Solar PV for London Landlords — EPC Uplift & MEES 2030

Whoever holds the electricity supply account at the property holds the SEG account. In a typical AST the tenant holds the supply account, so SEG income would default to the tenant. To retain SEG income, the landlord typically holds an electricity contract for the property (common in HMOs and student lets) or contracts directly with the tenant in the tenancy agreement that SEG income is excluded from the supply transfer. We provide template wording.

On a 4kWp install with no battery, the tenant typically self-consumes 25–35% of generation — saving £200–£350 per year off the import bill at 2026 rates. With a 9.5 kWh battery and a smart-charge tariff (Cosy Octopus, Octopus Flux) the saving rises to £450–£700 per year. The exact figure depends on the tenant’s consumption pattern.

Solar PV on rental property qualifies for the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) — currently 100% first-year relief on plant and machinery up to £1m. Battery storage similarly qualifies. The relief offsets against rental profits in the tax year of install. Landlords should consult an accountant on the optimal claim timing relative to expected rental income — there are scenarios where spreading the relief across years (Writing Down Allowance) is more tax-efficient than the AIA. We provide cost breakdowns suitable for the accountant.

Yes for unincorporated landlords running a property business and for incorporated property holdings — solar PV and battery storage on rental property qualify for AIA, subject to the £1m annual cap (set indefinitely at this level from April 2023). For incidental rental income outside a property business the position is different — consult your accountant. The 0% VAT relief and the AIA stack: the install cost net of VAT (which is the price the landlord pays in 2026) is the qualifying spend for AIA.

The landlord. Solar PV and battery storage are landlord-owned fixtures — maintenance, monitoring and inverter replacement are landlord responsibilities under the typical tenancy agreement. In practice the system is near-zero-maintenance over 25 years: one inverter swap at year 12–15 (£1,495), one battery swap at year 12–20 (£3,500–£5,500). The MCS 10-year battery warranty covers most failures inside that window.

Yes — on a leasehold property the freeholder’s consent is required for any structural alteration including roof-mounted solar. Block management policy varies. A formal license is the standard route: the freeholder consents subject to MCS installer insurance, structural roof-load sign-off, a leak-remediation undertaking and either an annual licence fee or a one-off premium. Refusal is rare on rear roofs; less rare on front elevations facing a highway. Allow 8–12 weeks for the consent process.

Best practice — yes. Most BTL mortgage lenders require notification of material alterations to the property. Solar typically improves the EPC band, which in 2026 is an explicit favourable factor for many BTL lenders’ refinance terms. A few specialist lenders will flag standalone roof-mount installs as a structural alteration requiring formal consent. We provide the MCS installer insurance and structural roof-load documentation for the lender file.

For most London BTL — no. Solar PV is permitted development under Class A and Class B (panels below 200mm above the roof slope, not projecting above the ridge, front-of-property at least 1m back from any edge). Conservation areas with Article 4 directives and listed buildings need planning permission and listed-building consent respectively — see our Solar Conservation Area London guide.

Rear-roof, low-profile or tile-integrated installs (SolarEdge nail-down, GSE In-Roof, REC Alpha Pure-R) have the strongest planning success record. Some London boroughs (Hackney, Lambeth, Southwark) have published positive solar guidance for conservation areas; Camden, K&C, Westminster and Islington are stricter. Listed building consent on Grade II is achievable; Grade I rarely consents to any visible solar.

The solar PV system is a landlord fixture — it transfers with the property between tenancies, exactly like the boiler or the kitchen. The next tenant inherits the lower bills (and the self-consumption savings) on day one of tenancy. The SEG account routes to whoever holds the supply account, which transfers under the standard tenancy supply-transfer process. The MCS certificate and warranty remain attached to the property.