Wholesaler and residential solar disclosure laws

Wholesaling usually means contracting to buy a home and then assigning that contract to another buyer for a fee. The homeowner may think they are dealing with the end buyer. The new laws are aimed at that gap. They require the wholesaler to say in writing what role they are playing before the seller signs.

Residential solar laws address a different sale with a similar problem. A homeowner commits to a long contract, which in some cases is a lease or a power purchase agreement. The new rules require a disclosure document, and in some states registration of the seller and a period in which the homeowner can back out.

The two sets of laws are grouped here because they work the same way. The business must deliver a document, at a set point in the sale, and the homeowner gains a right if that does not happen.

One industry source, Crowdfunded Wealth, counts at least 17 states that regulate wholesaling by name. The table lists the laws with 2025 or 2026 effective dates that the research found. Most of these details come from vendor blogs and one law-firm article. They were not checked against the statutes.

Connecticut's law is a registration requirement. DealMachine, which sells software to real estate investors, reports that Public Act 25-168 requires registration with the Department of Consumer Protection from 1 July 2026, with a fee of $285 every two years. The research found that sources disagree about the threshold at which registration applies.

Delaware is the one entry backed by a primary document. The state published a 2026 disclosure form for wholesale transactions, which is linked in the sources.

Mayer Brown's June 2026 review of third-party solar regulation, together with summaries from Aurora Solar and the Clean Energy States Alliance, is the basis for the table. Aurora Solar sells software to solar installers. As with the wholesaler laws, these are summaries and the detail was not checked against each statute.

The research also notes that bills were pending in Utah and Massachusetts. Pending bills change, so they are left out of the table.

Dates need care. Texas is reported to have two: registration from 1 September 2026 and enforcement of the disclosure form from 1 November 2026. Virginia's rules are reported to take effect on 1 January 2027, which is after this guide was reviewed.

Timing is the part the reports are clearest on. Ohio's law, as described by Marshall Dennehey, requires the written disclosure before the seller signs. Missouri's is reported to add a 14-day waiting period. Oklahoma's is reported to give a window of two business days to cancel. Rhode Island's solar act is reported to give seven days to rescind.

The consequence differs by state. Ohio's is the most direct in the reports: if the disclosure was not given, the seller may cancel at any time before closing without penalty. For a wholesaler that means a contract with a missing disclosure can be cancelled by the seller at any point up to closing.

The research does not support more detail than this. It did not find the required wording for each state, the penalties beyond cancellation, or any enforcement actions. Use the state's own form where one exists, as in Delaware, and have counsel confirm the wording elsewhere.

A disclosure law creates a question of fact. Did the homeowner receive this document, and did they receive it before they signed. If a deal is later challenged, the business has to answer with something better than a recollection.

A signed copy in a folder helps, but it often lacks the detail that matters. A signature on the disclosure and a signature on the contract with the same date do not show which came first. A disclosure sent by email does not show it was opened. A paper copy left at the house leaves no trace at all.

Order and time are what the record has to establish. That is true whether the sale happens at a kitchen table, over the phone or through an online signing tool. A cancellation right puts the money in the deal at stake, so the record deserves the same care as the contract itself.

The checklist below is practical guidance. It does not state what any statute requires. It is built to answer the two questions a dispute will raise: was the right document delivered, and was it delivered first.

Consentra's Disclosure Proof keeps this kind of delivery record for each deal. The same facts can be kept in a deal file or a customer system if someone fills them in every time.

• The property address and the state whose rule you applied.
• The exact disclosure document given, saved as a file, with the form version or the date you downloaded it from the state.
• Who received it: each owner on title for a wholesale deal, or each person signing the solar contract.
• How it was delivered: in person, by email, by text link or inside a signing tool.
• The date and time of delivery, and the date and time the homeowner acknowledged it.
• The date and time the contract was signed, so the order of the two events is clear.
• The date any waiting or cancellation period ends, and proof that the homeowner was told about it.
• Any cancellation received, when it arrived and what was done about it.
• Your registration number and its renewal date, where the state requires registration.

The evidence behind this guide is thinner than for most topics on this site. The research relied on short summaries of vendor blogs, one law-firm article on Ohio, one law-firm review of solar regulation and one state form. It found no enforcement data and no count of the businesses affected. At least one detail, Connecticut's registration threshold, is disputed between sources.

To check your own state, start with the bill or act number in the tables and read the enacted text on the legislature's website. Then look at the agency named in the law, such as a consumer protection or licensing department, for forms and guidance. Where a state publishes its own form, use that form.

Laws in this area are new and several took effect within the past year. Recheck before each selling season, and ask a real estate or consumer-law attorney in the state how the rule applies to your contracts.