What Hurstville homes look like
A high-rise centre
Hurstville mixes houses, medium-density flats and high-density apartment buildings, and high-rise residential towers dominate the commercial core near the station. The suburb is the administrative centre of Georges River Council.
Apartments, mostly rented
At the 2021 Census, 61.4% of Hurstville's homes were flats or apartments and 30.0% separate houses. 47.4% of homes were rented.
An old railway suburb
The station opened in 1884 and the municipality followed in 1887. Italianate houses such as Gladwyn, from 1893, and Yarra-Mundi, from 1897, are heritage-listed.
Compact
Hurstville covers about 4.2 km2, 16 km south of the CBD, at around 75 m above sea level.
Getting a split into a Hurstville apartment
Read the by-laws
The NSW exempt development rules allow an outdoor unit on the floor of a balcony, but strata by-laws can limit where and how units go. Find out what yours say about placement, pipes and colours.
Ask the owners corporation
NSW counts a new reverse cycle air conditioner as a minor renovation: more than 50% of the votes cast at a strata meeting, or the committee's approval where a by-law allows it. Anything that changes the outside of the building can need a special resolution.
Then get quotes
Give each installer the approved location. Ask about the outdoor unit's noise rating, because a quieter model is easier on the neighbours.
Renting? Different first step
You'll need the lease to allow it or the landlord's written permission, because drilling through a wall isn't one of the minor changes NSW landlords can't unreasonably refuse.
Noise in a tower
NSW's Noise Control Regulation 2026 restricts the hours a home air conditioner can run when it can be heard in a room of someone else's home. The EPA says the 2026 changes extended the permitted hours and lifted the restriction during severe or extreme heatwaves. Mitsubishi Electric says the noise numbers on the energy label are the units' sound power levels, and lower is quieter. In a building where the next balcony is close, compare those numbers. Our noise guide has more.
What we'd do
What we'd tell a Hurstville unit owner
Get the strata yes in writing, with the outdoor unit's spot agreed, before you collect quotes. Then pick a reverse cycle split sized for the room, with a low noise rating on the outdoor unit. Look for an installer who works in strata towers all the time and knows how to run pipes neatly. Licence-checked installers near Hurstville who do apartment jobs can see your request, and only the one who takes it gets your details. Should nobody near Hurstville take it within 48 hours, installers in the rest of New South Wales may see it too.
