‘Ugly’ solar panels in Gold Coast gated community centre of bitter Catalina Park body corporate spat

A homeowner in a gated Gold Coast community has been told to move his solar panels from the front of his property for an utterly bizarre reason.

A HOMEOWNER in a gated Gold Coast community has been told to pull down his ”ugly” solar panels from the front of his property because they are hard on the eye for people relaxing in the pool across the road.

Daniel Delid spent $5000 installing 12 solar panels at the front and back of his Upper Coomera townhouse after getting written permission from the body corporate at Catalina Park in December.

Two months after they were put up, he was told to take down the six panels at the front or move them to another part of his home because they did not meet bylaws. He claims he was told that if he did not remove the panels, the body corporate would.

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Daniel Delid paid thousands to have the panels installed. Picture: Glenn Hampson

However, Mr Delid says there is no more room at the back of his house and an installation expert told him there was not enough sun elsewhere for the panels.

“I just thought they were a good idea because of the Government subsidy. I could save money and be environmentally friendly,” said Mr Delid, a registered nurse.

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“I was told they wouldn’t work if they were anywhere else on the house because of the shade of the trees. The cost is around a few thousand dollars in labour alone. It is a bit stressful.

“They (body corporate) didn’t tell me where I had to place them in their approval letter. After I got the complaint I called them. They told me ‘yes, you had the approval but they are visible to common property and ruins the aesthetic’.”

A spokeswoman for the body corporate yesterday said a number of complaints had been made about the panels. She also claims the committee had tried to work with Mr Delid and organised an adjudication hearing, but Mr Delid did not show up.

The offending solar panels. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“The position he has placed them is absolutely ugly, we will see solar panels everywhere if this becomes the precedent,” the spokeswoman said. “The problem is the aesthetics of the whole complex, there are all identical looking buildings. It is a matter of protecting everybody’s investment. We never disallowed him to put them on, we just wanted them in a place that was aesthetically correct.

“Lots of people have said how ugly they look. You can see them from the street as soon as you come into the precinct.”

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The spokeswoman claims the committee wanted the panels to be installed under the guidance of the body corporate manager, to ensure they were out of sight, but Mr Delid installed them as soon as he got permission. They also offered him a payment plan for the removal, she said.

The disagreement is yet to be decided by the Queensland Body Corporate and Community Management Commissioner.

There’s been no resolution yet. Picture: Glenn Hampson

According to submissions made to the body corporate watchdog, Mr Delid, 27, applied for permission to install the panels on his roof in November. The committee approved on December 3.

However, in February the committee took issue with the installation because the panels could be seen from common property — the street and the estate’s pool.

The committee argued the placement contravened the body corporate bylaws. The bylaws mention structures such as fences, pergolas, screens and external blinds or awnings and hanging clothes, but do not specifically mention solar panels.

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Residents at the Catalina Park Village at Upper Coomera can see the solar panels from the pool.

“Aesthetically, they aren’t amazing but they are saving me heaps of money and are good for the environment,” Mr Delid said yesterday. “I don’t see the issue with it, you can hardly see them.”

In a second letter to Mr Delid in May, the body corporate committee referred Mr Delid to its right to access the lot and remove the panels itself — at a cost to him.

On May 27, the committee sent another warning and gave Mr Delid seven days to remove the panels.

In his submission to the body corporate, Mr Delid said he felt intimidated and was concerned that the panels would be relocated by the committee while he was at work.

Now the issue is before the BCCM Commissioner an interim order to halt any action on the solar panels is in place.

A final order on the fate of the panels is expected in the coming months.