Neighbour’s solar panels are reflecting sunlight into my house: What can I do?

Solar panels are designed to absorb sunlight, not bounce it into the house next door. Usually, that is exactly what they do.

But not always.

At certain angles, a panel can reflect a surprisingly intense patch of sunlight through a neighbouring window. It may last only a few minutes or return for an hour or more at roughly the same time on every sunny day. If it lands in a bedroom, living room or home office, what sounds like a fairly minor problem can become extremely irritating.

It is also something we may hear more about as rooftop solar becomes increasingly common. Government guidance recognises that solar panels can, at certain angles, cause both brief flashes of reflected light, known as glint, and more continuous glare.

So, if your neighbour’s solar panels are reflecting sunlight into your home, do you have to put up with it?

Not necessarily. But the legal position is less straightforward than you might expect.

I have often found that neighbour disputes are often most difficult when the problem sounds trivial to everybody except the person living with it. Repeated glare is a good example. The sensible approach is to establish exactly what is happening, understand which parts of the law might apply and, if possible, find the smallest practical change that solves it.

This guide explains the position in England and Wales.

Quick answer: Can you complain about solar panel glare?

Yes, although there is no automatic right to require a neighbour to remove or reposition solar panels simply because they reflect sunlight.

Reflected sunlight is natural light, so it is not covered by the statutory nuisance regime that councils use for intrusive artificial lighting such as security lights.

Exceptionally severe reflected glare may potentially amount to a private nuisance. However, the legal threshold is high and there is no reported English or Welsh case establishing that ordinary glare from domestic solar panels amounts to a nuisance.

Planning law may also be relevant. Many domestic solar installations are permitted development, but permitted development rights are subject to limitations and conditions, including requirements concerning siting and the amenity of the area.

In practice, the best first step is usually much simpler – record exactly when and where the glare occurs, show your neighbour what is happening and ask whether their installer can identify a practical solution.

Contents

• What are solar glint and glare?
• Is solar panel glare a right of light problem?
• Is reflected sunlight a statutory nuisance?
• Can solar panel glare be a private nuisance?
• Can planning rules help?
• How do you prove solar panel glare?
• What should you do about solar panel glare?
• Could you take legal action?
• Frequently asked questions

What are solar glint and glare?

Solar panels are specifically designed to absorb solar energy, but they can still reflect some sunlight.

Government guidance on larger solar developments distinguishes between “glint”, a momentary flash of reflected light, and “glare”, a more continuous source of excessive brightness. The effect depends on the relationship between the sun, the panel and whoever or whatever is receiving the reflection.

The same basic principle applies to panels on a house. A particular panel might cause no difficulty for most of the day but, as the sun reaches a particular position, send reflected sunlight towards a neighbouring window.

You can read the Government’s guidance on solar glint and glare.

The seasonal effect is important. The height and path of the sun change throughout the year, so a reflection that appears in spring may become stronger, weaker or disappear altogether as the months pass.

That can make the problem surprisingly difficult to demonstrate. Your neighbour, their installer or a council officer could visit on a cloudy afternoon and see nothing at all.

Is solar panel glare a right of light problem?

No. Although both involve sunlight, they are quite different legal issues.

A legal right of light is concerned with sufficient natural light continuing to pass through a defined opening, usually a window. It most commonly becomes relevant when a neighbouring building or extension obstructs light.

It does not give you a general legal right to sunlight, nor is it the usual legal basis for complaining about too much reflected sunlight.

If your problem is actually that a neighbouring extension or other structure has made your home darker, see my separate guide to rights of light in England and Wales.

Is reflected sunlight a statutory nuisance?

This is where solar glare differs significantly from a neighbour’s badly positioned security light.

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, councils in England and Wales have powers concerning certain statutory nuisances. These include artificial light emitted from premises where the statutory test is met.

Reflected sunlight is different. It is natural light, and natural light is not included within the statutory artificial-light nuisance provisions.

Government guidance for England states this expressly. You can read the Government guidance on artificial-light nuisance.

So, if sunlight is bouncing from your neighbour’s solar panels through your bedroom window, reporting it to Environmental Health as an artificial-light nuisance is unlikely to provide a remedy under those provisions.

If the offending light is actually produced by a lamp or floodlight, the position is different. My separate guide explains what you can do about a neighbour’s security light shining into your house.

However, statutory nuisance is not the only form of nuisance recognised by law.

