It depends on what state you live in and whether or not the roof of the property is considered “common area.”

For Californians if the roof leaks and you pay to fix it then you almost certainly can have solar panels installed on it.

If in doubt just ask and we will find out for you.

Here is the law for California:

California Civil Code
As Amended January 1, 2005
714. (a) Any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in any deed, contract, security instrument, or other instrument affecting the transfer or sale of, or any interest in, real property that effectively prohibits or restricts the installation or use of a solar energy system is void and unenforceable.
(b) This section does not apply to provisions that impose reasonable restrictions on solar energy systems. However, it is the policy of the state to promote and encourage the use of solar energy systems and to remove obstacles thereto. Accordingly, reasonable restrictions on a solar energy system are those restrictions that do not significantly increase the cost of the system or significantly decrease its efficiency or specified performance, or that allow for an alternative system of comparable cost, efficiency, and energy conservation benefits.
(c) (1) A solar energy system shall meet applicable health and safety standards and requirements imposed by state and local permitting authorities.
(2) A solar energy system for heating water shall be certified by the Solar Rating Certification Corporation (SRCC) or other nationally recognized certification agencies. SRCC is a nonprofit third party supported by the United States Department of Energy. The certification shall be for the entire solar energy system and installation.
(3) A solar energy system for producing electricity shall also meet all applicable safety and performance standards established by the National Electrical Code, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and accredited testing laboratories such as Underwriters Laboratories and, where applicable, rules of the Public Utilities Commission regarding safety and reliability.
(d) For the purposes of this section:
(1) (A) For solar domestic water heating systems or solar swimming pool heating systems that comply with state and federal law, “significantly” means an amount exceeding 20 percent of the cost of the system or decreasing the efficiency of the solar energy system by an amount exceeding 20 percent, as originally specified and proposed.
(B) For photovoltaic systems that comply with state and federal law, “significantly” means an amount not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) over the system cost as originally specified and proposed, or a decrease in system efficiency of an amount exceeding 20 percent as originally specified and proposed. (2) “Solar energy system” has the same meaning as defined in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 801.5.
(e) Whenever approval is required for the installation or use of a solar energy system, the application for approval shall be processed and approved by the appropriate approving entity in the same manner as an application for approval of an architectural modification to the property, and shall not be willfully avoided or delayed.
(f) Any entity, other than a public entity, that willfully violates this section shall be liable to the applicant or other party for actual damages occasioned thereby, and shall pay a civil penalty to the applicant or other party in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(g) In any action to enforce compliance with this section, the prevailing party shall be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees.
(h) (1) A public entity that fails to comply with this section may not receive funds from a state-sponsored grant or loan program for solar energy. A public entity shall certify its compliance with the requirements of this section when applying for funds from a state-sponsored grant or loan program.
(2) A local public entity may not exempt residents in its jurisdiction from the requirements of this section.
714.1. Notwithstanding Section 714, any association, as defined in Section 1351, may impose reasonable provisions which:
(a) Restrict the installation of solar energy systems installed in common areas, as defined in Section 1351, to those systems approved by the association.
(b) Require the owner of a separate interest, as defined in Section 1351, to obtain the approval of the association for the installation of a solar energy system in a separate interest owned by another.
(c) Provide for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of roofs or other building components.
(d) Require installers of solar energy systems to indemnify or reimburse the association or its members for loss or damage caused by the installation, maintenance, or use of the solar energy system.
California Government Code
65850.5. Local agencies not to adopt ordinances creating barriers to solar energy systems; Building permits
(a) The implementation of consistent statewide standards to achieve the timely and cost-effective installation of solar energy systems is not a municipal affair, as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution, but is instead a matter of statewide concern. It is the intent of the Legislature that local agencies not adopt ordinances that create unreasonable barriers to the installation of solar energy systems, including, but not limited to, design review for aesthetic purposes, and not unreasonably restrict the ability of homeowners and agricultural and business concerns to install solar energy systems. It is the policy of the state to promote and encourage the use of solar energy systems and to limit obstacles to their use. It is the intent of the Legislature that local agencies comply not only with the language of this section, but also the legislative intent to encourage the installation of solar energy systems by removing obstacles to, and minimizing costs of, permitting for such systems.
(b) A city or county shall administratively approve applications to install solar energy systems through the issuance of a building permit or similar nondiscretionary permit. Review of the application to install a solar energy system shall be limited to the building official’s review of whether it meets all health and safety requirements of local, state, and federal law. The requirements of local law shall be limited to those standards and regulations necessary to ensure that the solar energy system will not have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety. However, if the building official of the city or county has a good faith belief that the solar energy system could have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health and safety, the city or county may require the applicant to apply for a use permit.
(c) A city or county may not deny an application for a use permit to install a solar energy system unless it makes written findings based upon substantial evidence in the record that the proposed installation would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact. The findings shall include the basis for the rejection of potential feasible alternatives of preventing the adverse impact.
(d) The decision of the building official pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) may be appealed to the planning commission of the city or county.
(e) Any conditions imposed on an application to install a solar energy system shall be designed to mitigate the specific, adverse impact upon the public health and safety at the lowest cost possible.
(f)(1) A solar energy system shall meet applicable health and safety standards and requirements imposed by state and local permitting authorities.
(2) A solar energy system for heating water shall be certified by the Solar Rating Certification Corporation (SRCC) or other nationally recognized certification agency. SRCC is a nonprofit third party supported by the United States Department of Energy. The certification shall be for the entire solar energy system and installation.
(3) A solar energy system for producing electricity shall meet all applicable safety and performance standards established by the National Electrical Code, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and accredited testing laboratories such as Underwriters Laboratories and, where applicable, rules of the Public Utilities Commission regarding safety and reliability.
(g) The following definitions apply to this section:
(1) “A feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact” includes, but is not limited to, any cost-effective method, condition, or mitigation imposed by a city or county on another similarly situated application in a prior successful application for a permit. A city or county shall use its best efforts to ensure that the selected method, condition, or mitigation meets the conditions of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 714 of the Civil Code.
(2) “Solar energy system” has the same meaning set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 801.5 of the Civil Code.
(3) A “specific, adverse impact” means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified, and written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.

