Does a development need to protect sunlight to a neighbour's living-room windows?
Yes. A residential development in the ACT needs to provide reasonable solar access to dwellings on adjoining residential blocks, including their main living spaces. However, this does not mean every neighbouring living-room window must remain completely unshaded. The proposal is assessed against the applicable solar-access provisions, including the solar building envelope.
Yes. The design needs to consider how much sunlight neighbouring homes will continue to receive, particularly to their main living areas.
Some additional overshadowing may occur as a result of development. The requirement is for reasonable solar access, rather than guaranteeing that a neighbour's living-room windows will receive exactly the same amount of sunlight as before.
For residential development, one of the main controls used to protect neighbouring solar access is the solar building envelope. It limits the building form in relation to the northern boundary of an adjoining residential block.
Example: If a proposed dual occupancy is immediately north of an adjoining house, its height and position may need to be designed so that it complies with the applicable solar building envelope and provides reasonable solar access to the adjoining dwelling.
Reference: Residential Zones Policy – Assessment Outcome 15 - Territory Plan 2023 | Notifiable instruments
Link on the answer: https://www.legislation.act.gov.au/ni/2023-540/Current
Where this question is kept
| Dual Occupancy Q&A | #557 | agrees | 01/09/2026 |