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JA
By John Adams, Editor
Published September 6, 2026

BANKRUPTCY GUIDE

Freedom Forever Bankruptcy: What Homeowners Need to Know

Freedom Forever filed for Chapter 11 in April 2026 and the case was converted to Chapter 7 liquidation in August. If Freedom Forever installed your system, here is what that means for your loan or lease, your warranties, a system that was never turned on, and the options you actually have.

Published September 6, 2026 · Not legal advice · Our methodology

Freedom Forever was the second-largest residential solar installer in the country by 2025 market share, with roughly 2 GW installed across 35 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 15, 2026 and, after a proposed sale to a group led by its own chief executive collapsed, the case was converted to Chapter 7 liquidation effective August 7, 2026. This guide explains what a liquidation means for the homeowners holding its contracts, based on public court records and reporting, and what to do now.

What Happened: From Chapter 11 to Chapter 7

According to court records and trade press reporting, Freedom Forever LLC of Temecula, California filed a Chapter 11 petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on April 15, 2026 (case no. 26-10522). The company listed estimated assets of $100 million to $500 million against estimated liabilities of $500 million to $1 billion. Its largest creditor was reported to be Mosaic Funding, a solar lender, owed roughly $120 million, with panel manufacturers including JA Solar, Trina Solar, Jinko Solar and Silfab Solar owed tens of millions more.

The filing came nine days after the Texas Attorney General issued a Civil Investigative Demand to Freedom Forever and three other installers over alleged misrepresentations about energy-bill savings, equipment efficacy and contract terms. The company cited an industry-wide demand slowdown and that investigation among the reasons for the filing. Trade press reported that it stopped all work and furloughed a large share of its roughly 3,600 employees.

Through the summer the company tried to sell itself. Reporting describes a bid led by its own chief executive emerging as the leading offer, with an auction in late July. The unsecured creditors' committee did not support the insider sale. On July 31, 2026 the company told the court it would seek conversion to Chapter 7 and terminate most of its remaining staff, and according to the case administrator the conversion took effect on August 7, 2026, with a Chapter 7 trustee appointed to liquidate the estate.

Freedom Forever joins a growing list of residential solar failures. See the full register of solar company bankruptcies (2024 to 2026) →

Important: Bankruptcy cases move quickly and this guide reflects public information as of September 6, 2026. Deadlines, the trustee's contact details and the status of any asset sales are published on the case administrator's website. Verify current information there or with a qualified attorney before acting.

Why the Chapter 7 Conversion Changes Everything

Most of what was written about Freedom Forever in April and May assumed a Chapter 11 reorganization, where the company keeps operating while it restructures. That is no longer the situation, and the difference matters to you directly.

Chapter 11 versus Chapter 7

Chapter 11 (reorganization): the company continues operating under court supervision. Customer contracts may be assumed and carried on, or sold to a buyer who keeps servicing them. Warranty promises can survive if a buyer takes them on.

Chapter 7 (liquidation): a court-appointed trustee takes control, the business stops, and assets are sold to pay creditors in a fixed order of priority. There is no reorganized company on the other side. Promises the company made, including its workmanship warranty, become claims against a pool of money that is usually far smaller than what is owed.

In practical terms: nobody at Freedom Forever is coming to fix your system, process your cancellation, finish your installation or answer the phone. Any path forward runs through your lender or lease provider, the equipment manufacturers, your utility, and where money is owed to you, the trustee.

Holding a Freedom Forever contract and not sure who you owe or what you can do? Get a free preliminary contract review.

Who You Actually Owe: Your Lender, Not the Installer

This is the single most important fact for Freedom Forever customers, and it is the one most people get wrong. Freedom Forever largely did not own or finance the systems it sold. Reporting on the case describes a dealer model in which systems were financed or owned by third parties, with Mosaic, GoodLeap and Sunrun named among them. Your monthly payment almost certainly goes to one of those companies, or to a servicer working for one of them.

That third party is a separate business with its own balance sheet. It did not file for bankruptcy when Freedom Forever did. It keeps servicing your account, keeps reporting to the credit bureaus, and keeps whatever security interest it recorded, which on many solar loans is a UCC-1 fixture filing against your home.

Do this first: pull your most recent statement or autopay record and write down the name of the company you pay. That name, not Freedom Forever, determines who receives any notice you send, which complaint forum has jurisdiction, and whether your problem is a finance-side dispute or an installation-side one. Two homeowners with identical Freedom Forever paperwork can have completely different paths depending on that one line.

One clarification that comes up often: Sunlight Financial is sometimes assumed to be a Freedom Forever lender. Sunlight went through its own Chapter 11 in late 2023 and emerged under new ownership; if your statement names Sunlight, that is a separate company with a separate history.

Do You Still Have to Make Payments?

