SACRAMENTO - Business and Professions Code (BPC) section 7169, which became effective January of this year, requires that the Contractors State License Board (CSLB), in collaboration with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), develop and make a solar energy system disclosure document available on its website on or before July 1, 2018.

Here are some of the requirements of the new law:

• Solar energy system companies must provide the "Solar Energy System Disclosure Document" to consumers prior to completing a sale, financing, or lease of a solar energy system to be installed on a residential building.
• The disclosure document and the contract must be written in the same language principally used in the sales presentation and marketing materials provided to the consumer. Proposed drafts of the disclosure document are available on CSLB's website in English and Spanish. Contractors must translate the document into other languages, as necessary.
• If the sale of the solar energy system utilizes Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, the PACE Financing Estimate and Disclosure form may be used in place of the new disclosure document. The required elements of the PACE form can be found here.

PUC has not yet taken action on the Solar Energy System Disclosure Document but is expected to do so within the next three months. CSLB will post notification on its website when this occurs, along with information about when CSLB expects contractors to comply with this new requirement.

CSLB will host meetings to seek industry and consumer input on the development of further disclosure content for residential solar energy system contractors. Stay tuned for an additional Industry Bulletin about the stakeholder meetings.

CSLB hopes that the requirement to include this disclosure document in the contract for residential solar energy systems will reduce misunderstandings between contractors and consumers and help our licensees improve their relationships with customers.

Archives: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017