straita

Sustainability

Can strata block me from installing solar?

Short answer

A strata scheme does have a say, because solar usually goes on the roof, which is common property — so approval is required and it can be refused in some cases. But NSW law now leans towards enabling sustainability upgrades: solar can be approved at a lower voting threshold than a normal common-property change, which makes it harder for a scheme to stand in the way of a reasonable proposal. If a sensible solar request is knocked back, the owner has avenues to pursue approval or to challenge an unreasonable refusal.

Why the scheme gets a say at all

Because the roof and external structure are common property owned by all owners jointly, an individual owner can’t install solar unilaterally — the owners corporation’s approval is needed. That is a genuine gate, and a scheme can decline a proposal, particularly where there are real concerns about the roof structure, waterproofing, capacity or safety.

But the law makes blocking harder

Solar is sustainability infrastructure under NSW law, and the approval route was deliberately eased. A change to common property would normally need a special resolution (75% support); a sustainability infrastructure resolution instead passes unless more than half the votes cast are against it. That lower bar exists precisely so a small group of objectors can’t casually block a reasonable green upgrade.

If a reasonable proposal is refused

An owner whose sensible solar proposal is knocked back is not necessarily at a dead end:

  • The proposal can be re-put as a sustainability infrastructure resolution at the lower threshold.
  • An owners corporation must not unreasonably refuse a proposal of this kind, and a refusal that looks unreasonable can be taken further.
  • Unresolved disputes about strata decisions can ultimately go to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).

The precise grounds and process for challenging a refusal are matters to check against the current Act and Fair Trading guidance for your situation — treat the above as the general shape, not a guarantee of outcome.

Turning a “no” into a clean “yes”

Often a refusal is really about a proposal that wasn’t put or documented well. Straita can run a self-managed scheme’s solar approval properly — framing it as a sustainability infrastructure resolution, putting it to the vote at the right threshold, and recording the decision — so a reasonable proposal gets a fair, well-documented hearing rather than an easy brush-off.

Primary sources