October 18, 2007 By Reggie “Rasmataz” Rasmussen

Citizenre’s rental program has been modified again and now customers may save even more money while using clean renewable electricity. Citizenre is a company that has plans to manufacture, distribute and install complete solar systems on residential homes with no upfront charges. Customers will rent these systems from Citizenre instead of purchasing the systems. Once product is available, the customer would meet with a solar technician who would design a system to best fit the needs of the home. If the customer approves the design of the system, a small deposit of $500 to $1000 is collected which would be fully refundable at the end of the service contract. Service contracts are currently offered for 1,5 or 25 years and the rental fee is locked in to insure no rate increases throughout the service agreement. The customer becomes his or her own producer of electricity from the equipment that is rented from Citizenre.

The original business model of Citizenre was to charge the customer for all of the electricity that was produced. Systems were under designed based on past usage for each home to insure that customers were never charged for electricity that was never used. If the customer still used less electricity, adjustments would be made to the system at no charge to assure customers that they did not generate and pay for electricity that was not used. Since the rental rates were nearly the same as the savings from the utility company, system rentals, in most cases, pay for themselves. To assure no service interruptions, the customer is still connected to his or her current utility provider and any electricity used but not generated by the system would still come from the current utility provider.

However, the rental plan was not fully embraced by all utility companies. Having the rental fee tied to the actual production of the systems, too closely resembled a utility company. So Citizenre management went to work and came up with a solution. The rental fees will be tied to the nameplate capacity of the system. In easy terms, the nameplate capacity is the amount of electricity that the system is designed to produce. So if the system is designed to produce 500 KW of electricity, customers will be charged a rental fee based on 500 KW of electricity. If the system produces less electricity than intended, the customers will get a refund. Here is why the program becomes so much better for the customer. If the system produces more than intended, the customer gets to keep the excess electricity that was produced with no extra charges.

Since the rent of the system is paid from the utility savings in most cases and each system has no upfront cost, the customers is now in an even better position to save money and the environment.

Over 23,500 are on the waiting list for the Citizenre Renu solar program. The company is expected to roll product off the assembly line and begin installations in the middle of 2008. If you would like to inquire about the Renu program from Citizenre simply click here: Solar Panel Rental Program: Sign Up Now!

Click here for the AskAME definition of  – “net metering.”

Click Here for: Photovoltaics as defined by the United States Department of Energy DOE