Flats in Winsford and solar panels

Flats in Winsford

Flats are a small share of homes in most of Winsford, but not everywhere. In the 2021 Census they made up 11.1% of households in Over & Verdin, roughly 716 households in the town’s largest ward. Elsewhere the share was lower: 7.1% in Swanlow, 6.4% in Wharton, 5.3% in Dene and only 1.9% in Gravel. Across Cheshire West and Chester it was 11.9% (Census 2021). In all, about 1,153 households in the five wards live in a flat or maisonette.

Those households hold their homes in different ways. Some own a lease, some rent from a private landlord and some rent from a housing association or the council. Each arrangement puts the decision somewhere slightly different, as who decides about solar sets out.

Who owns what in a block

In a typical block the person who owns a flat on a long lease owns the inside of that flat: the rooms, the inner surfaces and often the fittings. The structure, the roof, the outside walls, the shared hallways and the land around the building stay with the building owner, the landlord named in the lease. A managing agent may run the building on the owner’s behalf, and in some blocks a company owned by the leaseholders holds or manages the building.

Panels go on the roof or the outside walls, and their cables run through shared parts of the building. So in almost every case they need the building owner’s agreement, whoever lives in the flat. Where the whole block belongs to a social landlord, the tenant’s position is the one described on housing association tenants.

Reading the lease

A leaseholder’s first step is the lease itself. Look for four things: the description of what the flat includes, the clause on alterations and whether it requires consent, the list of costs recoverable through the service charge, and any rules about attaching things to the outside of the building. Leases differ widely, and older ones rarely mention solar at all, so the wording on alterations and the structure usually decides it.

If the lease is unclear, write to the managing agent or building owner and ask directly whether panels, or a plug-in kit, would be permitted, and on what terms. Keep the reply. If you are thinking of buying a flat in a block that already has panels, the lease questions are covered on buying a Winsford home with solar.

How panels on a block are usually arranged

There are three broad set-ups, and the right one depends on the building and its wiring.

• Panels for the communal supply. The array feeds the building owner’s supply, which runs hallway lighting, door entry, any lift and shared heating plant. The benefit reaches residents through lower communal bills and, in turn, the service charge.
• Panels shared out to individual flats. The array is divided so that each flat, or some of them, receives a share on its own meter. This needs more wiring and more agreement, but puts the electricity where residents use it.
• One flat with its own roof. A top-floor flat or maisonette may sit under a roof that could take a small array for that flat alone. The building owner’s consent is still needed, and the lease may need varying.

Whichever arrangement is chosen, the building owner usually commissions the work, holds the certificates and arranges maintenance, so the first conversation is with them.

The communal supply and export income

For many blocks the communal supply is the realistic target. It runs during the day, it belongs to the party who owns the roof, and it avoids dividing the array between flats. Electricity not used in the building is exported, and the account holder for that supply, normally the building owner, can claim export payments under the SEG scheme (Ofgem). Leaseholders should ask how both the lower bills and any export income will show up in the service charge accounts. How much a roof exports through the year is explained on export and self-use.

The roof rules for blocks

Under the national permitted development order, the roof rules for a block of flats are the same as those for a house. On a pitched roof the limits are 0.2 m of projection from the slope and nothing above the roof’s highest point; on a flat roof, 0.6 m above the surface (Part 14; the amending order). In a conservation area, panels on a block’s walls fronting a highway fall outside those rights, and a flat roof needs a prior-approval decision from the council. The national dataset lists Winsford Over - St Chads among the borough’s conservation areas (planning data). Listed buildings need planning permission and Listed Building Consent; check the national list. Planning rules has the detail, including Article 4 directions.

Plug-in panels on balconies

Small plug-in kits that hang on a balcony rail or lean against a wall are often the first idea in a flat. Planning law now treats them as solar PV, and they may not be mounted on any timber part of the building, from a wooden balcony to boarded cladding. The balcony and the wall still belong to the building owner, though, so a leaseholder needs consent under the lease and a tenant needs the landlord’s written permission. The building owner also has wider responsibilities for the safety of the outside of the block, which may shape the answer.

The grid connection for a block

An array large enough for a whole block can exceed the size that may be connected first and notified afterwards. Up to 16 A per phase, the firm notifies the network operator within 28 days under G98; anything larger needs approval before fitting under G99. Blocks often have larger or three-phase supplies, which changes the arithmetic. The ENA postcode search shows which operator covers the building, and grid connection explains both routes.

If you rent a flat

A tenant in a flat has a landlord to ask, and that landlord may not own the building. If you rent from a private landlord who holds the flat on a lease, two yeses are needed: your landlord’s, and the building owner’s under the lease. A private tenant on a lower income in a flat rated EPC D to G may still fall within the Warm Homes: Local Grant’s listed groups, but a grant cannot override the lease. If the whole block belongs to a housing association or the council, the landlord’s own programme decides, and the questions on the housing association page apply. In either case, nothing should be fixed to a balcony, wall or window frame without written permission. Private renters and landlords covers the written agreement in more detail.

Steps for leaseholders

1. Read the lease for the clauses on alterations, the structure and the service charge.
2. Talk to other leaseholders; a proposal from several flats carries more weight.
3. Write to the managing agent or building owner asking whether they would consider panels for the communal supply or for the flats.
4. If they agree to look, ask for written quotes with performance estimates and an explanation of how costs and benefits will be shared.
5. Check the chosen firm as set out in choosing an installer.

For a particular block, send the details through the question form.