You’ve got a pigeon problem on your apartment balcony. Or birds nesting in the eaves of your strata complex. Or maybe you manage a retirement village and the bird situation in the common areas has become a genuine daily headache. You want to fix it. But then someone mentions ‘strata approval’ and the whole thing gets complicated.
This article is for anyone navigating the intersection of bird control and strata living in NSW. We’ll walk through how strata ownership actually works in relation to bird proofing, what typically requires approval, how to move through the process efficiently, and what the right solution looks like for different situations.
Fair warning: this isn’t legal advice. Strata schemes in NSW are governed by the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and individual by-laws, which vary. For specific legal questions about your scheme, consult a strata lawyer or your owners corporation manager. What we can give you is the practical perspective from ten-plus years of doing this work across Sydney strata buildings – what actually happens, what actually works, and where people get stuck unnecessarily.
The Ownership Map: Who Owns What in a Strata Scheme?
This is the foundation of everything, so it’s worth being clear. In a NSW strata scheme, there are three types of property:
- Lot property – the individual lot you own (your apartment, unit, or townhouse)
- Common property – everything owned collectively by the owners corporation (external facades, rooftops, shared areas, structural elements, stairwells, gardens)
- Exclusive use common property – common property allocated for the exclusive use of a specific lot (often balconies, car spaces, storage areas)
Why does this matter for bird proofing? Because who is responsible for the bird problem – and who is responsible for fixing it – depends on where the birds are.
Birds on Your Balcony
Balconies in strata schemes are almost always either exclusive use common property or part of the lot itself, depending on the scheme’s by-laws. In either case, the occupant typically has responsibility for keeping the balcony in good condition – which includes managing pest birds.
However: if you want to install netting on the external face of the balcony (which attaches to the building facade), that installation involves common property. You will almost certainly need owners corporation approval.
Birds in the Common Areas
If birds are nesting in shared eaves, on the building facade, in common garden areas, on shared rooftops, or in communal spaces – that’s the owners corporation’s problem to solve, using strata levy funds. As an individual lot owner, you can bring it to the strata manager or committee, but you can’t unilaterally install solutions in common areas.
Birds in Your Roof Space
This is where it gets complicated. The roof structure is typically common property. If birds are accessing your ceiling cavity through a gap in the eaves, the entry point is common property, even if the birds are in your roof. Getting that resolved usually requires involving the strata manager or committee.
So What Do You Actually Need Approval For?
Most things that involve physical installation on or modification of common property require owners corporation approval. In practical bird-proofing terms, this typically includes:
- Balcony netting attached to the building facade or balcony structure
- Netting or spikes installed on external building elements (eaves, ledges, roofline)
- Any work that requires access to common roof areas
- Permanent fixtures visible from outside the building
What typically doesn’t require approval:
- Temporary deterrents within your lot (decoys, reflective tape – not that they work, but they’re your business)
- Minor cleaning or maintenance within your exclusive use area
The most efficient approach – and we say this based on experience, not just theory – is to obtain a professional assessment and written quote first, then present it to the strata manager or committee. A specific, documented recommendation from a professional carries significantly more weight than a general complaint about birds. It gives the committee something to approve, rather than a problem to deliberate.
How to Get Bird Proofing Approved Through Strata in NSW
Here’s the realistic process:
Step 1: Document the Problem
Photos of nesting, droppings, and any property damage. Date-stamped if possible. This creates a paper trail that supports your case and establishes that the issue is ongoing and causing harm.
Step 2: Get a Professional Assessment
We do free site visits. Use that. The outcome is a written assessment of the problem and a specific scope of work – what needs to be installed, where, using what materials, and for what cost. This is your document for the approval process.
Step 3: Submit to the Strata Manager or Committee
Frame the submission in terms the committee responds to: liability (bird droppings as a health and safety concern on common property), property damage, and specific compliant solution. Most strata committees are not hostile to bird proofing – they just need a clear proposal. Ambiguity is the enemy of strata approvals.
Step 4: Get It in Writing
Once approved, confirm the scope of work in writing before installation. This protects you, protects the scheme, and ensures everyone is aligned on what’s being installed and where.
For most residential installations – balcony netting, spike installation on a specific ledge – this process takes one to four weeks depending on the committee’s meeting schedule. It’s not the barrier people fear it is, once you have the right documentation.
Retirement Villages and Large Residential Complexes: A Different Problem
We work with several retirement villages in Sydney, and the bird control challenge is different in scale and character from an individual apartment.
