Can I put solar panels on my building's shared roof, and do the other owners have to agree?

Also asked as: “Solar panels on an apartment building roof in Lebanon” · “Do the neighbours have to approve solar panels on the roof?” · “Can a tenant install solar panels in Lebanon?” · “Who owns the roof of a building in Lebanon?”

Why the roof is not yours alone#

In a building divided into flats, the co-ownership decree lists the top roofs among the common parts, along with the structure, facades, stairs and lifts^[3,4]. Living on the top floor does not make the roof yours. According to Kallas Law Firm, your share in the common parts belongs to your flat and cannot be sold or mortgaged separately from it^[10].

Each owner has as many votes as their share in the common parts, counted out of 1,000^[4]. Once a building has more than three private units, its owners form an owners' association by law, so nobody has to set it up^[3,4]. Buildings with three or more units must also deposit notarised regulations that set each unit's share and the management rules^[10]. A building's own regulation may allocate particular parts of the roof differently, so read it before you assume the whole roof is shared. More in what Lebanon's co-ownership law says.

Which vote you probably need#

Article 33 of the decree lets the association add necessary or useful equipment or machines by at least 75% of the owners' votes, although acts of disposal otherwise need unanimity^[3,4]. According to the Army magazine's summary of Article 11, the association can also modify common parts by the same 75%^[3]. Neither source mentions solar panels. Reading the 75% rule as covering a rooftop system is our inference, and a lawyer should confirm it.

Some changes need every owner. Changing units' shares in the common parts, or the use of a private unit, takes a unanimous vote^[3]. No source we read says whether giving one owner a permanent slice of the roof for private panels counts as such a change. If the panels are for your flat alone, that is the question to put to a lawyer.

The 75% figure also appears in a building decree and in BDH's loan conditions. Under Decree 15874/2005, a declaration for external maintenance or cosmetic works on a divided building needs approval of the owners' association or 75% of the owners^[10,11]. Banque de l'Habitat asks for approval from the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities and the written approval of 75% of the building's co-owners' committee when a renovation loan includes solar^[7,8,9]. See BDH loans to renovate or build.

What the dropped Decision 1234 required#

Joint Decision No. 1234 of 9 September 2026, issued by the ministers of Interior, Public Works and Energy, set conditions for solar systems below 1.5 MW^[1,2,5]. For panels on shared parts, it required a map of where the panels sit and how roof space is divided among owners, plus approval by the owners' association, or by 75% of owners if there is no association^[1,2]. According to Al-Modon, it also required the unit owner's consent when the applicant was a tenant^[1].

The cabinet dropped it about two days later^[2,5,6]. Before that, the Energy Ministry said some documents, such as engineering certificates and the easement and planning certificate, were already required before the decision. It did not say under which rule^[5]. Ask your municipality and the Order of Engineers what applies today. The full story is in the solar permit and the September 2026 decision.

Tenants, safety and cost#

If you rent, get the landlord's written consent before anything goes on the roof. Votes in the owners' association belong to the unit owners according to their shares^[4], so the building's decision runs through your landlord. In September 2026 the head of the Lebanese Real Estate Authority said the roof's structural capacity and fixing method should be checked first, especially in old or damaged buildings^[5,6].

On cost, Al Jazeera reported in October 2026 that one household spent about USD 3,000 on a 6-panel system^[12]. More in how much a solar system costs for an apartment.