Plug-in solar became legal to use in Great Britain on 27 August 2026. The same day, the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2026, SI 2026/896, changed the planning rules for solar panels on homes in England. It defines plug-in solar as solar panels intended to connect to a home’s electricity installation “by means of a standard plug and socket”.
Where plug-in solar is not permitted development
Permitted development means you do not need to apply for planning permission. Under the order, plug-in solar is not permitted development in England where any part of it would be installed:
- on a wooden fence, gate, wall or other means of enclosure in the garden or grounds of a house or block of flats;
- on a wooden wall, balcony or enclosure of a house or block of flats;
- on any part of the outside of a house or block of flats that is clad in timber.
The government’s explanatory memorandum says these restrictions are to mitigate the risk of fire spread. If you want panels in one of those places, you need planning permission from your council.
What got easier for houses
- Walls and balconies. Panels on the wall or balcony of a house may protrude up to 0.4 metres, or 0.2 metres where the wall or balcony abuts a highway, such as a pavement or road.
- Free-standing panels. A house may have more than one, and they may sit within 5 metres of the boundary, provided they are no more than 2 metres high there, or 1 metre if they are also in front of the house. Elsewhere the limit is 4 metres, and each free-standing installation is limited to 9 square metres of panels.
Panels are still excluded from permitted development on listed buildings and within their grounds, on scheduled monuments, and in some positions in conservation areas and World Heritage Sites. The rules for blocks of flats are largely unchanged, apart from the new wooden-structure restriction.
The order also says that development permitted before 27 August 2026 but not under the new rules may still be carried out until the end of 26 August 2027.
What it means for you
- Avoid wooden mounts unless you have planning permission: use a ground frame, or a masonry or metal wall, within the limits above. Octopus Energy advises checking with your council before mounting on any wooden structure, including a shed.
- Follow the kit’s instructions too. Separately from planning law, the government’s product specification says compliant kits must not be installed on timber cladding, timber balconies, aluminium or metal composite cladding, high-pressure laminate cladding, or buildings awaiting external wall remediation.
- Outside England, ask your council: we found no Welsh or Scottish planning rule that mentions plug-in solar.
- If in doubt, your council can confirm whether you need permission. See plug-in solar and planning permission.