Orphaned Solar Panel Leases: What to Do When the Company Has Gone Bust

What is an orphaned solar lease?

Between roughly 2010 and 2015, solar panels were big business. The UK government's Feed-in Tariff (FiT) paid above-market rates for every unit of electricity generated, making it profitable for companies to install panels on homes for free and pocket the FiT payments themselves.

These arrangements were sold under various names: rent-a-roof, free solar panels, solar PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements), or solar leases. In exchange for a free installation, you agreed — typically for 20–25 years — to let the company own the panels, claim the FiT income, and in some cases charge you a reduced rate for the electricity they generated on your roof.

To protect their commercial interest, the company registered a legal notice or charge against your property at Land Registry. This is entirely legal, but it has consequences that were rarely explained clearly at the time.

An orphaned solar lease is what happens when that company no longer exists. The business dissolved, went into administration, or simply ceased trading. But the charge it registered against your property title is still there — because Land Registry entries don't disappear automatically when a company closes.

You now have a legal encumbrance on your home with no living counterparty.

How common is this?

Very common. The companies that ran these schemes were often small SPVs (special purpose vehicles) created specifically to hold panels and collect FiT income. When the FiT rates were cut in 2012 and 2016, many became unviable. Some of the more recognisable names include:

• HomeSun (later acquired connections with Tesco Energy) — dissolved
• A Shade Greener — ceased trading
• ISIS Solar — folded
• Real Estate Investors (REI) schemes — various successor entities
• Dozens of smaller regional operators

Successor companies including Engensa, Anesco, and various SPVs absorbed some of these lease books during administration processes. Others were simply abandoned.

If your panels were installed for free between 2009 and 2016, it is worth checking your property title right now — even if you have never tried to sell or remortgage. You may have a registered charge you are not fully aware of.

Why it matters for remortgaging and selling

Mortgage lenders look very carefully at anything registered against a property title. A solar lease charge immediately prompts questions that many lenders are not set up to answer:

• Who owns the panels?
• Who has right of access to your roof?
• What happens if the panels need removing or replacing?
• Does the lease supersede the lender's security interest?

Even if the registering company is dissolved, the entry remains on your title until it is formally removed. Lenders including Halifax, Nationwide, and others have encountered these situations and respond in broadly three ways:

1. Flat refusal — they will not lend until the charge is removed, full stop
2. Case-by-case review — they may lend if you can provide evidence the company is dissolved, the panels are fully functional, and there is no active claimant
3. Conditional offer — they lend but require the charge to be removed before completion

Conveyancers acting for buyers are similarly cautious. An unexplained solar lease charge is a red flag, and some buyers' solicitors will advise their clients to walk away rather than take on an unresolved legal question.

What is actually registered?

The nature of the registration matters enormously for how easy it is to remove. There are three main types:

Unilateral notice (most common)

A unilateral notice can be entered by anyone claiming a right over a property — the registered owner does not have to agree to it. This is the most common type for solar leases. You can apply to Land Registry to cancel a unilateral notice using form UN4 if you believe the interest it protects no longer exists (because the company is dissolved).

Agreed notice or restriction

More formal than a unilateral notice. A restriction prevents the registration of certain dealings with the property (like a sale or mortgage) until specific conditions are met. Removing a restriction typically requires either consent from the person who applied for it, or a court order. If the company is dissolved, applying to Land Registry using form RX3 is the starting point, but evidence of dissolution is essential.

Registered charge

The most serious situation. A registered charge is equivalent to a second mortgage — it gives the holder a formal secured interest in the property. Removing a discharged charge without a live counterparty is harder. You may need to apply to court for an order if there is genuinely no successor company to execute a deed of release.

Step 1: Find out who holds the lease now

Before assuming the lease is truly orphaned, do your research. Many of these leases were assigned during administration — the administrator sold the lease book (sometimes to another energy company, sometimes to a specialist SPV) as an asset.

To investigate:

1. Read your original lease agreement — look for any assignment clause, and note the exact company name registered on your title
2. Search Companies House (free at beta.companieshouse.gov.uk) — look up the original company by name. Note whether it is dissolved, in administration, or has a registered liquidator
3. Check the administrator's reports — if the company went into administration rather than straight dissolution, the administrator's reports (often available on Companies House or specialist insolvency registers) will say whether the lease book was sold
4. Search for successor companies — search Companies House and the internet for names like Engensa, Anesco, or any SPV with a similar postcode or director history

If you find that the lease was assigned, you have a live counterparty to deal with. That is both better (someone can give you a deed of release) and worse (they may want payment).

