Can you put solar panels on a flat or tenement in Scotland?

Often, yes, but it is rarely as simple as on a house. In most Scottish tenements the roof is shared with your neighbours, so you will usually need their written agreement. Planning is the second hurdle: flats have permitted development rights for solar, but in conservation areas those rights only cover roof slopes facing away from the street, and listed buildings always need consent — which affects many tenements in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Here are the steps, in the order you will meet them.

Step 1: Who owns the roof?

Start with your title deeds. Under the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, whatever your title says about boundaries and shared parts takes priority. The Act’s default rules only apply where the title is silent.

Where the title does not say otherwise, the Act’s default is that a top flat “extends to and includes the roof over that flat”, and where the roof slopes, that includes the airspace above the slope up to the level of the highest point of the roof. So on paper, the top-floor owner may own the roof above their flat.

In practice, many Scottish tenement titles make the roof common property, shared by all the owners in the building. And even where the top-floor owner does own it, the roof is still treated as “scheme property” under the Act’s Tenement Management Scheme. That means it is maintained collectively and repair costs are shared.

What this means for you:

• If you are not on the top floor, you almost certainly need the agreement of whoever owns the roof, and a way to run cables from the roof to your flat.
• If you are on the top floor, you may own the roof above you, but your neighbours still have a stake in it because they share its upkeep.
• A solicitor can check your title before you spend money on anything else.

Step 2: Getting your neighbours on board

This is where most tenement solar projects stand or fall.

The Tenement Management Scheme lets owners make decisions by a majority, with one vote per flat. But those majority decisions cover things like maintenance, inspections and insurance. The scheme defines maintenance as excluding “demolition, alteration or improvement unless reasonably incidental to the maintenance”. Adding solar panels is an improvement, not maintenance, so the default scheme does not give a majority the power to approve it. Your title deeds may have their own rules on this.

The Act also prohibits any owner from doing anything that would materially impair the support or shelter the building gives, or the natural light any part of it enjoys. Fixing panels through a shared roof is exactly the sort of work neighbours will, reasonably, want reassurance about.

In practice you will usually need:

• Written agreement from the other owners (or all co-owners of the roof, depending on your title). Take legal advice on the exact consent your title requires.
• Your property factor’s involvement, if the building has one. They manage common repairs and will want to know what is going on the roof and who is responsible for it.
• Your buildings insurer told, whether that is your own policy or a common policy for the building.
• An agreement on the future: who pays if the roof needs repairs and the panels have to come off and go back on, and what happens when you sell.

Go to your neighbours with a clear plan: panel positions, fixings, cable routes and what happens at the next roof repair.

Step 3: Planning permission

Solar PV and solar thermal on a flat, or on a building containing flats, falls under Class 6HA of the Scottish permitted development rules — the same class that applies to houses, because “dwelling” is defined to include a building containing one or more flats. The main limits:

• Equipment must not project more than 1 metre from the roof or wall it is fixed to.
• In a conservation area, permitted development does not cover panels on the principal elevation or on a side elevation fronting a road. Rear roof slopes can still qualify. Check with the council.
• No permitted development on listed buildings or within their curtilage, or in a World Heritage Site. Listed buildings need listed building consent.
• The panels must be removed as soon as reasonably practicable once they are no longer needed.

That matters in Scotland’s cities. Large parts of Edinburgh and Glasgow’s tenement neighbourhoods sit in conservation areas, and many tenements are listed. For a street-facing roof slope in a conservation area that means a formal application, and the council will look closely at how visible the panels are. Rear slopes and low-profile panels usually fare better.

Always check with your local council before committing.

Step 4: One system each, or one shared system?

There are two broad ways to do solar on a tenement.

Individual systems. Each flat that wants solar gets its own panels on its own section of roof, its own inverter and, if wanted, its own battery, all connected to that flat’s own electricity meter. This is the most straightforward way for each owner to use their own electricity, but roof space gets divided up, and each system needs its own cable route down through the building, usually via the common close or stairwell.

A shared system. One larger array serving the building. The simplest version powers the common supply, such as stair lighting. Sharing generation between several flats’ meters is more complex.

Our solar panel system size guide explains how we size a system to your usage, which matters more when roof space is limited.

Step 5: The grid connection

Every solar system connected to the grid has to be registered with the local distribution network operator (DNO). In central and southern Scotland that is SP Energy Networks.

For a single small system, SP Energy Networks’ G98 route applies to generators under 16A per phase (3.68 kW). The installer submits the commissioning confirmation within 30 days of commissioning. Larger systems, or several systems on one building, need a different connection application.

If you are adding a battery, our solar battery storage guide covers how it works alongside the grid connection.

Step 6: Access and scaffolding

Tenement roofs are often steep, high and above a public pavement:

• Tenement scaffolding is priced after survey.
• If scaffolding goes on the pavement, the council will usually need to issue a permit, which adds time.
• If your building is due roof repairs, sharing the scaffolding makes sense.

A quick checklist

• Read your title deeds (or ask a solicitor) to find out who owns the roof.
• Talk to your neighbours and your factor early.
• Check whether you are in a conservation area or a listed building.
• Get a survey for roof condition, orientation, shading and cable routes.
• Agree in writing who is responsible for what, now and at the next roof repair.
• Apply for planning or listed building consent if needed.

Frequently asked questions

Get a straight answer

If you live in a flat or tenement and want to know whether solar is realistic for your building, we will tell you honestly, including when it is not. Surveys are free. Call 01506 894600 or get in touch. For houses, see our solar panel installation page.

Sources

• Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, s.1 (title prevails) — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2004/11/section/1
• Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, s.2 (top flat includes roof; airspace) — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2004/11/section/2
• Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, s.9 (no interference with support, shelter or natural light) — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2004/11/section/9
• Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, Schedule 1 (Tenement Management Scheme: scheme property, majority decisions, definition of maintenance) — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2004/11/schedule/1
• The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992, Sch. 1 Part 1A, Class 6HA (solar on a dwelling; “dwelling” includes a building containing flats) — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/223/schedule/1/part/1A
• Scottish Government — Planning Circular 1/2024, section 6: Microgeneration (solar PV and solar thermal) — https://www.gov.scot/publications/circular-1-2024-householder-permitted-development-rights/pages/6/
• SP Energy Networks — Single G98 generator connections — https://www.spenergynetworks.co.uk/pages/single_g98_generator_connections.aspx

More solar guides