rent roof buy out

[infinity]

Just had a call from Customer.
He had rent A roof installed sometime back, now wants to move house and they want £12k to buy the contract out.

Not wanting to waste all the money he has asked for a price to decommission And re install on his new house.

He has had a few other quotes who have all said he will get the new 14.9p tariff, but I thought that you could not reapply for the fit using materials that have already been used. Am I wrong?
Is there a way to re install it on his new house and reapply for the FIT?

 

[whinmoor]

Why can't he sell the house with the PV still in place? The buyer can benefit from cheaper electricity bills.

 

[Worcester]

£12K seems cheap to me for buying someone out of a 23 year contract. Especially seeing as he didn't pay for them in the first place. He can add that to the price of the house , if it is stopping him selling the house that would be quite newsworthy.

He can't re-use the materials on a 2nd installation AND claim FiT, that is specifically prohibited by ofgem (not MCS), so nothing to stop him installing them on his new property, just not FiT eligible.

 

[Gavin A]

You could register it, and he could apply for FIT, but it'd be fraud.

chances are that nobody would be any the wiser mind.

 

[SolarCity]

Er... I think I'm getting a bit confused here.

Surely, if it is a rent-a-roof system, he doesn't own the panels anyway - so he can't just move them around as he pleases.

 

[infinity]

Well it was rent a roof, he is now moving and had to but the contract out (11 panels) the company asked for £12k to buy the contract out so he has agrees to pay it, thinking he could move the panels to the new house and at least recoup some money!
I called MCS today and they told me it can be done of the fit company (British gas) are happy to do it!

 

[whinmoor]

Didn't the contract with the RaR company include a clause about what might happen in the event he wanted to move house? I'd expect it to stipulate the house-buyer would have to take over the PV contract for the remaining months.

 

[Worcester]

I called MCS today and they told me it can be done of the fit company (British gas) are happy to do it!

Keep us posted

The rules are pretty cut and dried:

Feed-in Tariff: Guidance for renewable installations (Version 5)

Publication date: 19 April 2013

Use of previously accredited equipment
2.38. Where Ofgem has reason to believe that any generating equipment has formed part of an installation previously accredited under the FIT or RO schemes, the installation will not receive FIT accreditation.
2.39. Where a FIT installation is moved from its Site, for example where its owner moves property and takes the generating equipment to their new property, they will not be entitled to receive a new FIT accreditation, nor will they be able to continue to receive FIT payments under their previous accreditation.

So as I said, he can have his free leccy, not the FiT

 

[SolarCity]

Puzzled as to why he doesn't sell the house with panels on.

 

[Worcester]

Me too, unless the new purchaser has thrown a wobbler, doesn't make sense..

 

[Gavin A]

it's one of the stupid aspects of the legislation.

Why set it up so that people can't even move it and get the new tariff at the lower rate - it's going to cost far more money for them to leave them on the existing roof paying 46p or whatever per kWh for the next 23 years than moving it and paying 15p per kwh for the next 20 years.

 

[infinity]

Exactly Gavin, having read upon it also its quite clear it's not allowed,but it makes no sense! Put perfectly fine solar panel in the bin? What's green about that? Why does it matter if its second hand? It's just rule After rule of complete nonsense!

 

[infinity]

I also Suspect he couldn't leave it on the roof for the next owner as he still couldn't recieve the FIT as it would be in the rent a roof's name!
Il ask him tomorrow as I only chatted briefly earlier as I said I wanted to find out the legalities of setting it back up. What I find funny is that two other installers have already given him a quote promising that he can sign up with British gas again!