Can solar panel glare be a private nuisance?

Potentially, but this is where some caution is needed.

Private nuisance protects the use and enjoyment of land against certain forms of substantial interference. Whether something amounts to a nuisance depends heavily on the circumstances. The law expects neighbours to tolerate the ordinary give and take of living alongside one another.

There is no reported English or Welsh case establishing a general rule that glare from domestic solar panels amounts to private nuisance.

There is, however, an interesting authority concerning reflected sunlight.

In the 2023 Supreme Court case of Fearn v Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery, the Court discussed an earlier New Zealand case, Bank of New Zealand v Greenwood. Glass roofing panels on a building reflected the summer sun so intensely that they cast dazzling glare through windows in properties across the street.

The Supreme Court did not say that reflected sunlight will ordinarily amount to nuisance. Quite the opposite. It treated the New Zealand decision as an extreme example, describing it as going to the limit of nuisance law.

That distinction matters enormously for a domestic solar-panel dispute.

A patch of reflected sunlight appearing briefly on a wall is very unlikely to be comparable with intense glare that makes a room practically unusable for significant periods. The stronger any claim, the more the evidence is likely to show something genuinely exceptional rather than one of the ordinary effects of having neighbouring buildings and equipment.

You can read the Supreme Court judgment in Fearn.

One further point from Fearn is worth mentioning. In the New Zealand glare case, the argument that the affected occupiers could simply install darker curtains or blinds was rejected. That does not mean somebody affected by solar glare can never sensibly use blinds or screening. It does mean that, if an actionable nuisance were established, the person causing it could not necessarily shift the whole responsibility for solving it onto the neighbour.

Can planning rules help?

Possibly, and this is often worth checking before contemplating a private nuisance claim.

Many domestic solar installations do not require an individual planning application because they benefit from permitted development rights. But “permitted development” does not mean that there are no rules.

In England, the permitted development right for solar equipment on houses and certain other buildings was updated on 27 August 2026. Transitional provisions apply, but the important point for a neighbour affected by glare is that the rules continue to require equipment to be sited, so far as practicable, to minimise its effect on the external appearance of the building and the amenity of the area.

The Planning Portal explains the current solar-panel rules in England.

Wales has its own permitted development regime. Welsh Government guidance similarly states that roof and wall-mounted panels should, so far as practicable, be sited to minimise their effect on the amenity of the area. You can check the Welsh Government guidance on planning permission for solar panels.

If the panels required planning permission, look at the application on the local authority’s online planning register. The plans, officer’s report, decision notice and conditions may tell you whether glare or neighbouring amenity was considered.

If the installation was carried out as permitted development, you can still ask the planning authority whether it complies with the relevant limitations and conditions. Give the council specific evidence of the problem rather than simply saying that the panels are causing a nuisance.

There is an important limit here. The reference to amenity does not mean that every instance of glare breaches planning control, nor does it give a neighbour an automatic right to have panels moved. Whether there is any planning breach or justification for enforcement will depend on the particular installation and circumstances.

How do you prove solar panel glare?

This is one dispute where a simple diary can be extremely useful.

Record the dates on which the glare occurs, when it begins and ends, which room or part of the property is affected and what the practical effect is. “Bright reflection in kitchen from 8.35 am to 9.10 am” is much more useful than “the panels shine into our house every morning”.

Take photographs and short videos from inside your property. Try to include the window and other fixed features so that it is clear where the reflection is falling.

Bear in mind that a phone camera adjusts its exposure automatically. A photograph may therefore make the glare look either more or less intense than it seemed to you. It is useful evidence of where and when the reflection occurs, but not necessarily an accurate measurement of its brightness.

For a particularly serious dispute, a specialist glint-and-glare assessment may be able to model the path of the reflection, its duration and the times of year when it will occur.

What should you do about solar panel glare?

Start by showing your neighbour the problem.

That may sound obvious, but they may genuinely have no idea that it exists. From their side of the roof, the installation may look completely unremarkable.

I would avoid beginning with an accusation that the panels are “illegal” or demanding that the whole array is removed. Neither may be justified.

Instead, be specific. Explain which window is affected, when the glare occurs and how long it lasts. A photograph or short video can help enormously.

Then ask whether the installer can investigate. Depending on the circumstances, there may be scope to alter the angle or position of part of the array, use a different arrangement or find another suitable means of reducing the reflection. Any alteration to the panels themselves should be considered by a competent installer.

