Box Hill, apartment by apartment
Towers
Wikipedia says a 21st-century building boom brought high-rises to Box Hill, including Sky One at 36 storeys and 122 m, described as the tallest building outside central Melbourne.
Small homes
51.1% of Box Hill's occupied homes had two bedrooms and 16.0% had one. Only 22.0% were separate houses.
Renters in the majority
57.9% of homes were rented in 2021, almost double the 30.2% across Greater Melbourne. Victoria's rental heating and cooling standards land on a lot of Box Hill landlords.
The older Box Hill
eMelbourne says a housing peak came between 1923 and 1926, and the last orchards were subdivided after World War II. Whitehorse protects 790 heritage places with Heritage Overlays, so some Box Hill properties carry heritage permit rules too.
Before anyone quotes for an apartment
Ask the owners corporation for its rules and for any spots already approved for outdoor units. Find out whether the balcony, wall or roof you have in mind belongs to your lot or is common property, and what the rules say about changing it.
Check how the building is heated and cooled now. Consumer Affairs Victoria lists centralised building systems, common in apartments, among the grounds that can exempt a rental from the new standards.
Think about the people next door. In Victoria, cooling mustn't be audible inside a neighbour's habitable room after 11pm, or heating after 10pm. On a balcony beside someone's bedroom, the outdoor unit's sound level matters, and Mitsubishi Electric says lower noise figures on the energy label mean quieter running. Our noise and neighbours guide has the hours.
For Box Hill landlords
From 1 March 2027, a new lease, or one moving to month-to-month, needs an energy efficient fixed cooler in the main living area. For a non-ducted unit that means a cooling rating of 3 stars or more. When the main heater fails from that date, the replacement must be efficient and electric, with a heating rating of 2 stars or more.
One efficient reverse cycle split that meets both ratings covers the two rules. If the building's rules or a central system make it unreasonable, the regulations allow exemptions, so get the owners corporation's answer in writing. See our rental heating guide.
What we'd do
Our take for a Box Hill apartment
Get the owners corporation's answer first, in writing, with the outdoor unit's spot agreed. Then have an installer who does apartment work size a split for the living area and check the pipe run and the drain route. Solar Victoria says splits suit small apartments, and in a two-bedroom unit that's often the whole job.
