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Solar panels on an asbestos roof not allowed since 9 November 2022. Here is the way through.
On 9 November 2022 the Department instructed inspectors not to allow solar panels or over-roofing on existing asbestos roofs. Replace the roof, then install. Type your address to see how many panels your roof could carry.
You cannot have solar panels installed on an asbestos roof in South Africa. The Department of Employment and Labour's instruction of 9 November 2022 tells its inspectors, Approved Inspection Authorities and registered asbestos contractors not to allow panels or over-roofing sheets on existing asbestos roofs. A reputable installer will not touch one.
The way through is replace, then install: strip the asbestos at R150 to R250 per m², fit steel sheeting at R500 to R700 per m², then mount the panels on a roof that can be drilled. About R100,000 to R145,000 for a 150 m² house, and about three weeks.
Photo: ell brown, CC BY 2.0Why it is banned
It is a departmental instruction under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, not a gazetted regulation. The reasoning is simple.
Every bracket is a hole
A solar array needs dozens of fixings through the sheet into the purlins. Each one is drilling asbestos-cement, which is prohibited work.
Installers are employees
Under the OHS Act the installer’s staff are the people being exposed, and the employer is liable. That is the Department’s jurisdiction and why it acted.
Brittle sheets break underfoot
Asbestos-cement 40 years on cracks when walked on: a fall risk and a fibre release at the same time.
Over-roofing hides it
Sheeting over the asbestos still means fixing through it, and leaves an asbestos roof in the inventory and on the property file.
What it means for your solar project
- Roof first. Get the removal and the new roof quoted together. Ask for purlin spacing and sheet gauge that suit a solar array; it costs nothing to plan for.
- Three weeks, not three months. A house roof is about two weeks from signed quote to clearance certificate plus 2 to 4 days of new roofing. Book the installer for the week after.
- Keep the certificate. The clearance certificate is what the installer’s compliance file and your insurer will ask for.
- Steel is the right surface. Corrugated or IBR steel takes standard rail-and-clamp mounting and sits at the economical end of the replacement band.
What the roof costs before the solar
| Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Strip and dispose asbestos, R150–R250 / m² | R22,500 | R37,500 |
| New steel-sheeted roof, R500–R700 / m² | R75,000 | R105,000 |
| Roof ready for solar | R97,500 | R142,500 |
How many panels could your roof carry?
Type your address at the top of this page. Along with the satellite view, the finder reads Google’s measurement of the building: total roof area, number of roof faces, and the maximum number of standard panels that would fit once the roof is steel. Gauteng gets about 2,100 hours of usable sun a year on a well-oriented roof, among the best in the country, which is why the asbestos rule bites harder here than anywhere.
The measurement comes from aerial imagery that is several years old; treat it as a planning number. The contractor measures the real roof at the site check and your installer designs the array.
Can I put the panels somewhere else?
Yes. A ground-mounted array or a carport structure avoids the asbestos roof entirely. It does not remove the roof from the inventory if the building has staff, and it does not change what a buyer’s inspector sees, so most owners who go to the trouble of solar replace the roof at the same time.
Questions people ask about solar and asbestos roofs
Is it illegal to install solar panels on an asbestos roof in South Africa?
Since 9 November 2022 the Department of Employment and Labour has instructed its inspectors not to allow it, and registered asbestos contractors and Approved Inspection Authorities were told the same. It is a departmental instruction under the OHS Act rather than a gazetted regulation, but a compliant installer will not do it and an inspector will stop it.
Can I put a new roof over the asbestos and then add solar?
No. The same instruction covers over-roofing sheets, because fixing them means drilling through the asbestos. The asbestos also stays on the property file and in the inventory.
How much does it cost to get an asbestos roof ready for solar?
For a 150 m² house in Gauteng in September 2026: R22,500 to R37,500 to strip and dispose, plus R75,000 to R105,000 for a new steel-sheeted roof, so about R100,000 to R145,000 before the solar system itself.
How long does it delay a solar installation?
About three weeks for a house: a 7-day notification period, 1 to 2 days of removal, the clearance certificate, then 2 to 4 days of new roofing. Book the solar installer for the week after the roof is done.
Will the asbestos clearance certificate be needed for the solar compliance file?
Installers and insurers increasingly ask for it, and the certificate of compliance for the electrical work sits alongside it in the property file. Keep the clearance certificate and the disposal certificate together.
Get the roof quoted so the solar can go ahead
Send the address or a photo. The registered contractor quotes the removal and a solar-ready steel roof together, with dates, so your installer can book the week after.