Is Building Regulation Approval Required For Solar Panels

Since a change in legislation in april 2008 the installation of solar panels has been deemed permitted development and therefore planning permission is not required unless the building is listed or in a conservation area.

Is building regulation approval required for solar panels. There are some restrictions though. Conversely a building permit would be required for the installation of solar panels to the roof of a class 1 or class 10a building located in a cyclonic area wind region c or d and to the roof of a class 2 9 building in any wind region unless it is in an area listed in schedule 4 clause 1 for which a building permit is not required. An hoa will only prevent you from installing solar panels if your state requires approval for the installation and then rejects the proposal. Regardless of whether or not planning permission is required for the installation of your solar panels the installation itself is still subject to standard building regulations.

Some strengthening work may be needed. The ability of the existing roof to carry the load weight of the panel will need to be checked and proven. Building control local authorities. In some cases an hoa may deny you for aesthetic reasons.

The good news is that here in the uk there is no requirement for planning permission for solar panels. There is some confusion as to whether a solar pv installation needs to be notified to the local authority and different authorities do have different approaches. The issue here is whether the existing roof wil be able to take the extra roof loadings that solar panels will impose on it. You will need to check that your roof is capable of supporting the additional weight that comes with the solar panels.

If you wish to install a solar panel on your roof building regulations will normally apply. Isea is the state resource for renewable energy related policy developments educational classes events and access to local renewable energy vendors. The key is to check your state s solar access rights to see if it can prevent you from going solar. Building regulations also apply to other aspects of the work such as electrical installation.

Being in a conservation area does not in itself stop you from an installation. The government is keen for people to install them so the regulations are left intentionally lenient. There are however important limits and conditions detailed on the following pages which must be met to benefit from these permitted development rights. Local authorities are responsible for compliance with the building regulations and most will have a dedicated building control department.