We do not advise homeowners to stop making payments or breach contractual obligations. The installer's bankruptcy generally does not cancel a loan or lease held by a separate company. Stopping payments without a legal basis can lead to default, collections, credit damage and, where a fixture filing exists, complications with your home's title.

  • Solar loans: the loan is owed to the lender. Freedom Forever's liquidation does not change the balance, the rate or the term. Continue paying while you evaluate your options.
  • Leases and PPAs: the system belongs to the lease provider or its investors. Payments generally continue, and the provider remains responsible for whatever service the lease promised, even though its installer partner is gone.
  • Where you may have a basis to dispute: if the system was never installed, never activated, or never passed inspection, or if the sale involved documented misrepresentations, you may have claims against the seller that can also be raised against the lender under the FTC Holder Rule, which appears in most consumer finance agreements. That is a dispute to raise with the lender in writing and, ideally, with an attorney. It is not a reason to simply stop paying.

Be careful with any letter, call or email claiming to be a new servicer for your Freedom Forever account. Verify it against the company named on your existing statements before sending money anywhere new. Customers of bankrupt companies are routinely targeted by scams.

Warranties: What Survives and What Does Not

Every Freedom Forever installation carried two kinds of warranty, and the Chapter 7 conversion treats them very differently.

Equipment warranties: generally survive

Panels, inverters and batteries carry warranties issued by their manufacturers, typically 10 to 25 years. Those are promises from Enphase, SolarEdge, Tesla, Q CELLS and the like, not from Freedom Forever, and they are generally unaffected by the installer's bankruptcy. To claim under one, you contact the manufacturer directly, and you will usually need to hire a local certified installer to do the physical replacement.

Workmanship warranty: unlikely to be honored

Freedom Forever's own workmanship warranty, which typically covers installation defects such as roof penetrations and wiring for ten years or more, is a promise from a company that is now being liquidated. In a Chapter 7 case there is no operating company to perform it. It becomes, at best, an unsecured claim against the estate, and unsecured creditors in liquidations of this kind typically recover little. Labor costs that Freedom Forever would have covered are now likely to fall to you.

Action step: gather every warranty document now and sort them into two piles: manufacturer and installer. Register your equipment directly with each manufacturer if you have not already. Photograph your roof penetrations, conduit runs and inverter installation while everything is still accessible, so any future defect claim has a dated record.

If Your System Was Never Installed or Turned On

This is the fact pattern with the most at stake, and the one local news has been documenting. Homeowners have described systems that passed inspection in the spring, were never enrolled with the utility, and remain switched off while lease or loan payments are about to begin.

  1. Contact your utility directly. Interconnection and permission to operate are utility processes. At least one Florida utility has stated it can proceed with its own inspection once local approval has been obtained, without waiting for the bankrupt installer. Ask yours what it needs from you to move forward.
  2. Put your lender on written notice. Tell the finance company, in writing, that the system it financed has not been activated and that Freedom Forever is in Chapter 7. Ask what the lender proposes to do. Keep a copy and proof of delivery.
  3. Do not sign anything new from a company offering to "take over" your installation until you have confirmed who they are and what they are asking you to assume.
  4. Talk to a qualified attorney. A financed system that was never delivered is the strongest position a homeowner can be in when disputing a finance agreement. It is worth an hour of professional time.

Our guide to cancelling a solar contract before installation →

UCC Fixture Filings and Your Title

Many solar loans and most leases are secured by a UCC-1 fixture filing recorded against the property. That filing belongs to the lender or lease provider, not to Freedom Forever, so the bankruptcy does not remove it. If you sell or refinance, your title company will find it, and it generally has to be dealt with before closing.

  • For a loan, the filing is released when the loan is paid off, and you may need to request a UCC-3 termination in writing.
  • For a lease or PPA, the buyer either assumes the agreement or you buy it out before sale.
  • If the system was never activated and you are disputing the finance agreement, raise the fixture filing in the same dispute; a lender releasing the agreement should also release the filing.

Complete guide to UCC lien removal for solar panels →  |  Selling a home with solar panels →

Your Options as a Freedom Forever Customer

Option 1: Keep the system, manage the vendors yourself

If your system is installed, producing and financed by a solvent lender, the practical answer for most homeowners is to keep paying, register the equipment warranties, and line up a local installer for future service. Your economics have not changed; your service relationship has.

Option 2: Negotiate with your lease or loan provider

Lease providers left holding thousands of orphaned systems have an interest in keeping customers paying. Ask in writing what service arrangements they have made and whether any concession is available. For loans, a payoff or buyout may be worth pricing if you intend to sell the home.

Option 3: Dispute the finance agreement

Where the system was never delivered or activated, or where the sale involved documented misrepresentations, the FTC Holder Rule and state consumer-protection law may let you raise the seller's failures against the lender. This is a written, documented process with real deadlines, and it should be done with professional advice. How to get out of a solar panel contract →

Option 4: File a proof of claim

If Freedom Forever itself owes you money, see the section on claims below.

