Austria facilitates balcony power plants
From September, Austrian homeowners will find it easier to overcome neighbors' resistance to small solar panels on balconies and terraces.
(Image: Daniel AJ Sokolov)
Austria is lowering the legal hurdles for balcony power plants, i.e. the installation of plug-in solar panels on balconies and terraces for exclusive use. From September 1, other members of a condominium owners' association will no longer be able to reject the installation of photovoltaics in principle. The National Council has passed a corresponding amendment to the Condominium Act; the Federal Council's approval, which is still pending, is considered certain. However, the Austrian approach does not go as far as the recently adopted facilitation of balcony power plants in Germany.
The main difference is that in Germany, both homeowners and tenants are entitled to approval for plug-in solar devices. In Austria, only apartment owners are granted this right under the Austrian Condominium Act (WEG). The new regulation does not apply to tenants, nor does it apply to owners of condominiums in simple co-ownership or the now rare condominium owners (registered before 1880). Condominium ownership has been possible since 1975 and allows the granting of a right in rem to use a property exclusively. In classic simple co-ownership of a condominium, this right is not of a real but of a contractual nature; the WEG does not apply to this.
If a condominium owner in Austria wishes to install solar panels on the building, they generally require the consent of all other members of the community of owners. As of September 1, simplifications will apply to plug-in (!) solar panels with a maximum output of 800 watts when installed on exclusively used balconies (or terraces) for connection to existing (!) sockets to supply the apartment with electricity. In such cases, the other owners may only refuse their consent if the installation would damage the building, impair interests of the other apartment owners worthy of protection, impair the external appearance of the building or entail danger. The latter is possible, for example, in the case of overloaded power lines, while glare from the photovoltaic panels would be an impairment of interests worthy of protection.
Court can replace consent more easily
If someone refuses consent without such reasons, the local court can replace the consent. This was already possible in the past, but applicants had to show that they had an important interest or that their project was customary. These requirements will no longer apply from September, as photovoltaic panels will then count as privileged installations, just like water or landline connections, for example. This will make it easier to obtain corresponding court decisions.
The amendment to the law also sets a deadline: if another owner does not respond within two months, their silence is deemed to be consent (provided they have been informed of this legal consequence). This deadline rule already applies to solar installations on terraced houses. There is no entitlement to balcony power plants if the connection to an existing communal system (usually on the roof) would be possible, or if the planned system is larger than the electricity consumption of the apartment requires. This means, for example, that there is no entitlement to a balcony power plant for charging an electric car.
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Procedurally, the legislative resolution is out of line. Originally, one MP from each of the two governing parties, the ÖVP and the Greens, tabled a joint motion that was merely intended to correct a grammatical error in the existing law. It was not until the plenary debate that the two parliamentary groups tabled an amendment to their original motion containing the substantive changes. This was passed with the votes of the ÖVP, SPÖ, Greens and NEOS.
Austria must rapidly triple solar power
Since the beginning of the year, solar installations in Austria have been exempt from the 20 percent VAT. The rise in electricity prices has also reduced the amortization period for balcony power plants to five to six years, says the VKI (Association for Consumer Information). This makes the investment more attractive for private households.
Nevertheless, the easing of restrictions for balcony power plants in condominiums that will come into force in September will not be enough to close the expansion gap. Austria's electricity grid is to be climate-neutral from 2030; according to the integrated grid infrastructure plan, this will require 21 gigawatts peak (GWp) of solar cells. Ten years later, it will even have to be 41 GWp. The industry association Photovoltaic Austria points out that after decades of effort, only 6.3 GWp have been installed across Austria; this amount must therefore be more than tripled in less than five years to achieve the expansion target.
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