Renting your home? Who gets to go solar, and who pays.

Who actually owns the solar decision in a rented house?

Rooftop solar is built for owners. The system sits on the roof, the roof belongs to the landlord, and the BESCOM connection is usually in someone else's name. A tenant who pays a high monthly bill often wants solar the most, yet has the least standing to install it. This note sets out where the problem sits, who should pay, and what to agree in writing if you want to try anyway.

Why it is harder than an owner-occupied home.

• The roof is not yours. Anything bolted to it needs the owner's written consent, and the owner carries the structural and waterproofing risk.
• The connection may not be yours. Net metering is tied to a BESCOM consumer account. Check whose name is on the account before anything else, and confirm with BESCOM what a tenant can and cannot apply for.
• The payback is long. Solar earns its money over many years. A tenant on an 11 month agreement may leave long before the system has paid back.
• Shared roofs. In a house with several floors let to different families, the terrace is common space. See our note on planning the terrace layout before anyone commits to a design.

The cleanest route: the owner installs, the tenant benefits.

In most cases the landlord should be the applicant. The owner installs the system on their own connection and the savings show up on the bill that connection produces. That raises a fair question, because if the tenant pays the electricity bill, the tenant gets the saving. Two arrangements are common and neither is the only way.

• Owner pays, rent adjusts. The landlord funds the system and agrees a modest rent revision that reflects the lower bill. The tenant still comes out ahead if the rent rise is smaller than the monthly saving.
• Owner lives on one floor, lets another. If the owner stays in the house, the system serves the owner's own connection first. Whether a separate tenant meter can be served is a question for BESCOM and your installer. Do not assume it can. Our note on virtual net metering explains what sharing across connections involves.

An illustrative way to test the numbers.

These figures are placeholders, not a quote. Use your own bills and your own installer's estimate.

• Assume a 3 kWp system saves the household Rs 2,000 a month on average across the year.
• The landlord proposes a rent increase of Rs 1,200 a month to cover the investment.
• The tenant's net gain is Rs 800 a month, or Rs 9,600 a year, as long as the saving holds.

The sum is simple, but the saving is the weak point. It depends on how much of your use falls in daytime and on your tariff slab. Read our note on shifting daytime appliance use to see how much of a household's load solar can actually meet.

What to put in writing.

Agree these points in a short signed note, added to the rental agreement.

• Consent. The owner permits the installation, access to the terrace for maintenance, and cleaning visits.
• Who pays and who benefits. State the rent revision, if any, and how the bill saving is treated.
• Ownership of the system. It stays with whoever paid for it. If the tenant paid, say whether it is removed or left behind, and whether the owner compensates for the remaining value.
• Roof damage and waterproofing. Who repairs leaks that appear after installation. Read our note on waterproofing and mounting before signing.
• Exit terms. What happens to the system and any BESCOM paperwork if the tenancy ends early.
• Maintenance and warranty. Who holds the warranty papers and who calls the installer. The inverter warranty note shows what to keep on file.

If the owner will not install.

Then solar is probably the wrong step for now. A tenant can still cut the bill without touching the roof. Move heavy appliances to daytime hours, check which appliances are drawing the most, and revisit solar when you buy or build. Do not install a movable system without the owner's agreement, and do not pay a vendor before the paperwork question is settled.

Quick FAQ.

Can a tenant apply for the subsidy? Subsidy schemes are tied to the registered consumer and the installation site. Check the current conditions on the official portal and with your installer before you pay anything. See our subsidy guide for the general flow.

Does the system add value to the property? It may help the owner's case at resale, though that depends on the buyer. Our note on transferring net metering when selling covers the paperwork.