Option 5: Regulatory complaints

The Texas Attorney General has an open investigation into Freedom Forever's sales practices; other states may follow. Complaints to your state attorney general, and to the CFPB where a lender is involved, create a record and can prompt action even when the installer is gone. Find a solar panel lawyer →

Ownership Disclosure: SolarPanelExit.com and TRU Solar Cancellation share common ownership. TRU Solar Cancellation offers a Solar Exit Document Package for a one-time $450 fee. TRU is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. See our full ownership disclosure. Compare all solar cancellation companies →

Steps to Protect Yourself Now

Freedom Forever Customer Checklist
  1. Download everything from the customer portal while it still exists: contract, change orders, permits, inspection reports, production data, correspondence. Portals of liquidated companies go dark without notice.
  2. Identify your finance company from your statement and confirm your contract type: loan, lease, PPA or cash purchase.
  3. Register equipment warranties directly with each manufacturer and save the confirmations.
  4. Document the installation with dated photographs of the roof, conduit, inverter and any visible defects.
  5. Check your county records for a UCC-1 fixture filing and note who filed it.
  6. Confirm your system is enrolled with your utility and has permission to operate. If it does not, start with the utility, not the installer.
  7. Monitor the case through the case administrator's site for the trustee's contact details and any claims deadline.
  8. Watch for scams offering to take over your account, and verify any new servicer against your existing statements.
  9. Consult a qualified attorney if your system is not activated, if you were promised something that was not delivered, or if a lender is unresponsive to written notice.

Filing a Claim With the Trustee

In a Chapter 7 case, a trustee gathers the company's assets and distributes what is recovered to creditors in order of priority. If Freedom Forever owes you money directly, for example a deposit on a system that was never installed, a rebate or referral payment it promised, or the cost of a repair its workmanship warranty should have covered, you may be able to file a proof of claim.

  • Claims deadlines (bar dates) are set by the court and published on the case administrator's website along with the form and instructions.
  • Consumer claims are generally unsecured. In a liquidation of this size, unsecured recoveries are typically a small fraction of what is owed, and sometimes nothing.
  • Filing is worth doing if the amount is meaningful and the paperwork is straightforward; a bankruptcy attorney can tell you in a short consultation whether it is worth your time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Effectively, yes. Freedom Forever LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the District of Delaware on April 15, 2026, and according to the case administrator the case was converted to Chapter 7 liquidation effective August 7, 2026, with a Chapter 7 trustee appointed. Chapter 7 means the company's assets are being sold to pay creditors rather than the company continuing to operate.

Generally, yes. Most Freedom Forever customers financed through a separate lender or lease provider, such as Mosaic, GoodLeap or Sunrun, and that obligation runs to the finance company, not to Freedom Forever. The installer's bankruptcy generally does not cancel a loan or lease held by a separate company. We do not advise homeowners to stop making payments or breach contractual obligations. Consult a qualified attorney about your specific agreement.

Two different warranties are involved. Equipment warranties from the panel, inverter and battery manufacturers are issued by those manufacturers and generally survive the installer's bankruptcy. Freedom Forever's own workmanship warranty is a promise from a company now in Chapter 7 liquidation; it is unlikely to be honored except as an unsecured claim in the case, and recoveries in a liquidation are usually small. Results vary by individual situation.

Not automatically. If your system was installed and is producing, your finance agreement is generally with a separate lender and remains in force. If your system was never installed, never activated, or never passed inspection, you may have grounds to dispute the finance agreement with the lender under the FTC Holder Rule and state law. A qualified attorney can evaluate your specific contract. Our Freedom Forever cancellation guide →

If Freedom Forever owes you money, such as a deposit, a promised rebate, or the cost of a repair its warranty should have covered, you may be able to file a proof of claim with the Chapter 7 trustee. Claims deadlines are set by the court and published on the case administrator's site. Recoveries for unsecured creditors in a liquidation are typically small, so weigh the effort; an attorney can advise.

Contact your utility directly about interconnection and permission to operate; some utilities have agreed to proceed without the installer once local inspection has passed. Then put your lender on written notice that the system was never activated, and keep every record. A system that was never activated is the strongest fact pattern for disputing a finance agreement, and it should be raised with the lender in writing, not only with the bankrupt installer.

Need Help With a Freedom Forever Contract?

Get a free contract review to understand who you owe, what survives the liquidation, and what your options are.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Information about bankruptcy proceedings is based on publicly available reports and court records and may not reflect the most current status. Results vary by individual situation. We do not advise homeowners to stop making payments or breach contractual obligations. SolarPanelExit.com and TRU Solar Cancellation share common ownership. Consult a qualified attorney before taking action regarding your solar contract. See our Ownership Disclosure, Advertiser Disclosure, and Methodology.

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