In brief
If you rent, solar is your landlord’s decision, because panels are fixed to a building you do not own. You can ask in writing and point to Cheshire East’s Local Grant, which private tenants can use when the household meets an income test. Agree who receives any export payment, and get written permission before using plug-in solar.
How many Crewe households rent
Census 2021 found 42.4% of households in Crewe South and 40.2% in Crewe Central renting from a private landlord. Across Cheshire East the share is 15.5%. Put into households, that is roughly 2,200 in Crewe South and 1,310 in Crewe Central (ONS via Nomis).
| Ward | Owner-occupied | Private rent | Social rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crewe South | 43.7% | 42.4% | 12.8% |
| Crewe Central | 26.9% | 40.2% | 31.7% |
| Crewe St Barnabas | 42.5% | 25.0% | 32.0% |
| Crewe West | 60.5% | 21.0% | 18.1% |
| Crewe East | 64.8% | 18.1% | 15.7% |
| Crewe North | 67.4% | 17.1% | 15.4% |
| Cheshire East (borough) | 71.9% | 15.5% | 11.6% |
The rows do not add to 100% because the census has smaller tenure categories that are not shown here. The pattern is clear all the same: renting is concentrated in the two central wards, while the semi-detached wards to the north and east are mostly owner-occupied. More on each ward is on Crewe homes by ward, and how common solar has become across the borough is on solar take-up in Cheshire East.
Panels are the landlord’s call
Solar panels are fixed to the roof, wired into the consumer unit and connected to the grid. All of that changes the building, and the building belongs to the landlord. Most tenancy agreements say a tenant may not make alterations without consent, and panels are about as clear an alteration as there is. The same applies to a battery, a hot-water diverter or a new consumer unit.
That does not leave tenants without a voice. A landlord may not have thought about solar at all, may not know a grant route exists, or may already be planning work on the property. Landlords also carry their own legal duties on energy efficiency, which this guide sets out on landlords and solar; a tenant’s request can fit neatly alongside work a landlord is considering anyway.
How to raise it
Put the request in writing, by email or letter, so there is a record of what was asked and when. Keep it short and specific. The points a landlord will want to see are:
- the home’s current EPC rating, which anyone can look up on the national register;
- whether the household might qualify for the Local Grant, described below;
- exactly what you are asking for, whether that is panels, permission for a firm to look at the roof, or simply that the landlord considers it;
- a suggestion of who would hold the export tariff, so that question does not stall things later.
An EPC assessment gives credit for solar PV, a point that may well interest a landlord. If the landlord agrees, ask for the consent in writing, along with any conditions about access for the work and future maintenance.
The Local Grant is open to private tenants
Cheshire East Council’s Warm Homes: Local Grant has funding until 31 March 2028 for insulation and renewables, and its list of measures includes solar PV. It is aimed at homes rated EPC D, E, F or G, and the household can be an owner living in the home or a private tenant. To qualify on income, someone in the household must receive an income-related benefit, or the household’s income must be no more than £36,000 before tax or no more than £20,000 after housing costs.
Two further conditions matter for renters. The target is an improvement of two EPC bands or more, so the council looks at the whole property rather than a single measure. And in private rented homes the landlord is expected to contribute at least 50% after their first property. The landlord has to agree to the work in any case, so it makes sense to talk to them before or alongside an application. The national route is explained on the Warm Homes: Local Grant application page, and every route available locally is on grants and schemes in Crewe.
Access and disruption while the work is done
If a landlord goes ahead, the work happens in your home. Expect scaffold outside for a period, people working in the loft, and the electricity switched off for part of a day while the solar circuit is connected to the consumer unit. A survey visit comes first, and there may be a later visit to commission the system or fit a meter.
Ask the landlord to agree the dates with you in writing and to give reasonable notice before each visit. Clear the loft hatch area and anything stored under the stairs or around the meter, and ask who to contact if something is damaged while the firm is on site.
Plug-in solar and a tenancy
Small plug-in kits, usually a panel or two that connect through a socket, are counted as solar PV under the planning rules as amended by SI 2026/896. The amended Part 14 does not allow them on timber walls, balconies or enclosures, or on timber-clad parts of a building.
Planning is one question; the tenancy is another. A plug-in panel still has to be fixed to a wall, a railing or a frame, so ask the landlord in writing before buying anything, and agree what happens to the kit when you move out. In a flat the building owner may also need to agree; flats and solar covers blocks and leases. Check the kit is sold for use in the UK and ask an electrician if you are unsure about the circuit it will plug into.
Who gets the export payment
Electricity from the panels is used in the home first, and that benefits whoever pays the electricity bill, which in a rented home is usually the tenant. Any surplus goes to the grid, and a supplier can pay for it under the SEG scheme if the installation is certified under MCS and the meter records exports.
The export payment goes to whoever signs up for the export tariff. In a rented home that could be the tenant or the landlord, and nothing in the scheme decides it for you. Settle it in writing when the panels are installed, including what happens when one tenancy ends and the next begins. How much of a system’s output tends to be exported is covered on export and self-use.
Moving into a rented home that already has panels
Some Crewe tenants will move into a home where panels are already in place. Ask the landlord, before you sign, who holds the export tariff, whether there is a battery, and where the inverter and isolators are. Find out how to read the inverter’s display or app, so you can tell whether the system is working.
To tell whether a system you have inherited is working, read the generation meter at the start and end of a month and compare the difference with the monthly figures on solar output in Crewe, multiplied by the system size on the MCS certificate. A summer month far below the table is worth reporting.
Report a fault to the landlord as you would a broken boiler, and do not open isolators or touch the wiring unless the landlord or the firm that installed it tells you how. Who repairs the system should be clear from the tenancy; if it is not, ask the landlord to confirm it in writing.
Electric heating and renting
Crewe Central also has the highest share of electric-only heating in the town, 16.6% of households against 5.6% across the borough, with Crewe South at 9.8%. The Local Grant’s list of measures includes high heat retention storage heaters where a heat pump is not suitable, alongside solar PV. How solar fits with electric heating is explained on electric heating in Crewe.
If you have a question about a home you rent, send it through the question form. SEO-DONS LTD publishes this guide and replies by email; it does not contact landlords on anyone’s behalf.