Rental jobs are where assignment forms most often go wrong, because the person who made the phone call is not the person who owns the system. The scheme asks a simple question: who owns the small generation unit or the battery? That person holds the right to create the certificates, and that person assigns it.
The default: the landlord signs
Solar panels and batteries are fixtures. Once they are bolted to a roof or wall, they are generally part of the property and belong to its owner. So where a landlord pays for the job, or consents to a tenant’s request, the landlord is the owner and the assignment form should carry the landlord’s name and signature.
When a tenant can sign
A tenant can be the owner where the system is genuinely theirs, for example a removable unit under a written arrangement, or a lease that expressly gives the tenant ownership of what they install. These are uncommon, so ask to see the document. In every other case, a tenant can sign only as an authorised representative of the owner, which needs real authority:
- A letter or email from the landlord, naming the system and the address, and stating the tenant may sign on their behalf.
- A property manager acting under a signed management agreement that covers this kind of work.
Keep that authority with the form. A signature from someone who cannot show their authority leaves the claim exposed.
The forms of trouble
- The wrong name on the quote. If the quote and the form carry the tenant’s name and the claim carries the landlord’s, the mismatch will be flagged.
- A verbal “yes”. An audit asks for documents, not conversations.
- The deposit-payer assumption. Paying the deposit does not make someone the owner of the system.
- A tenant who moves out. The system stays with the property, so the form must name the owner, not the occupant.
From the desk: ask on the first call, “Do you own this property?” It takes ten seconds and avoids a failed claim months later. If the answer is no, send the form to the owner before you order any equipment.
Batteries and renters
The same logic runs through the battery program. A tenant who wants a battery needs the owner’s agreement, and the owner is the one who assigns the certificates. See renters and the Cheaper Home Batteries Program for the customer’s side, and landlord claims for the owner’s.
What this means for installers
Put an ownership question on the lead form, include the owner’s name on the quote and make the owner, not the occupant, the signer of the assignment. For the wider requirements read what the form must include, the assignment form guide and STC trading. Where a claim is later queried, the audit guide shows what you will be asked to produce. See also how it works.