Sometimes a simple measure on the affected property, such as a blind or suitable screening, may also solve a minor problem cheaply. That does not mean the affected neighbour must always adapt their home to accommodate whatever glare is produced next door. It simply reflects the reality that, where the interference is modest, the quickest practical solution may be better than an argument about legal rights.

If discussion does not resolve matters, check the planning history and consider contacting the local planning authority. Where the interference is serious and no practical agreement can be reached, mediation or specialist legal advice may be appropriate.

My broader guide to resolving neighbour disputes explains how to approach discussions, evidence, mediation and escalation without allowing a relatively small problem to turn into an unnecessarily expensive battle.

Could you take legal action?

Possibly, but a private nuisance claim over solar-panel glare is not something I would approach lightly.

The lack of a reported English or Welsh domestic solar-panel case means there is no simple precedent saying how bright the reflection must be, how long it must last or how frequently it must occur.

A serious claim is likely to need persuasive evidence that the interference is exceptional and substantial. Depending on the case, expert evidence about the reflection may be needed as well.

If private nuisance were established, the court could potentially award damages or grant an injunction. An injunction would not necessarily require the entire solar installation to be removed. The appropriate remedy would depend on the circumstances and what was necessary to address the nuisance.

There is also the question of cost. A dispute involving solicitors, counsel and technical expert evidence can become expensive remarkably quickly, particularly if an injunction is sought.

Before going anywhere near proceedings, it makes sense to establish what physical alteration would actually stop the glare and what that alteration would cost. A modest technical solution can look very attractive beside the cost and uncertainty of litigation.

My separate guide explains the potential cost of property litigation.

Frequently asked questions

Can I complain to the council about my neighbour’s solar panels?

Yes, particularly if you believe there may be a planning issue. However, reflected sunlight is natural rather than artificial light, so the statutory artificial-light nuisance provisions are not the obvious route. If glare is the problem, the planning department may be more relevant than Environmental Health.

Can the council make my neighbour move their solar panels?

Not simply because the panels cause some reflection. The council may investigate whether an installation complies with planning requirements and, where there is a breach of planning control, consider whether enforcement action is appropriate. Planning enforcement is discretionary and fact-specific.

Do solar panels need planning permission?

Many domestic installations do not require an individual planning application because they qualify as permitted development. There are nevertheless limitations and conditions, and additional restrictions can apply to listed buildings and designated areas. The rules also differ between England and Wales.

Can solar panel glare amount to nuisance?

Potentially, but there is no general rule that glare from domestic solar panels is a private nuisance. The Supreme Court has recognised an overseas case involving exceptionally intense reflected sunlight as a possible example of nuisance, while stressing the extreme nature of that case.

Can my neighbour tell me simply to close my blinds?

They can suggest it, and for a minor problem blinds may be the cheapest and easiest answer. But the law does not necessarily require the person affected by an established nuisance to assume the entire burden of eliminating it. Much depends on whether the glare is merely inconvenient or serious enough to amount to an actionable nuisance in the first place.

Will solar panel glare happen all year?

Not necessarily. Because the sun’s position changes throughout the year, glare may occur only during particular months or at different times of day as the seasons change.

Can I cover or interfere with my neighbour’s solar panels?

No. Do not enter your neighbour’s property, cover the panels, damage them or attempt to alter the installation yourself. Apart from the obvious safety issues, doing so could create a legal problem of your own.

The best solution may be surprisingly small

Solar-panel glare is a slightly unusual neighbour dispute because the source of the problem may be measured in degrees.

One panel, at one angle, may be responsible for a reflection that makes one room uncomfortable at one particular time of day. That is why identifying the precise problem matters so much.

“Your solar panels are ruining our house” gives two neighbours something to argue about. “This part of the array reflects directly through our living-room window between about 4 pm and 4.45 pm on sunny days” gives an installer something to investigate.

I saw the same principle repeatedly in practice. Neighbour disputes became much easier to resolve once the conversation moved away from who was right in principle and towards the smallest change that would actually solve the problem.

Solar glare may occasionally justify legal intervention. In many cases, though, careful evidence, a sensible conversation and a relatively modest technical adjustment will be a much better answer.

For other common problems between neighbouring properties, see my property disputes guides.

Last legally reviewed: 28 August 2026

This article is based on general principles of English and Welsh law, is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice or establish a professional relationship.

About the author, Clare Lowes