Your solar installer went out of business. What happens now?

An installer going out of business does not by itself stop a system that is already operating. The equipment keeps running, and the utility interconnection stays in place. But that is only true for a finished, commissioned, energised system. A project that was never completed, never inspected, never granted permission to operate, or that has a failed inverter or dead monitoring, may well need a replacement contractor before it works again.

The layer most at risk is the workmanship warranty — the installer’s own promise to stand behind their labour. In practice it often becomes effectively unavailable once the company is gone, though not always: it may sit with a third-party warranty administrator or insurer, or be assumed by an acquiring company or a successor in bankruptcy. Check who, if anyone, now holds it before assuming it is gone. Manufacturer warranties on the hardware sit with the manufacturers and are a different matter.

Manufacturer warranties may remain available, subject to their terms. Those terms vary by manufacturer and commonly require product registration, may limit transferability, and may require an authorised installer. Read them before assuming coverage.

The gap that surprises people: manufacturer warranties frequently cover the part only. Diagnosis and troubleshooting labour, removal and reinstallation, shipping, and any roof repair are often excluded — and those are exactly the costs the installer’s workmanship warranty would have absorbed.

1. Signed, nothing installed. This is a deposit and contract-recovery question. Contact the lender if financed, file a CSLB complaint, and consider a bond claim.

2. Partially installed. A new licensed contractor completes the work; expect a scope and pricing dispute over what was already paid for.

3. Installed, but no inspection or permission to operate. The most urgent case. A replacement contractor must take over the permit and interconnection — the system cannot lawfully operate until that is finished.

4. Operating, monitoring lost. Usually recoverable. Installer-branded portals go dark, but the manufacturer’s own app (Enphase Enlighten, mySolarEdge, Tesla) generally persists.

5. Operating, equipment failure. Manufacturer warranty path — but expect diagnosis and labour to be out of pocket.

6. Roof leak or workmanship defect. The workmanship layer is gone, so this is where a bond claim and a CSLB complaint matter most.

7. Lease or PPA. You do not own the system. Your agreement may be assigned to another company, and your service contact and payment instructions may change. Read the agreement and confirm in writing who now holds it before changing any payments or hiring anyone.

1. Do not energise an unfinished system. If it never received permission to operate, leave it off — running it breaches the interconnection agreement.
2. Collect the paperwork — signed contract, change orders, every payment receipt, permit documents, inspection records, warranty certificates.
3. Establish what you own. Cash, loan, lease or PPA. This single fact decides which of the routes below are open to you.
4. Check the permit status with your local building department. It is public, and it tells you whether the job was ever finalised.
5. Check the interconnection and PTO status with your utility. An unfinished interconnection is the most urgent case.
6. Secure the monitoring. Record the inverter and battery serial numbers and register the equipment in the manufacturer’s own app before installer-branded access lapses.
7. Check the licence and bond. CSLB’s licence lookup shows the licence status and the bond carrier for the contractor.
8. Notify the lender or lessor in writing, and ask them to confirm who now services the agreement.
9. Get an inspection from a replacement contractor — a written condition report is what a surety, a lender or a court will ask for.
10. Choose your route: manufacturer warranty, CSLB complaint, bond claim, lender dispute, bankruptcy claim, or a lawyer — depending on what steps 3 to 9 revealed.

My installer closed before the system was turned on

This is the most urgent case, because an uncommissioned system is not just idle — it may be unpermitted or uninspected. A replacement licensed contractor has to take over the open permit and the interconnection application. Start with the building department to find out exactly which stage the job stopped at, then get a written scope from the new contractor before agreeing any price.

My installer closed after taking a deposit

Nothing was built, so this is a contract and money-recovery question rather than a technical one. The routes are the licence bond, a CSLB complaint, small claims for smaller amounts, and — if the company filed for bankruptcy — a proof of claim in that case. If you paid by card or through a lender, raise it with them promptly; time limits apply.

How do I move monitoring into my own name?

Installer-branded portals often disappear, but the manufacturer’s own platform usually survives — Enphase Enlighten, mySolarEdge, or the Tesla app. Each manufacturer runs its own ownership-transfer process, and each will want proof: the system serial numbers, the site address, and evidence you own the equipment. Do this early, while you can still read the serial numbers off the equipment and any old paperwork.

Can another company take over my system?

Yes, if you own it. Any appropriately licensed contractor can service, repair or extend a system they did not install. Expect two things: a paid inspection before anyone warrants anything, and a workmanship warranty that covers their work only, not the original installation.

I have a roof leak and the installer is gone

This is the case where the missing workmanship warranty bites hardest, because roof penetrations are exactly what it covered. Document the leak immediately with photographs and dates, get a written assessment from a roofer or a licensed solar contractor, and use that report for a bond claim or a CSLB complaint. Do not wait for the next rainy season — delay weakens both the claim and the roof.

The contractor licence bond. Every licensed California contractor must carry a bond, currently $25,000 — raised from $15,000 by Senate Bill 607, effective January 1, 2023, and unchanged since. It applies to all licence classifications, not just solar. A homeowner may submit a claim to the surety for covered violations such as abandonment or poor workmanship. The surety investigates; filing does not guarantee payment, the claim must fall within the bond’s terms and time limits, and a single bond can face competing claims from other customers. See CSLB — Bond Requirements.

A CSLB complaint. Filing creates a documented record and can route the dispute to arbitration or the courts. Per CSLB’s complaint process: damages under $12,500 without repeated violations are often directed to small claims court; disputes of $25,000 or less qualify for mandatory arbitration; disputes between $25,000 and $50,000 qualify for voluntary arbitration. CSLB is explicit about the limits of what it can achieve — it states that it “cannot guarantee that you will get any money back.”

The Solar Energy System Restitution Program is closed. This California-specific fund, created by Assembly Bill 137 in July 2021, paid restitution to consumers financially harmed by solar contractors. It is no longer open. CSLB states: “To ensure availability of remaining funds for claims received, CSLB is no longer accepting new claims for the Solar Energy System Restitution Program (SESRP).” Payments were only ever available while appropriated money remained, under Business and Professions Code section 7086.6. Check current status at CSLB Solar Smart before relying on it.

Almost always the loan is a separate agreement with a separate lender, and the installer’s closure does not by itself cancel it. Do not stop paying on the assumption that it does. Contact the lender, tell them what happened, and take legal advice if the system you contracted for was never completed or never activated — that is a materially different situation from a finished system whose installer later closed.

Two of the larger recent failures are a matter of public record. SunPower filed for Chapter 11 on August 5, 2024; Complete Solaria acquired key assets in September 2024 and adopted the SunPower name in April 2025. Sunnova filed for Chapter 11 on June 9, 2025 in Houston, reporting roughly $8.9 billion in long-term debt. Both left customers looking for replacement service.

Your signed contract; all warranty certificates and product registrations; monitoring logins; the permit and interconnection paperwork; and your loan, lease or PPA documents. Confirm from those documents whether you own the system before you engage anyone. Then verify any replacement contractor’s licence and classification on CSLB’s licence lookup.

This is general information about California consumer remedies, not legal advice. Outcomes turn on your specific contract, the bankruptcy or sale structure, and who holds your agreement. If real money is at stake, take advice from a professional who can read your documents.

Figures on this page come from the primary sources below and, where noted, from Cali Energy calculations using the stated assumptions. Rates, incentives, and program terms change; each was verified August 11, 2026.

1. CSLB — Complaint process against licensed contractors
2. CSLB — Solar Smart (SESRP status)
3. CSLB — Contractor licence bond requirements