Background
#Graubünden regulates roof-mounted solar systems through a notification rather than a building application. Under Art. 40b para.
1 of the cantonal spatial planning ordinance (KRVO), roof-mounted solar systems are subject to the notification duty set out in Art. 40a KRVO. In practice this means the project must be reported in writing to the municipal building authority before implementation. The current cantonal form must be completed once per building and submitted no later than 15 days before installation.
This is not the same deadline as the authority’s 15 working days to notify any building permit requirement after the notification. Both requirements must be met before work starts; in particular, work may begin only after the 15 working days have elapsed without a notification under Art. 40a para. 3 KRVO. Whether a roof system is permit-free at all is decided by the municipal building authority under Art. 40b para.
2 KRVO on the basis of federal law, which sets the standard of sufficient integration. The municipal level is therefore decisive in practice: municipalities may specify that even insufficiently integrated systems are permit-free in aesthetically less sensitive zones such as commercial and industrial areas, and conversely they may provide in their building law that systems on buildings under a specific protection or conservation regime always require a permit.
For your roof
What fits on your roof?
Enter your address to see roof area, yield and a guide price from federal data. We then clarify notification or permit with your municipality.
Free and non-binding · no unsolicited calls
Rather talk directly? +41 78 615 90 58
What applies in the canton of Graubünden
#The municipality is the decisive body: under Art. 40b para. 2 KRVO the municipal building authority assesses on the basis of federal law whether the system is sufficiently integrated and therefore permit-free.
Protection and conservation rules can trigger a permit requirement: under Art. 40b para. 4 KRVO municipalities may provide in their building law that solar systems on protected buildings always require a permit.
Commercial and industrial zones can be simpler: under Art. 40b para. 3 KRVO municipalities may determine that even insufficiently integrated systems are permit-free in aesthetically less sensitive zones.
Facade systems follow their own threshold: low-reflection facade solar systems built to the state of the art are exempt from the permit requirement up to 6.0 m² of absorber area per facade inside building zones and up to 2.0 m² outside building zones (Art. 40 para. 1 no. 16 KRVO).
Permit-free does not mean rule-free: under Art. 40 para. 3 KRVO an exemption from the permit requirement releases neither from compliance with substantive law nor from obtaining other permits, and the building authority may open a permit procedure ex officio if there are indications of a violation.
The form makes preparation verifiable: for each building it records the owner and installation company, municipality, parcel and building number, coordinates, roof type and orientation. Attach an installation plan or simple floor plan, a section or photo; the form also requires a self-declaration that structural requirements for snow and wind have been met.
The process in five steps
#Tick off for your project
Before planning, check the municipal building law and zoning rules for special provisions under Art. 40b paras. 3 and 4 KRVO for the zone or the building.
Design the system so that the federal requirements on sufficient integration are met, since this is exactly what the municipality assesses.
Complete one form per building
enter the owner, installation company, municipality, parcel and building number, coordinates, roof type, orientation and system details. Attach an installation plan or simple floor plan plus a section or photo, and check the structural and snow-retention declarations in the form.
Submit the complete notification to the municipal building authority no later than 15 days before installation and document receipt. This lead time in the form does not replace the authority’s 15 working days: if an appealable ruling arrives, follow its procedure; if none arrives, work may begin only after the 15 working days have elapsed.
In parallel, start the grid operator registration and the Pronovo application for the one-time payment, as these run independently of the building-law process.
Checked for your roof, not just read up on
What fits on your roof?
Enter your address to see roof area, yield and a guide price from federal data. We then clarify notification or permit with your municipality.
Free and non-binding · no unsolicited calls
Rather talk directly? +41 78 615 90 58
Frequently asked questions
#Sources
#The responsible authorities are decisive. Always verify binding details – amounts, deadlines and conditions – for your specific property against the current status of the respective authority.