Step 2: Contact the current lease holder

If the lease was assigned and the successor company exists, contact them in writing. Ask specifically:

• Do they confirm they hold the lease for your property?
• Are they willing to execute a deed of release to remove the charge from your title?
• If not, what is the buyout figure for the remaining lease term?

Buyout costs vary depending on how many FiT-earning years remain, but typical figures for remaining lease terms are in the range of £1,000 to £3,000. If you are trying to sell a property that is losing buyers because of this charge, paying to clear the title is almost always cheaper than the deal falling through.

Get any deed of release in writing, properly executed by someone authorised to sign on behalf of the company, and ensure it is registered at Land Registry to update your title.

Step 3: If no successor exists — applying to Land Registry

If Companies House confirms the company is dissolved with no liquidator or successor, and you have found no evidence of the lease book being assigned, you may be able to apply directly to Land Registry to remove the registration.

For a unilateral notice: Use form UN4 (Application to cancel a unilateral notice). You will need to explain why the notice should be cancelled — specifically, that the company which entered it has been dissolved and that the underlying lease interest has therefore ended. You may be asked to provide evidence of the dissolution.

For a restriction: Use form RX3 (Application to cancel a restriction). The evidence required is more substantial, and Land Registry may require a statutory declaration from a solicitor confirming the basis for the application.

For a registered charge: This is the most complex scenario. Land Registry will generally not remove a registered charge without either a discharge executed by the charge holder, or a court order. If the company is dissolved, you will likely need to seek a court order. The cost and time involved makes this worth exploring only with a solicitor experienced in property law.

Step 4: Court applications for registered charges

If the lease is registered as a full charge and the company is dissolved with no successor, you will almost certainly need to go to court to have it removed.

The basis for the application is typically that the charge is spent — the company cannot enforce it, and its continued registration creates an unfair cloud on your title. The court has power to order Land Registry to remove it.

This process can take several months and cost £1,000–£3,000 in legal and court fees. It is unpleasant, but it is the established route when no other option exists.

Some specialist property solicitors handle these cases regularly and can move efficiently through the process. Your conveyancer or a Law Society search can help you find one.

Mortgage lender positions

Lenders' policies on solar leases vary, and they change as lenders gain more experience with these cases. As a broad guide:

• Lenders who take a pragmatic view may proceed where the original company is provably dissolved, the panels are in working order, and there is no active claimant — but they will want a solicitor's report confirming all of this
• Lenders with stricter policies will not proceed at all until the charge is physically removed from the title register
• Some specialist lenders have become familiar with orphaned lease situations and have clearer internal processes

For current lender-specific guidance, the team at Unmortgageable specialises in properties with exactly these complications — they can identify which lenders are currently working with orphaned solar lease situations and which are refusing outright.

Can you just take the panels down?

Physically removing the panels is possible — any competent roofing contractor or electrician can do it. But it does not solve the legal problem.

Removing the panels does not remove the charge from your title. The legal entry at Land Registry exists independently of whether the panels are on the roof. You would need to go through the Land Registry process regardless.

There are also practical costs to removal:

• Loss of generation — panels in working order produce free electricity
• Roof repair — fixing the penetrations and lead work left by removed mounting systems costs £500–£1,500 depending on roof type
• MCS certificate — removing the panels voids your MCS installation certificate, which may affect any future SEG export eligibility if you reinstall

Removal is worth considering if the panels are in poor condition, no longer generating usefully, and you need to clear the title quickly for a sale. But it should be a deliberate decision, not a shortcut.

Practical checklist

Work through these steps in order:

• Download your property title register from GOV.UK Land Registry (£3) and identify the exact nature of the registration
• Look up the original company on Companies House — note whether dissolved, in administration, or active under a new name
• Search for any administration reports to see whether the lease book was sold
• Search for known successor companies (Engensa, Anesco, and similar SPVs)
• If a successor exists: contact them in writing and ask for a deed of release or buyout figure
• If no successor exists and the registration is a unilateral notice: obtain form UN4 from Land Registry and consider instructing a solicitor to submit it
• If the registration is a restriction: obtain form RX3 and instruct a solicitor
• If the registration is a full charge: instruct a property solicitor and prepare for a potential court application
• Once the charge is removed, verify the updated title register before proceeding with any sale or mortgage application

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