Owners corporation roles
An Owners Corporation (OC) manages the common property of a residential, commercial, retail, industrial or mixed-use property development. In most cases you must get approval from your OC to install solar for your apartment.
Your OC can make decisions with you and other owners through voting and ballots. Your OC must pass a special resolution if you are planning to receive funding through the Solar for Apartments Program. Basic requirements for voting and ballots are set out in the Owners Corporation Act 2006. Guidance on these requirements is outlined on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website and in The Fitzroy Legal Service Handbook.
Solar Victoria will provide you with resources, including a template notice of ballot, to help your OC vote on a special resolution.
The Consumer Affairs Victoria website also has information on OCs and their roles and responsibilities, as well as information on purchasing solar panels.
Dealing with owners corporations
The City of Port Phillip has advice, including information for renters, on how you can approach your OC about solar. You can access their toolkit here. Their website also has a downloadable guide on installing solar for your apartment.
The Yarra Energy Foundation has a detailed guide that includes a step-by-step guide on installing solar on apartments, considerations for the type of system to install and how you can rally support to install solar and how to work with OCs and strata managers. This guide was developed through consultation with key stakeholders, including Solar Victoria, and funded through Sustainability Victoria.
Advice on solar products and retailers
Our Solar Hub is a great place to start to learn about questions you should ask your solar retailer and what to look for in your solar quote.
You should also check out the City of Yarra for some great resources on how your apartment can benefit from solar power and other sustainability upgrades. Their website has plenty of resources including webinar recordings and downloadable guides.
The City of Merri-bek also has some information on their zero carbon website on how you can make your apartment more sustainable.
In addition, talking to a Solar Victoria authorised solar retailer directly is where you can get the best advice for your specific situation. Our authorised retailers are New Energy Tech Approved Sellers who are committed to strengthened consumer protection standards for solar systems.
We recommend seeking at least three quotes from authorised solar retailers for a similar size system and reading product reviews online before deciding on a retailer. You'll then be able to compare price, quality, warranties and customer reviews in multiple quotes.
We are offering funding to eligible owner corporations on behalf of residents for eligible buildings in Victoria. See Solar for Apartments for more information.
Solar for Apartments
The Solar for Apartments program will reduce the upfront cost of installing solar PV on apartment buildings, by providing successful applicants grants of up to $2,800 per apartment.
Solar systems for apartment buildings
Learn more about the different types of solar systems eligible for apartments.
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