Do you actually own the solar panels on your roof? If you signed a lease or a power purchase agreement, the answer is no. That one fact changes how a reroof works. Leased solar panel removal is not something to arrange on your own the week the roofer shows up. The equipment belongs to someone else, and their contract says what can happen to it.
So what should a Richton Park homeowner check first? Here is the order we would follow, starting with the documents in your drawer and ending on the roof.
Who owns a leased solar system?
The leasing company owns it, not you. The Federal Trade Commission’s consumer guide to solar power for your home puts it plainly: when you lease a system or have a power purchase agreement, you do not own the system. Incentives and renewable energy certificates go to the owner too.
Why does that matter for a reroof? Because you are about to have someone disconnect, unbolt and store equipment you do not own. The owner has a say in who does that and how. The same FTC guide notes that the leasing company will probably be responsible for system maintenance, which tells you the company expects to be involved when its equipment is handled.
A power purchase agreement works differently on paper. You buy the electricity instead of paying a flat monthly lease. On the roof it is the same situation: a third party owns the hardware.
What should you look for in the lease itself?
Start with the contract, before any phone call. Most leases and power purchase agreements have language covering removal, reinstallation or roof work, even if it is buried in a section about maintenance or the homeowner’s obligations. Read for these things:
- Who may remove the system. Some agreements require the leasing company or its approved contractor to do any removal. Others allow an outside crew with written permission.
- Notice requirements. Look for how much advance notice the company expects, and how it must be given, such as in writing or through a customer portal.
- Who pays. The contract may say whether removal and reinstallation for a reroof is at your cost, the company’s cost or shared.
- Production during downtime. If your agreement includes a minimum production promise or output target, check how time offline for roof work is treated.
- Damage and responsibility. See what the contract says about damage during removal or storage, and who carries that risk.
Write down what you find, with the section numbers. You will want them for the next step.
What should you ask the leasing company?
Call the leasing company with the lease in front of you and ask direct questions. Do not rely on a general customer service answer; ask to be routed to whoever handles removal and reinstallation requests.
Good questions to bring:
- Do you require your own crew, or can we use an independent detach and reset contractor?
- If an outside contractor is allowed, what do you need from them before work starts?
- How much notice do you need before the system goes offline?
- Will you need photos, an inventory or a commissioning report after reinstallation?
- Does anything about the system’s monitoring need to be reset on your end when it comes back online?
Get the answers in writing. An email confirmation is fine. If the company says it handles the removal itself, ask for its scheduling window, because your roofer will need it.
Does the village care who owns the panels?
The village cares about the work, not the ownership. In Richton Park, the Building Division checks construction documents and issues permits for the alteration and modification of buildings and properties, and its staff handle inspections, electrical included. The village lists the 2018 International Residential Code and the 2017 National Electrical Code, each with local amendments, as the codes it uses.
For a reroof with solar, that means two questions for the building department: what the roof replacement requires, and whether the electrical disconnect and reconnect needs a permit or inspection. Ask the same way whether you own or lease. If you live in Matteson, Park Forest or University Park instead, each village has its own permit desk and its own answers.
Is your utility account part of the picture?
Often, yes. Your home is connected to the grid, and a leased system is still interconnected under paperwork the leasing company or original installer filed. A temporary shutdown for roof work does not usually change the equipment, but the system will be offline for a stretch, and the leasing company may want to coordinate the restart.
Ask the leasing company whether it handles any utility notice for a reset, or whether it expects you to. Then confirm with your utility if you have any doubt. Keep it simple: the same equipment comes off, the same equipment goes back on.
Who handles the actual removal and reinstall?
That depends on what the lease and the leasing company said. There are three common outcomes.
The leasing company does it
Some companies insist on their own crew. In that case your job is scheduling: get the company’s removal and reinstall windows, hand them to your roofer and make sure the roof is finished in between. A roof replacement under solar panels only works when both sides commit to dates.
The leasing company approves an outside contractor
Many homeowners land here. The company signs off on an independent crew and may ask for specifics in return, such as photos before removal or a test report after the reset. A careful solar detach and reset covers that ground naturally: shutdown, labeled removal, storage during the reroof, fresh mounts and flashing on the new roof, reinstallation and a check that the system is producing.
The lease is silent
If the contract says nothing and the company will not give a clear answer, do not guess. Send a written request describing the roof work and the plan for the panels, and keep a copy. Moving equipment you do not own without permission is the one mistake that is hard to undo.
What if you inherited the lease when you bought the house?
Then you are bound by a contract you may never have read closely. When a home with leased solar changes hands, the buyer often takes over the existing agreement, and the paperwork can get lost in the closing pile.
Start by finding the transfer documents from your purchase. They should name the leasing company and point to the original agreement. If you cannot find them, call the leasing company with your address; it can confirm that the account is in your name and send you a copy of the terms. Do this well before the roof work. A reroof is a bad time to discover that the account is still listed under the previous owner, because the company may not accept instructions from you until that is fixed.
What about selling the house later?
Note it now while you have the lease out. The FTC guide warns that a solar contract might affect your options when you sell your house, including whether the agreement transfers to a buyer. A reroof is a good moment to put the lease, the leasing company’s written answers and your new roof records in one folder. A future buyer’s agent will ask for them.
The paperwork comes before the ladder
If you remember one thing, make it this: with a leased system, the lease and the leasing company’s written answer decide everything else. Who removes the panels, who pays, how much notice is needed and what proof is expected afterward all flow from that. Get those answers before the roofer locks a start date, and the rest of the project turns into ordinary scheduling. Get them late, and a crew can end up waiting on an email.
Once the leasing company has spelled out what it allows, our detach and reset service can fit the removal and reinstall around your roof, and Solar Panel Removal Richton Park can work from whatever documentation the company asks for. The homepage has the rest of what we do.