Retirement villages typically have large common outdoor areas – courtyards, garden paths, dining terraces – that are heavily used by residents. Bird droppings in these spaces are not just a nuisance; they’re a genuine slip-and-fall risk for elderly residents. This isn’t hypothetical – several residential aged care operators have documented bird-related incidents in their risk registers.
The model that works best for large sites is a formal contract: scheduled quarterly visits, ongoing monitoring of exclusion points, and a documented pest management record. This serves both the practical purpose of maintaining a bird-free environment and the compliance purpose of demonstrating active management for insurance and regulatory purposes.
One of the retirement villages we work with – managed by a body corporate in Ashfield – had previously used a general pest control company that was treating birds as an afterthought alongside their rodent and insect program. The bird problem persisted because the solutions were ad hoc. A dedicated bird control program with proper mesh installation across the common outdoor areas resolved it permanently, with quarterly maintenance visits to check and maintain the exclusion points.
The Strata Manager’s Perspective
We’ve spoken with strata managers across Sydney who tell us consistently that bird complaints are among the most common issues they receive – and among the least well-resolved. The typical pattern is a resident complaining, the committee not prioritising it, the problem escalating, and then a much larger reactive intervention being needed.
Proactive strata committees who establish a bird control program – particularly in buildings with known pigeon or myna populations – spend significantly less over the life of the building than those who respond to each incident reactively. The maths are straightforward. The challenge is getting a committee to think in lifecycle terms rather than financial-year terms.
For strata managers reading this: we’re happy to work directly with you and your committee. We can attend strata meetings if required, provide formal written reports suitable for minutes, and design programs that fit within levy budgets. We’ve done it many times.
A Note on NSW Law and Protected Species in Strata Contexts
Several native bird species nest in urban environments and are protected under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. This includes many parrot species, swallows, and others. If a protected species has an active nest on your strata property – eggs or chicks present – it cannot be disturbed. The nest must be left until the breeding cycle is complete.
This creates awkward situations. We’ve had cases where a nest appears mid-strata-approval-process. The advice is straightforward: don’t touch it, document it, and wait. We can advise on timing and assist with the proofing work once the nest is vacated.
Feral pigeons, Indian mynas, and starlings are not protected and can be managed without wildlife licences. We’ll always confirm species before any intervention.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I install bird netting on my strata balcony without approval?
If the netting attaches to or modifies common property (including external balcony structures), you will typically need owners corporation approval. Installing without approval risks being required to remove the installation at your own cost. Get the assessment and the approval – it’s a straightforward process with the right documentation.
Who pays for bird control in a strata scheme?
If birds are on common property, the owners corporation is responsible for funding the solution from levies. If the problem is within your lot or exclusive use area, you would typically bear the cost (though this is sometimes subject to by-laws and the specific circumstances). Damage to common property caused by birds is the owners corporation’s responsibility to repair.
What if my strata committee won’t act on a bird problem in common areas?
You can raise it formally at a general meeting and put a motion to the vote. If the health and safety risk is significant, you may be able to invoke relevant provisions of the Strata Schemes Management Act. Consulting a strata lawyer or the NSW Fair Trading strata team is worthwhile for persistent disputes.
Can bird netting be made visually acceptable for a strata scheme?
Yes. Professional netting in black or charcoal is highly discreet and is the standard approach for strata installations. We’ve installed balcony netting on buildings where visual impact was a key concern – properly installed, it is barely visible from street level. We can provide photos of comparable installations to your committee.
Do you provide ongoing contracts for strata buildings?
Yes. We offer quarterly maintenance contracts for strata schemes and large residential complexes, including documented site reports suitable for strata meeting records. Ongoing contracts typically include a warranty on exclusion points and priority response for any follow-up issues.
Start With the Assessment
Whether you’re a resident frustrated by balcony pigeons, a strata manager dealing with a building-wide problem, or a body corporate committee looking to get ahead of a persistent issue – the process starts with a proper site assessment.
We do them at no cost, we work around your strata approval timeline, and we’ve navigated this process across dozens of Sydney strata buildings. We know what the documentation needs to look like, and we’re happy to liaise directly with your strata manager or committee if that helps move things forward.
Bird problems in strata settings are solvable. They’re not the bureaucratic nightmare people sometimes assume. They just need the right approach.
📞 Book a Free Site Assessment: thexbird.com.au | Call 61 420 816 286
Bring us the problem. We’ll help you navigate the process – and fix it permanently.