The Rental Property Owner's Solar Checklist: 12 Things to Do Before Signing Anything

The 12-point checklist

Property & roof

• 1. Roof age and remaining life. Less than 15 years remaining = consider re-roof bundle.
• 2. Roof structural capacity. 4 lb/sqft minimum for rooftop solar.
• 3. Shading and obstruction analysis. Drone shading study, not guesswork.

Regulatory

• 4. State VNEM or third-party billing framework. Confirm legal viability.
• 5. Local utility interconnect timeline. 4–10 months is typical; longer kills momentum.
• 6. HOA / city aesthetic restrictions. Check before you commit.

Financial

• 7. Two financing quotes side by side. PPA and owned. Demand both.
• 8. Realistic take rate assumption. 75% year one, not 100%.
• 9. All-in fee breakdown. Platform, processing, O&M. No hidden lines.

Operational

• 10. Tenant billing rail. Who runs the inbox? What's the SLA on disputes?
• 11. Lease addendum language. Get a copy. Have your attorney review.
• 12. Exit / transferability. Does the agreement transfer at sale? At refi?

How to use it

Take any solar proposal — from us or anyone else — and check off each item. If a proposal can't answer item 5 or item 9, that's a red flag. If it can't answer item 12, walk away.

What NOI provides upfront

For every site assessment, you get a written response to all 12 items, in writing, before you're asked to sign anything. We'd rather lose a deal on transparency than win one on confusion.

The single most important item

If we had to pick one: item 10. Who runs the tenant billing inbox. That's where 80% of failed solar projects fall apart. The installation is the easy part. The decade of monthly billing is the hard part.

Run the checklist. Then run your property through our calculator. Both are free.

Want to see what your roof could earn? Estimate your NOI lift or talk to our team.