VIC: Can the committee refuse a request for thermally efficient windows?

Question: Would changing old aluminium windows for thermally efficient windows fall under the category of sustainability? Can the committee reasonable refuse sustainability upgrades like this?

Our 1980s building has aluminium windows with thin glass that are not in line with current building code standards. I would like to replace my old windows with thermally efficient windows and draft-proof window frames. Does this work fall under the banner of sustainability. If so, would it be unreasonable for the committee to refuse under current sustainability rules for body corporate environments?

Answer: While window upgrades are not specifically mentioned, it stands to reason that windows which will ‘reduce a reliance on non-sustainable energy sources’ would constitute a sustainability item.

In 2021, the Owners Corporations Act was updated to include section 138B(2):

2. An owners corporation must not make rules that unreasonably prohibit the installation of sustainability items on the exterior of a lot.
3. For the purposes of subsection (2):
   1. a prohibition on the installation of a sustainability item only on aesthetic grounds is taken to be unreasonable; and
   2. a requirement that the location of, or the works involved in installing, the sustainability item must not impede reasonable access to, or the use of, any other lot or the common property is taken to be reasonable.
4. In this section: sustainability item means any thing that eliminates or reduces a reliance on non-sustainable energy sources and includes:
   1. a solar hot water system; and
   2. solar energy panels; and
   3. a roof with colours having a particular solar absorption value.

While window upgrades are not specifically mentioned, it stands to reason that windows which will ‘reduce a reliance on non-sustainable energy sources’ would constitute a sustainability item under this section.

If your rules prohibit upgrades on aesthetic grounds, to have your window upgrades exempted you could share this perspective with your committee. If best efforts are made to match the new windows to the existing ones, your committee would have even less grounds to refuse.

To further support this, 2023 updates to the National Construction Code focused on energy efficiency and reduction of energy usage in buildings, extending to windows. This means that when replacement works are being considered by your owners corporation, thermally efficient windows will be a requirement.

We encourage our committees to support proactive requests for sustainability improvements wherever possible. Here’s hoping your committee sees it the same way.

The Knight
Email
P: 03 9509 3144