The Zinc Building in Alexandria, Sydney illustrates what can be done. “What is the incentive for anyone who owns an investment property they don’t even rent out to make green upgrades in an apartment building?” ‘Financial benefit from doing the right thing’ “Investors typically just want the money,” Sherry says. In Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia, the rate is closer to one in five. Only owners can vote on strata committees, and in many cases the interests of those who live in their apartments and investors are at odds when it comes to improvements that will reduce emissions, but cost money in the short term.Ī little over one in 10 apartments across Australia are left vacant by investors. Sherry says the strata system – collective management of common parts of the property – often works against optimal decision-making. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning And for those who rent – about half the people who live in apartments across the country – the barriers can be insurmountable.Ī conservative count in the 2020 Australasian Strata Insights report by the UNSW City Futures Research Centre found there were 340,601 apartment blocks across Australia, home to 2.2 million people. The hurdles facing apartment-dwellers who want to use electric vehicles, install solar panels or switch from gas to electric for cooking and heating are not just financial, says Associate Prof Cathy Sherry, of the University of New South Wales law and justice faculty. There’s all these disincentives at the moment for EVs and it’s not a sustainable position,” Stewart says. Stewart rents her apartment – one of 25 in a block built in the 60s – so her property manager would have to check with the strata management committee whether she was allowed to install the plug, before asking the owner for permission. But since making the request in December she has heard nothing, despite following up twice.
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