Building permit for PV in Canton Zurich: notification procedure, deadline, exceptions

A 30-day deadline applies once the notification is received. If nothing else is ordered within these 30 days of receiving the confirmation of receipt, the solar system may be built. This waiting period should be factored into the project timeline from the start.

Under Art. 32a RPV, a roof system is sufficiently adapted if it projects no more than 20 cm vertically above the roof surface, does not protrude beyond the roof surface seen from above, is executed with low reflectivity and arranged as a compact surface. On flat roofs it is sufficiently adapted if it projects no more than 1 metre above the roof edge and is not visible from below at a 45-degree angle.

Required documents include a site plan (1:500/1:1000) with the system marked in red, a roof plan view, gable and eaves facade, the manufacturer's product description and an orientation plan per the VKF fire protection leaflet. Together the documents must not exceed 20 MB. The notification goes to the municipality's local building office; municipalities connected to eBaugesucheZH accept it exclusively via that portal.

Solar systems in core zones, within the scope of a townscape or monument protection inventory, under heritage protection orders, and on facades of buildings over 11 metres high remain subject to a permit. Under federal law, cultural and natural monuments of cantonal or national significance also remain subject to a permit. Even if the design rules would be met, the ordinary procedure is required in these cases.

Yes. On facades, the notification procedure in building zones is possible for single-family houses and buildings up to a maximum of 11 metres in height; facade systems on buildings over 11 metres remain subject to a permit. Free-standing solar systems are subject to notification up to 20 square metres in building zones, while in industrial and commercial zones the notification procedure is possible without an area limit.

In the City of Zurich, around 70 percent of buildings fall under the notification procedure and around 30 percent under the building permit requirement, for example in cases of monument protection, ISOS-A objects or nature reserves. Notifications are submitted via the cantonal eBaugesucheZH platform, while building permits for systems that cannot be reported go through the Office for Building Permits (AfB). For uncertainties, the cantonal coordination office for building permits provides information (leitstelle@bd.zh.ch, +41 43 259 24 17).

No. The automatic receipt email sent immediately after submission is not the local building office's confirmation of receipt. Only the municipality's confirmation states when the 30-day period ends. If no official confirmation arrives within 14 days, contact the building office.