The short version
Ask for the MCS certificate, the electrical installation certificate, the G98 notification or G99 approval, the warranties and the export tariff details, and find out whether the panels are owned or leased. Around Northwich, conveyancers commonly order a Cheshire brine search too; read it alongside the solar papers, and look at the roof itself.
Why the paperwork matters
A solar system is more than hardware on a roof. Its value to the next owner rests on documents: proof it was installed to the recognised standard, proof it is electrically safe, proof the network operator knows about it, and the warranties that cover it. Without the MCS certificate, a new owner cannot sign up for an export tariff, because Ofgem’s SEG rules make certification a condition. Without the electrical certificate, a buyer’s surveyor or lender may raise questions. And without clarity on who owns the panels, they can become an obstacle to the sale rather than an asset.
Panels are no longer a rarity locally. On the DESNZ count, the borough had 11,740 solar PV sites by the close of 2025, a figure that includes non-domestic sites, so a Northwich buyer has a fair chance of meeting a roof array on a house they view. The local figures are examined in solar take-up locally.
The documents to ask for
MCS certificate
Issued when the installation is finished, it records the system, the installer and the date. It is needed for an export tariff, and it is the first thing a supplier will ask the new owner for. The MCS installer directory shows whether the firm that fitted the panels was certified, which is a useful cross-check if the certificate itself has gone missing.
Electrical installation certificate
The installation adds a new circuit to the house, and the electrician who did the work should have issued a certificate confirming it was inspected and tested. Ask too for any building regulations compliance certificate the installer obtained for the electrical work.
Grid notification or approval
Every connected system should have been notified to the network operator under G98 or, for larger set-ups, approved under G99 before connection. Ask for a copy. If nobody knows which company runs the local network, the ENA postcode search will say; the process is explained in grid connection.
Warranties
Ask for the panel product and performance warranties, the inverter warranty, any battery warranty and the installer’s workmanship warranty, with the dates each one started. Check whether each passes to a new owner, and whether the workmanship cover is backed by insurance in case the firm has stopped trading.
Manuals, monitoring and settings
The handover pack should include manuals for the inverter and any battery, and the login for any monitoring app. Ask the seller to transfer the app account or remove their details so you can set up your own.
Export tariff details
Ask which supplier pays the seller for exports, on what tariff, and whether there is a separate export meter reference. The contract will not transfer, but knowing the arrangement makes setting up your own quicker.
If there is a battery
A battery brings its own set of papers. MCS certifies battery storage separately from solar PV, so check whether the firm that fitted it was certified for batteries as well as panels, and ask for the battery’s own warranty and any registration the maker requires. Find out where the unit is, how it is isolated, and whether it was part of the original grid notification or added later; a battery added afterwards may have needed a fresh G99 application. Tell your home insurer about both the panels and the battery when you arrange cover.
Owned or leased panels
The first question is whether the seller owns the panels at all. Under some past arrangements, a company fitted panels at no upfront charge to the householder in exchange for a long lease of the roof space, and the company, not the householder, kept the payments linked to the system. The householder benefited from the electricity used in the home. Those panels belong to the company, not to the house.
A roof lease of this kind is a legal interest in the property, and a buyer takes it on. Your conveyancer will need a copy and will check its length, its terms on access, repairs and removal, and whether your mortgage lender is content with it. Lenders have their own requirements for such leases, so raise it at the very start. If the seller says the panels are owned, ask to see the original purchase paperwork.
The export arrangement when you move
An export tariff is a contract between the account holder and a supplier, and it ends when the seller’s account ends. As the new owner you choose a supplier, apply for your own export tariff using the MCS certificate, and give meter readings from your completion date. Take readings of both import and export on the day you get the keys, and photograph the inverter display for good measure. How export and self-use work is covered in export and self-use.
The brine search
Northwich lies within the brine subsidence compensation district created under the Cheshire Brine Pumping (Compensation for Subsidence) Act 1952. A 1970 written answer recorded in Hansard explains that the district takes in the parts of Cheshire where brine pumping had caused subsidence or might yet do so.
Conveyancers acting on homes in the district commonly order a Cheshire brine search alongside the usual local authority, drainage and environmental searches. It tells you whether the property lies within the compensation district. It does not assess the roof or the panels, but it is useful background when the house you are buying carries extra weight on top.
Read the brine search together with the solar paperwork. If the seller’s file mentions past claims or repairs, ask what work was done to the house and whether the roof was involved. The wider story is told on subsidence and solar.
Looking at the roof around the panels
Panels hide part of the roof, so a buyer has to look a little harder than usual.
- From the street or garden, check that the rows of slates or tiles around the array run straight, with nothing slipped or cracked near its edges.
- Look along the ridge above the panels for dips or twists.
- In the loft, look for water staining or damp timber beneath the array, especially around the bracket positions, and check that the cable entry is neatly sealed.
- Ask whether birds nest under the panels; mesh around the edges suggests someone has dealt with it.
- Ask when the roof was last inspected and whether the panels have ever been lifted for repairs.
If the roof needs work beneath the panels, they have to come off first, with scaffolding, and go back afterwards. That is a real cost, and a buyer’s surveyor should comment on the roof’s condition. The points a proper inspection of an older Northwich roof should cover are listed in the roof structure check.
If you are selling
- Gather the MCS certificate, the electrical certificate, the grid notification or approval, the warranties and the manuals into one folder.
- If the panels are leased, have the lease ready and tell your conveyancer at the outset.
- Note your export supplier and tariff, and plan final meter readings for completion day.
- Be ready to say when the roof was last inspected and whether the panels have been off.
- Remove your details from the monitoring app, or arrange to hand the account over.
Missing documents can often be replaced, but it takes time, so start before the house goes on the market. If the original firm is hard to trace, the MCS directory and Companies House checks described in choosing an installer are also the way to find out what became of it.
This guide is general information for buyers and sellers. It is not legal or conveyancing advice; your conveyancer decides which searches to order and how to deal with any lease.