Every roof has a written agreement
No node goes on a roof without a signed agreement with whoever controls it: the owner, the housing authority, a cooperative’s board or, for some homes, the resident who owns the house. Handshake arrangements work until the building is sold, and then the network loses the node and sometimes the equipment too.
LoTek’s standard agreement fits on two pages. Stewards may adapt it, but the core terms below should stay.
What the agreement covers
- What is installed, where, and how it is fixed: non-penetrating mounts wherever possible, and no holes in a roof membrane without the owner’s written consent.
- Access: when installers may come, how much notice they give and who holds keys or codes.
- Power: whose supply the node uses, and how the network repays the cost if the owner asks. A Stoop uses about $10 of electricity a year.
- Insurance: the network’s liability cover, with the owner named as an additional insured on request.
- Removal: the network removes its equipment within thirty days of a written request, at its own cost, and leaves the roof as it found it.
- Succession: the agreement passes to a new owner unless either side ends it in writing.
Asking
Most agreements start with a knock on the door. Go in pairs, wear your network badge, and keep it short. Stewards in several cities use some version of this opening:
“Hi, we’re neighbors from the network committee. We’re putting small antennas on a few roofs so the block can share a connection, and yours has one of the best views on the street. Would you kindly let us take a look at it some time this week?”
Leave a printed sheet with the agreement, photographs of a typical installation and the stewards’ names. Never pressure anyone. A neighbor who says no this year often says yes next year, once the roofs around them are lit.
Renters and landlords
Renters can host a node only with the landlord’s written consent, because the roof is the landlord’s. Where a landlord will not answer, do not install. The legal basics playbook covers the narrow cases where federal rules protect antennas on property a resident controls; they rarely extend to a shared roof.
Large landlords are worth approaching as landlords, with a single agreement for all of their buildings in the area. Several LoTek networks have one agreement covering dozens of roofs.
When a building changes hands
Rooftops stewards keep a list of every agreement with its renewal date, and check property records for sales every quarter. When a building is sold, write to the new owner within a month, enclose the existing agreement and ask them to confirm it. Most do. If one does not, plan the node’s removal before you are asked.