straita

Sustainability

Can I install solar panels in strata?

Short answer

Yes — you can install solar panels in NSW strata, but because the panels almost always go on the roof, which is common property shared by all owners, you need the owners corporation’s approval. That approval is often given through a by-law (frequently a common-property rights by-law where one owner gets exclusive use of part of the roof). Because solar counts as sustainability infrastructure, the approval can be passed at a lower voting threshold than the special resolution normally required for common-property changes.

Why the roof is the sticking point

Solar on an apartment building is trickier than on a free-standing house, because the roof and the external structure are common property owned jointly by everyone — not by the individual owner who wants the panels. Mounting panels, running cabling and penetrating the roof membrane all affect that shared property, so an individual owner can’t proceed without the owners corporation’s approval.

Individual solar vs a scheme-wide system

There are two common paths:

  • An individual owner’s panels — usually approved with a common-property rights by-law that covers where the panels go, who maintains them, and who carries the risk if the roof is affected.
  • A building-wide solar system — pursued as a scheme project for shared benefit (for example, powering common-area lighting and lifts), approved and funded by the owners corporation.

The easier approval path

Solar is sustainability infrastructure under NSW law. A change to common property would normally need a special resolution (75% support), but a sustainability infrastructure resolution passes unless more than half the votes cast are against it — a much lower bar, so a small group can’t easily block a reasonable proposal. Who pays for installation and upkeep is generally settled in the approval and any by-law; treat cost and maintenance as matters for your scheme to set rather than fixed rules.

Getting the approval on record

A solar approval only holds if the resolution and any by-law are put and recorded correctly. Straita can run a self-managed scheme’s solar approval from motion to minute — preparing the resolution, putting it to the vote, and recording the decision and the by-law — so the panels sit on a clean, defensible approval.

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