Plug-in solar in a rented flat 2026: consent, owners, moving
Since 2024 tenants in Germany have a statutory right to their landlord's consent for a plug-in solar device (section 554 Civil Code). A 900 Wp kit upright on a south balcony saves €152 a year and pays back a €450 kit after 3.0 years.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Does it pay if you move out in a few years?
Saving until you move
€456
| Saving per year (900 Wp upright) | €152 |
| purchase price still to recover | €0 |
| The device moves with you | yes, unplug it |
A balcony power plant (Balkonkraftwerk) in a rented flat needs the landlord's consent, but the landlord can no longer refuse at will. Section 554(1) of the Civil Code (BGB) gives tenants a right to consent for structural changes that serve power generation by plug-in solar devices. The right only lapses if the change cannot reasonably be expected of the landlord even after weighing the tenant's interests, and a lease clause departing from this to the tenant's detriment is void. In an owner-occupied building, the owners' association decides how the device is mounted, not whether (section 20(2) no. 5 of the Condominium Act, WEG). Economically, the device suits tenants well because it simply moves with them. On the German average, 900 Wp upright facing south save €152 a year; moving out after three years, you have saved €456 and already paid off a €450 kit. The device keeps working at the new address, and the entry in the Market Master Data Register is updated within 1 month.
The right under section 554 BGB
Since 17 October 2024 (Federal Law Gazette 2024 I no. 306), section 554(1) BGB names power generation by plug-in solar devices explicitly, alongside accessibility, charging points and burglary protection. The tenant can demand that the landlord permits such structural changes. This is a right to consent, not a right to go ahead without asking: you ask for approval, and the landlord must give it unless the change cannot reasonably be expected of them even after weighing your interests. Reasons may be a fixing that damages the facade, heritage protection or a railing that cannot take the load. Looks alone are generally not enough.
Two more sentences of the section protect the tenant. An agreement departing from the law to the tenant's detriment is void, so a clause “balcony solar is prohibited” in a standard lease does not help the landlord. And the tenant can undertake to provide a special security, governed by the rules on deposits. Whether a device clamped to the railing without drilling counts as a structural change at all is not settled. If you ask, you are on the safe side and avoid a dispute later.
How to word the request
Tell the landlord which device you want to mount, with panel output and inverter output, where it will hang and how it will be fixed. Attach the bracket's data sheet and state the connection: a plug into an existing outdoor socket, or a socket fitted by an electrician. Mention that the device keeps to the limits of 2,000 Wp and 800 VA under section 8(5a) EEG, and offer to remove it without trace when you leave. A specific request is hard to refuse as unreasonable. Writing in German, or with a short German summary, avoids delays with property managers.
Owner-occupied buildings: the association's role
For condominiums there is a parallel rule. Under section 20(2) no. 5 WEG every owner can demand permission for reasonable structural changes serving power generation by plug-in solar. The owners' meeting no longer decides whether the device comes, but resolves on how: uniform brackets, frame colour, cable routing. If you rent a flat in such a building, your contact is the landlord. Where common property is affected, the landlord obtains the owners' resolution. That can take until the next meeting, so plan for it.
Who keeps the saving
The device lowers the consumption measured by your own meter and with it your bill from your own supplier. The landlord has no share in it and cannot raise the rent for it, having invested nothing. It is different if electricity is billed as a flat amount with the rent and the flat has no meter of its own, as in some furnished apartments or shared flats on a single contract. Then whoever holds the electricity contract saves first; settle that beforehand. In a shared flat with one main tenant, agree briefly who buys the device and who takes it when moving out.
Moving out: device, money and register
| Purchase price | 1 yr until move | 2 yr until move | 3 yr until move | 5 yr until move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €300 | €148 open | paid off | paid off | paid off |
| €450 | €298 open | €146 open | paid off | paid off |
| €700 | €548 open | €396 open | €244 open | paid off |
Unlike a rooftop system, a plug-in device does not belong to the building. When you move out you pull the plug, take down the bracket and fill any drill holes. The part of the price not yet recovered is not lost; it comes back on the new balcony, provided there is space and light. How much the new location matters is clear from a comparison: an east balcony with a single household using 1,500 kWh brings €85 instead of €152 a year. Directions are compared under plug-in solar orientation.
In the register you change the unit's location; the 1-month deadline of section 5 MaStRV applies here too. The steps are under register plug-in solar. At the new meter the same rule applies as at the old one: the device may run until the metering operator fits a bidirectional meter (plug-in solar and the meter). If you sell the device to the next tenant, record it as decommissioned, and the buyer creates an entry of their own.