to the freeholder and is repaired through the service charge. You would need the freeholder's written consent, a licence or deed of variation if the lease forbids alterations, a cable route from the roof to your flat's meter that the other owners accept, and agreement on access, insurance and what happens when the roof is re-slated. The panels' output goes to your flat's supply only.

This tends to work best for a top-floor flat in a small conversion, where the roof is directly above and the other owners are few and willing.

2. A system for the whole building

The freeholder or a residents' management company can install panels to supply the landlord's supply, such as hall lights, a lift or a door entry system, or, with more complex wiring, to share output between flats. It is a decision for the building, paid for through the service charge or by agreement, and it needs everyone's buy-in.

3. A plug-in panel

From 27 August 2026, plug-in solar devices of up to 800 watts can be plugged into an ordinary socket. For a flat with a south-facing balcony, or a ground-floor flat with a sunny wall, this is the easiest way in. It needs no roof and no installer, but the lease may restrict what you fix to the outside of the building, and in a listed building consent is still needed for anything fixed to it. It must not be attached to a wooden fence, gate, wall or other garden enclosure.

What a plug-in panel makes

A panel hung vertically on a south-facing wall or balcony rail catches less sun than one on a pitched roof: PVGIS gives central Southport about 738 kWh a year per kW at 90 degrees facing south, against 1,005 at 35 degrees. An 800 W device on a south wall would therefore make about 590 kWh a year, less if the wall faces east or west or is shaded. Because it is small, almost all of that is used in the flat as it is made, rather than exported.

Before you start

1. Read the lease for clauses on alterations, the roof, the exterior and electrical work.
2. Ask the freeholder or managing agent in writing, describing exactly what you propose.
3. Check whether the building is listed or in a conservation area; see conservation areas.
4. For roof panels, get a solicitor to look at the agreement before anything is fixed.
5. For a plug-in device, check the socket and wiring are sound and keep the cable out of the way.

Read on

• Victorian and Edwardian houses
• Planning rules
• Conservation areas
• FAQs

Sources for this page

1. Census 2021 TS044: accommodation type (Nomis)
2. SI 2026/848: plug-in solar devices
3. GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 14 (solar permitted development)
4. SI 2026/896: changes to solar permitted development from 27 August 2026
5. European Commission JRC: PVGIS 5.3 solar output model
6. MCS standards and tools library (MIS 3002, MCS 012)