The most common surprise for flat owners is discovering that the balcony they have exclusive use of is not property they own. Exclusive use and ownership are different things, and it is the second one that decides whether you can bolt something to the railing.
This is a five-minute check that saves a wasted survey, so do it before you do anything else.
What to look for in the deeds or the lease
Two things. First, how the balcony is described — is it part of the flat, or common property with a right of exclusive use? Second, whether there is a restriction on altering the external appearance of the building, which is extremely common and is what a visible panel runs into even where the structure is yours.
If you have a factor or a managing agent, they will often tell you the answer faster than reading the deeds will. Ask them directly whether a removable, clamp-fixed panel on the balcony railing requires the owners’ consent, and get the answer by email.
Scotland — title deeds and the Tenement Management Scheme
In a Scottish tenement, what the title deeds say governs. Where they are silent or incomplete, the Tenement Management Scheme in schedule 1 of the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 fills the gap.
The scheme is more restrictive about this than people expect, and the distinction is between maintenance and alteration. It allows owners to take majority decisions about maintaining common property — the roof, the close, the gutters. It does not extend that majority rule to alterations, and a solar panel is an alteration. So where the part you want to fix to is owned in common, the default position is that you need the consent of every owner of it, not most of them.
That is the default, and defaults get overridden constantly. Plenty of tenements have real burdens in the titles, or a factoring agreement, that set out a different process — and where they do, that process wins. Which is exactly why the first move is to ask the factor rather than to read the Act: they will know which of the two situations your building is in.
They will want to know what is being fixed, how, by whom, and whether it can be removed — the same three questions a landlord asks, from a different angle.
England and Wales — the lease and the freeholder
The lease is the document. Look for the alterations covenant and any covenant about the external appearance of the building, then apply to the freeholder or the management company for consent. That consent normally takes the form of a licence to alter — a formal written permission — and there is often a fee, sometimes including the freeholder’s legal costs.
Alterations covenants come in three flavours and it is worth knowing which you have. An absolute covenant bars the alteration outright, and you are asking for a favour rather than exercising a right. A qualified covenant requires consent. A fully qualified covenant requires consent that is not to be unreasonably withheld — the best of the three, because an unreasonable refusal can be challenged.
A balcony in a leasehold flat is usually demised to you, but almost always with a covenant against altering the exterior, so being the leaseholder of the balcony does not settle it. The good news is that a removable, non-structural installation is a much easier ask than a permanent one, and it is worth putting that in the first line of the application rather than the last.
How to ask so the answer is yes
Ask about a specific, surveyed installation rather than about solar panels in general. Include what is being fixed and how, the fact that the electrical work is certified, that the network operator is notified, that nothing is drilled without prior agreement, and that the whole thing is removable without trace.
Offer to share the certificate afterwards. A factor whose real fear is being asked to explain an unapproved alteration to twenty other owners is reassured by paperwork more than by anything else.
And expect it to take a few weeks. Factors meet when they meet. Start the conversation before you are ready to buy.
If the answer is no
Sometimes it is a straight no, and there is no clever route around a building whose owners have decided against visible alterations. We will not encourage you to fit anyway.
It is worth asking what specifically was objected to, though. "Not on the street elevation" is a different answer from "not at all", and a balcony on the other side of the building, or a lower-profile mounting, occasionally turns a refusal into a condition.
Frequently asked
- My balcony is only accessible from my flat. Is it not mine?
- Not necessarily. Exclusive use and ownership are different things, and balconies are very often common property with an exclusive right of use attached to one flat. The title deeds or lease will say.
- Does the factor charge for consent?
- Sometimes, particularly in England and Wales where a formal licence to alter may be required. Ask up front so it goes into your budget rather than surprising you later.
- How long does it take?
- Anything from a week to a couple of months, depending on whether your factor can decide administratively or has to take it to the owners. Start early — it is the longest lead time in the whole project, and the install itself is an afternoon.