Solar Energy for Renters in Massachusetts: Community Solar and Landlord-Tenant Considerations
Renters make up a substantial portion of Massachusetts households, yet standard rooftop solar installation is not available to those who do not own the property they occupy. This page covers the mechanisms through which renters can access solar energy benefits in Massachusetts, the regulatory frameworks that govern landlord-tenant solar arrangements, and the structural boundaries that determine whether a given renter's situation qualifies for available programs. Understanding these distinctions is essential given that Massachusetts has positioned community shared solar as a primary pathway for non-owners.
Definition and scope
Solar access for renters in Massachusetts falls into two primary categories: community shared solar subscriptions and landlord-installed solar with tenant benefit arrangements. These are structurally distinct and governed by different bodies of law and regulation.
A community shared solar subscription allows a renter to receive a credit on their electric bill from a remote solar array — typically located elsewhere in the same utility service territory — without any physical installation at the renter's address. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) and the electric distribution companies operating under DPU oversight administer the credit mechanisms for these arrangements.
A landlord-installed rooftop or carport solar system is one where the property owner places solar equipment on the building. The tenant may or may not benefit financially, depending on the lease structure, whether the unit is individually or collectively metered, and whether the landlord passes through any net metering credits.
For a broader orientation to how solar energy systems function within the state, the conceptual overview of Massachusetts solar energy systems provides foundational context. The Massachusetts Solar Authority home indexes the full scope of topic coverage available.
Scope and limitations: This page addresses solar access for residential renters in Massachusetts under state law and DPU-administered programs. It does not cover commercial tenant arrangements, mobile home parks as a distinct regulatory category, or federal housing subsidy programs (such as HUD's Green and Resilient Retrofit Program) beyond noting their existence. Rules specific to affordable housing solar programs — including those administered through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) — are covered separately under low-income solar programs in Massachusetts.
How it works
Community Shared Solar (the primary renter pathway)
Community shared solar in Massachusetts operates through the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and the three investor-owned electric utilities: Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil. Under SMART, community shared solar projects — also called shared solar or solar gardens — can allocate capacity to subscribers, including renters.
The mechanics work as follows:
- A developer builds and interconnects a solar array under a SMART capacity block allocation.
- The developer offers subscription shares — denominated in kilowatts (kW) of capacity — to customers in the same utility service territory.
- A subscriber (including a renter) signs an agreement with the developer for a defined share, typically sized to match 90–100% of their monthly electricity consumption.
- Each month, the solar array generates electricity and earns SMART incentive payments and net metering credits.
- The renter-subscriber receives a credit on their utility bill from the electric distribution company, typically reducing the bill by a dollar amount reflecting the energy produced by their subscribed share.
- The subscriber pays a separate monthly fee to the project developer, which is structured to be lower than the utility credit — creating a net savings.
Because no physical installation occurs at the renter's address, no building permits, inspections, or landlord consent are required for the renter to subscribe. The renter must, however, be a retail customer of the same distribution company serving the solar project. For net metering in Massachusetts, the credit rate and its application to subscriber bills are governed by DPU tariff orders.
Landlord-installed solar with tenant benefit
Where a landlord installs rooftop solar and the building has master metering, the landlord captures all net metering value. In individually metered buildings, a landlord may elect to pass through credits contractually, though this is not mandated by Massachusetts statute for market-rate housing. Massachusetts solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs and SMART incentives) accrue to the system owner — the landlord — unless explicitly contracted otherwise.
Common scenarios
Scenario 1: Renter in a market-rate apartment with individual electric metering
This is the most common configuration for community solar uptake. The renter subscribes independently, receives utility bill credits, and owes no obligation to the landlord. Subscription terms typically run 1–25 years; many developers now offer month-to-month or annual terms specifically to accommodate renters' mobility.
Scenario 2: Renter in a two- or three-family owner-occupied property
The landlord may install rooftop solar sized for the whole building. If the tenant unit is separately metered, the landlord can negotiate a lease clause to share net metering credits — but no Massachusetts statute compels this sharing for market-rate units. The regulatory context for Massachusetts solar energy systems page covers the DPU tariff framework governing net metering credit allocation.
Scenario 3: Income-qualified renter in affordable housing
MassCEC administers targeted programs — including the Low-Income Community Shared Solar (LICSS) carve-out within SMART — that reserve a percentage of project capacity for income-qualified subscribers. Under DOER regulations, projects enrolling low-income subscribers receive an adder to their SMART incentive rate, enabling developers to offer deeper bill discounts (sometimes reaching 10–15% savings) to qualifying renters.
Scenario 4: Renter who moves during a subscription term
Most community solar agreements in Massachusetts include a portability clause: if the subscriber moves within the same utility service territory, the subscription transfers to the new address. If the subscriber moves outside the territory or out of state, early termination provisions apply, which vary by developer contract.
Decision boundaries
The key structural distinctions that determine which pathway applies to a Massachusetts renter:
| Factor | Community Shared Solar | Landlord-Installed Rooftop Solar |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership of property required? | No | No (but landlord controls installation decision) |
| Physical installation at renter's address? | No | Yes (on building, not in unit) |
| Renter's consent required for installation? | N/A | Not legally required in Massachusetts for exterior work, subject to lease terms |
| Renter receives direct bill credit? | Yes, via utility tariff | Only if lease contractually assigns credits |
| Program governed by | DOER/DPU (SMART, net metering tariffs) | DPU net metering tariffs; no tenant-sharing mandate |
| Portability if renter moves? | Yes, within same utility territory | No — credit follows property |
Comparing community solar vs. landlord solar for renters: Community shared solar is the only pathway through which a Massachusetts renter independently controls their solar participation. A renter relying on a landlord-installed system has no enforceable right under Massachusetts General Laws to a share of net metering credits unless the lease explicitly grants it. This asymmetry makes community solar the structurally preferred mechanism for renter solar access.
For renters evaluating subscription sizing, the solar production and weather factors page documents how Massachusetts' average solar irradiance (~4.5 peak sun hours per day in central Massachusetts, per NREL PVWatts data) affects how much energy a given subscribed capacity will produce across seasons.
The community shared solar in Massachusetts page provides program-specific details on current capacity block availability, subscription agreement terms, and utility-specific enrollment procedures. For renters in affordable housing contexts, low-income solar programs in Massachusetts covers eligibility thresholds and enrollment pathways in detail.
References
- Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) — SMART Program
- Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU)
- Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC)
- NREL PVWatts Calculator — Massachusetts solar resource data
- Eversource — Community Shared Solar information
- National Grid Massachusetts — Community Solar
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 164 — Regulation of Gas and Electric Companies