MYO — part of Money You are Owed

2026 homeowner’s guide

Your Solar Installer Went Bankrupt. Your Payment Didn’t.

When a solar company goes under, the people who lose the most are the homeowners still making monthly payments on a system nobody is servicing. Here’s what the court records and company notices actually say, who you owe now, and how to protect yourself without making things worse.

Last fact-checked: October 5, 2026

The two bankruptcies homeowners are asking about
  Freedom Forever Sunnova
Filed Chapter 11, April 15, 2026 Chapter 11, June 8, 2025
Court U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, Case No. 26-10522 U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas
Where it stands Converted to Chapter 7 (liquidation) effective August 7, 2026; Alfred T. Giuliano appointed trustee Filed to run a sale process; customer accounts acquired by a new owner group
Who to contact Your lender or contract holder for payments; the Kroll case site for court filings and claims SunStrong Management, which took over monitoring, billing, collections, and customer service
Keep paying? Your contract with the lender or provider still stands; check who holds it Sunnova’s notice: “continue your payments as usual”

Why the payment survives the installer

Most homeowners met one company: the one that knocked on the door, designed the system, and put panels on the roof. But the money often flows through a different contract. You may have signed a loan with a finance company, a lease, or a power purchase agreement. Whoever is named on that paper is who you owe. If that party sold your account, the buyer steps into its shoes.

That’s why an installer’s bankruptcy feels like a trap. The company that promised service and warranties can disappear while the monthly bill keeps arriving from someone else. Sunnova’s customer notice is the clearest statement you’ll find from a company in this position: keep paying as usual, and expect any changes to come directly from the new servicer. Source: Sunnova customer notice

The honest read: the bill is real, but so is your right to complain loudly, in writing, to the people collecting it.

Freedom Forever: what Chapter 7 means

Freedom Forever LLC filed for Chapter 11 on April 15, 2026, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The case is pending under Case No. 26-10522 before Judge Brendan L. Shannon. Source: Kroll case site

Chapter 11 is supposed to keep a business running while it restructures or sells. That didn’t happen here. By court order effective August 7, 2026, the cases were converted to Chapter 7, and Alfred T. Giuliano was appointed Chapter 7 Trustee. Source: Kroll case site Chapter 7 means the trustee’s job is to liquidate what’s left, not to service rooftops.

If Freedom Forever owes you something (unfinished work, a deposit, a broken promise you can put a number on), the case site’s Claims section is where you check the current proof-of-claim deadline and form. Go read it today. Don’t rely on a date you saw secondhand, including from us.

Sunnova: who services your system now

Sunnova Energy International and certain subsidiaries filed Chapter 11 on June 8, 2025, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, to run a sale process. Source: Sunnova press release, SEC Form 8-K exhibit At filing, the company said it had secured interim court relief to keep honoring loan agreements, lease agreements, power purchase agreements, service agreements, warranties, and production guarantees through the Chapter 11 process. Source: SEC Form 8-K exhibit

For customers whose accounts went to the new owner group, Sunnova’s notice says SunStrong Management took over system monitoring, billing, collections, and customer service. Source: Sunnova customer notice So SunStrong is your first call for a dead inverter or a production shortfall. Ask in writing, and ask specifically whether your warranty and any production guarantee carried over to the new owner. Get the answer in writing too.

The FTC Holder Rule: your strongest tool

Here’s the piece most homeowners never hear about. Under the FTC’s Holder Rule, covered consumer credit contracts must carry a notice saying that any holder of the contract is subject to all claims and defenses you could assert against the seller. The same notice caps your recovery at the amount you’ve paid under the contract. Source: 16 CFR 433.2

In plain terms: if your solar loan was a covered credit contract and the installer misrepresented the system, never finished it, or broke its promises, you may be able to raise those problems against the lender instead of just the bankrupt installer. That matters a lot when the installer has nothing left to pay you with.

Two honest limits. First, the cap means it can’t pay you more than you’ve put in. Second, the rule is written for consumer credit contracts. Whether a lease or a power purchase agreement qualifies is a real legal question, and a consumer attorney is who should answer it for your contract. Look for the Holder notice language in your own loan paperwork before you assume either way.

What to do this week

  • Pull every document you signed. Find the loan, lease, or PPA and note exactly who is named as lender, lessor, or provider.
  • Find out who collects your payment today. Look at your most recent statement or autopay record. That’s the party your written complaints go to.
  • Search your loan contract for the Holder notice. Look for the sentence starting “ANY HOLDER OF THIS CONSUMER CREDIT CONTRACT IS SUBJECT TO ALL CLAIMS AND DEFENSES.”
  • Document the system’s condition. Save monitoring screenshots, utility bills, photos of damage or unfinished work, and every promise in writing from the sales process.
  • Write to the contract holder. List each defect or unkept promise, what you want done, and a reasonable response date. Send it in a way you can prove they received it.
  • If Freedom Forever owes you money, check the Claims section on the Kroll case site for the current deadline and form.
  • Keep paying while you fight, unless a consumer attorney who has read your contract tells you otherwise.

We’ll take a side on the last one. Stopping payment feels like the only pressure you have, but it hands the other side a clean collections story. A documented written dispute is a stronger position than a missed payment.

Frequently asked questions

Does the installer’s bankruptcy cancel my solar loan?

Not by itself. The installer going under doesn’t erase a contract you signed with someone else, and Sunnova’s own customer notice told people to continue their payments as usual. Check who is named as the lender, lessor, or provider on your paperwork. That party, or whoever it sold the account to, is who you still owe.

Freedom Forever went to Chapter 7. What does that mean for me?

It means the company is being liquidated, not reorganized. By court order effective August 7, 2026, its Chapter 11 cases were converted to Chapter 7, and Alfred T. Giuliano was appointed Chapter 7 Trustee. A liquidating company isn’t going to send a crew to fix your roof, so plan around that.

I had a Sunnova system. Who services it now?

Sunnova’s customer notice says SunStrong Management took over system monitoring, billing, collections, and customer service for accounts acquired by the new owner group. Start with SunStrong, and keep a written record of every request you make.

Can the FTC Holder Rule get me out of paying?

It can help, within limits. Covered consumer credit contracts must say the holder is subject to all claims and defenses you could raise against the seller, but recovery can’t exceed what you paid under the contract. It gives you a way to press the lender over the installer’s misconduct. It isn’t an automatic exit, and leases or PPAs may not count as credit contracts at all.

Should I just stop paying until someone fixes my system?

We wouldn’t, at least not on your own. Withholding payment turns your complaint into their collections case. The stronger move is to keep paying while you put your claim in writing to whoever holds the contract, and get a consumer attorney’s read before you stop.

Where can I see the Freedom Forever court filings?

The claims agent, Kroll Restructuring Administration, runs a free public case site with Docket and Claims sections for Case No. 26-10522. Check the Claims section for the current proof-of-claim deadline and form rather than relying on a date you read secondhand.

Sources