Do I need a permit to install solar panels?

You don’t need an urban development permit to install solar panels if you meet a number of conditions that exempt you from this requirement. If you don’t meet the conditions, you will need to apply for a permit for the works. We have listed the conditions for you below. 

No permit is required in the following cases: 

• You have a sloping roof and the solar panels do not extend beyond the edges of the roof surface, and: 
  
  • either the panels are installed on top of the actual roof covering, so with the same inclination but attached directly to the roof covering or a few centimetres above it;
    
  • or the panels are installed in between the roof covering or replace the roof covering.   
    
• You have a flat roof and the solar panels do not extend beyond the edges of the roof surface and the panels are installed no higher than one metre above the eave.
  

No permit is required in the following cases:

• The solar panels:  
  • do not have cubic content;
    
  • are no more than 1.5 metres above ground level;
    
  • are at least 1 metre away from the plot boundary; 
  • are less than 30 metres away from the house.
    

• Your garden is not part of a sensitive area. The urban planning department of your city or municipality can tell you whether this applies to you. 
  

• The driveways, garden paths, patios, pools, ornamental ponds, swimming ponds and solar panels will take up no more than 80 square metres of your garden. 
  

Your home, annexes or garden may be subject to the following regulatory documents: 

• An urban development plan
• A municipal spatial implementation plan
• A land division permit that is less than 15 years old
• Urban planning bylaws of a region, province or municipality
• Urban development permits and integrated environmental permits
• Other municipal rules
  

These documents may state that solar panels are prohibited in certain cases, or that you need to apply for a permit or submit a report after all. Be sure to ask your local authorities what rules apply to your situation and whether you are eligible for an exemption.

If you want to install solar panels near a waterway or canal, or your home or the environment in which it is situated is of heritage value, you will generally need a permit. The urban planning department of your city or municipality can tell you whether this applies to you. 

If you need to apply for an urban development permit, you are generally also required to engage an architect, except if you want to install solar panels on the roof surface of a sloping roof or on a flat roof. You don’t need an architect if the system doesn’t affect the stability of the building. You usually don’t need to engage the services of an architect for the installation of solar panels in your garden, either. Be sure to verify this with your urban planning department, though. 

Finally, you are not permitted to install solar panels if the installation conflicts with: 

• Existing easements
• The Belgian Civil Code
• Nature legislation
  

You are advised to have this assessed by the urban planning department of your city or municipality.