Solar panels on a house in France: which permission?

On the roof: the prior declaration

Service-public.gouv.fr is explicit: you must file a prior declaration to fit solar panels on your roof, “because you are changing the external appearance of your building” (our translation) (F36798). Article R*421-17 a of the Planning Code makes works that change the external appearance of an existing building subject to prior declaration.

Before filing the application, service-public.gouv.fr recommends contacting the mairie. It can tell you about any local restrictions or aesthetic requirements, such as the colour of the roof (F31487).

Timescale. The mairie processes a prior declaration within 1 month of the complete application being filed. It also has 1 month to flag an incomplete application; you then have 3 months to complete it (F17578). If there is no reply by the end of the period, non-opposition is deemed granted and the works may begin. The authorisation is valid for 3 years (F17578). For details of thresholds and timescales, see our guide permis de construire ou déclaration préalable (building permit or prior declaration).

On the ground: power and height thresholds

The same scale applies to solar canopies incorporating a renewable energy production system (art. R421-9 h). Even when exempt from formalities, the installation must comply with the plan local d’urbanisme (PLU, local development plan) (F31473).

Distance from the neighbour. If the PLU does not lay down a specific rule, a ground-mounted installation is placed either on the boundary of the property or at least 3 metres from it (F31473).

In a protected area

This covers sites patrimoniaux remarquables (outstanding heritage sites), the surroundings of historic monuments, sites classés (listed sites), nature reserves and national parks (F31923). Your mairie will tell you whether your land is in one.

On the ground, an installation of less than 3 kWp requires a prior declaration (art. R421-11), and a building permit is required from 3 kWp (F31923; F31473).

On the roof, the prior declaration remains the rule. In an outstanding heritage site or in the surroundings of a historic monument, the mairie notifies you within a month of filing of a processing period of 2 months in general, and the application includes additional copies (F17578). If a refusal is based on an unfavourable opinion from the architecte des Bâtiments de France (state heritage architect), a prior administrative appeal to the préfet de région (regional prefect) is compulsory before going to court (F17578).

Co-ownership, renting and insurance

House in a co-ownership. The co-ownership regulations state whether your house’s roof is a common or a private part. If it is common, installing panels at your own expense requires the general meeting’s authorisation by the article 25 majority, which covers “the authorisation given to certain co-owners to carry out, at their own expense, works affecting the common parts or the external appearance of the building” (Act of 10 July 1965, art. 25, b) (our translation). If it is private, the same majority applies, since the panels change the external appearance of the building (service-public.gouv.fr, F31513). The article 26 double majority is required if the works involve appropriating common parts (F31513). In every case, this vote is in addition to the déclaration préalable (prior declaration) at the mairie. See our guide on travaux en copropriété (works in a co-ownership).

Tenant. The tenant must first ask for and obtain the owner’s permission. Without it, the landlord may require restoration to the original state when the tenant leaves, at the tenant’s expense, or keep the installation without compensating them (F31473).

Insurance. Once the panels are installed, taking out third-party liability insurance for the installation is compulsory; this can be done by amending the home insurance policy (F31487).

Development tax and VAT

Development tax. Article 1635 quater J of the General Tax Code sets a flat-rate value of €10 per m² for photovoltaic panels on the ground, to which local rates apply. Panels fitted on canopies and the canopies themselves are not subject to it (F31923). See our guide on the taxe d’aménagement (development tax).

VAT. Since 1 October 2025, purchase and installation qualify for the 5.5% rate for an installation of 9 kWp or less, subject to conditions on carbon footprint, heavy metal content and the presence of an energy management system; otherwise, the rate is 10% (F31487).

Which professional to consult

For a ground-mounted installation, the distance from the boundary matters: if the boundary is uncertain, a géomètre-expert (chartered land surveyor) can fix it by a bornage (boundary marking) (see bornage et troubles de voisinage (boundary marking and neighbour nuisance)). Before buying a house fitted with panels, the notaire (notary) and the agent immobilier (estate agent) can check that the prior declaration was indeed obtained.