{"id":862715,"date":"2026-06-08T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=862715"},"modified":"2026-06-08T15:48:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T13:48:24","slug":"forced-removals-and-r30000-fines-for-some-homeowners-with-solar-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/energy\/862715\/forced-removals-and-r30000-fines-for-some-homeowners-with-solar-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Forced removals and R30,000 fines for some homeowners with solar in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africans who invested in rooftop solar to escape load shedding are being warned that going off-grid could become costly if they do not comply with increasingly strict regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the feedback from Paul Stevens, CEO of Just Property, who said many homeowners are at risk of falling into a \u201csolar debt trap\u201d as municipalities, Eskom, insurers and bodies corporate tighten enforcement around solar installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While rooftop solar has become a popular solution to South Africa\u2019s electricity challenges, Stevens said homeowners need to understand that owning a solar system now comes with significant legal, financial and administrative responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a worrying trend in which homeowners view solar as a \u2018set-and-forget\u2019 solution to load shedding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn reality, though, an uncertified or unregistered system isn\u2019t an asset; it\u2019s a legal and financial liability that can derail a property sale or leave a family exposed if disaster strikes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest risks facing homeowners is the growing crackdown on unregistered solar systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stevens described the 30 September 2026 registration deadline as a \u201cticking clock\u201d, warning that homeowners who fail to register could face substantial costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe current waiver on registration fees offers significant savings for those who act before the 30 September 2026 deadline,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter that, the \u2018solar fine\u2019 will be the least of their worries compared to the backdated fees and risk of disconnection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Eskom has previously softened its stance on penalties, Stevens noted that municipalities can still impose administrative charges of around R6,000 as well as capacity-based penalties that could push fines as high as R30,000 for some homeowners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, insurers are becoming far stricter about solar compliance. Stevens said many homeowners incorrectly assume that standard building insurance automatically covers solar installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you can\u2019t produce a valid Certificate of Compliance (CoC) or an \u2018as-built\u2019 report like the PV GreenCard, your insurer may have grounds to void your entire building policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forced removals in sectional titles and estates<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Paul Stevens, CEO of Just Property<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Owners living in sectional title complexes and estates also face challenges. Stevens said many residents mistakenly believe they have the right to install panels on their roof without approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, roofs in sectional title developments are generally classified as common property, meaning homeowners must follow the legal processes set out in the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOwners usually require a Special Resolution (75% approval), or they need to have the roof space designated as an Exclusive Use Area before they can legally install solar panels,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithout one or the other, bodies corporate can force them to remove the unapproved panels at their own cost, which could be around R100,000 or more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stevens also warned homeowners to be cautious when selecting installers. He said some operators cut costs by using equipment that does not meet municipal requirements or South African wiring standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf your system doesn’t meet the specifications, you\u2019re essentially pouring money down the drain because you\u2019ll have to replace it to achieve legal compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding to the financial pressure, many municipalities are introducing fixed network and availability charges that apply even when households use little or no grid electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although solar can increase a property’s value by between 3% and 4%, Stevens stressed that this premium increasingly depends on the system being properly registered as a Small-Scale Embedded Generation installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCompliance is now the only way to ensure that your \u2018green\u2019 investment will actually pay off when you sell,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africans who invested in rooftop solar to escape load shedding are being warned that going off-grid could become costly if they do not comply with increasingly strict regulations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":862727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9874],"tags":[1164,12697,8540,853],"class_list":["post-862715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-eskom","tag-just-property","tag-solar","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862715"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":862732,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862715\/revisions\/862732"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}