Privacy film for an apartment facing another tower
When the building across the street looks straight into your living room, film on the glass can stop the view in and still let the daylight through. In a strata building, how that film looks from outside matters as much as how it works inside, so that is where we start.
Four privacy films, and how each looks from the street
Your committee and your neighbours see the outside of the glass, so each film here is described three ways: what the tower opposite sees by day, what it sees at night, and what the building looks like from the footpath.
| Film | By day | At night | From the street |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Frosted bandLiving rooms, balcony doors | Stops the straight-across view where the band sits. Sky and light come in over the top. | A lit room glows through the band and shows clearly above it. | A pale strip across the glass. |
| B. Full frostBedrooms, bathrooms | Light comes in. No view in, and no view out. | A glow and soft shapes close to the glass, no detail. | An even, pale pane. |
| C. Reflective filmRarely, in a tower | A mirror to the tower while it is brighter outside. You still see out. | It reverses. The room shows, and you see yourself in the glass. | A mirrored pane, unlike the glass around it. |
| D. Low-reflective tintThe panes beside A and B | Takes the edge off the view in. Not privacy on its own. | No privacy. | Slightly deeper glass, close to the rest of the building. |
What your strata committee will ask
The NSW Government's strata renovation rules sort work in a unit into three kinds. Cosmetic work needs no approval, but only when it does not affect the outside of the lot; blinds and curtains are among the examples. Minor renovations need approval from the owners corporation, and major renovations, which include changes to the outside, need a special resolution at a general meeting.
Film appears on none of those lists, and a scheme's by-laws can add items of their own. Privacy film is also the kind of film people can see from the street. So the answer for your building sits in your by-laws and with your committee, and we suggest putting the question to them before the install, not after.
Whether your film needs approval is the committee's call, and we will not guess it for you. What we can do is hand you everything they need to decide.
What we give you for the committee
- The panes, by room and by side of the building
- The 3M film named for each pane
- How each film looks from outside, by day and at night
- The band height, if you choose a band
- Film on the inside face only, and removable
- Who does the install, and the access it needs
The three kinds, NSW strata rules
| Cosmetic work | No approval, if it does not touch the outside or the structure |
|---|---|
| Minor renovation | More than half the votes at a meeting, or the committee if a by-law hands it the decision |
| Major renovation | A special resolution at a general meeting |
Privacy by day and at night
Every privacy film that lets light in depends on which side of the glass is brighter. By day the street and the sky outshine your living room, so the tower opposite sees the film, not the room behind it.
After dark, with the lamps on, that flips. A frosted pane shows a glow and soft shapes near the glass. A reflective pane shows the room itself, and from inside it turns into a dark mirror. A blind or a curtain is still what covers a window at night.
What film changes is the daytime. The blind can stay open from morning to evening, and the room keeps its daylight while the building opposite loses its view in.
Where the tower opposite looks from
The right film, and the right band height, depend on whether the windows across the street are level with yours, above them or below. We stand where you sit and look back at the building before anything is chosen.
Level with you
A frosted band across the middle of the glass takes the straight-across view. Its height is set from where you sit and stand in the room, not from a standard line.
Above you
From higher up they look down through the whole height of the glass, into the floor, the table and the sofa. A band at eye height misses most of that, so these panes often want frost higher up, or all over.
Below you
From lower down the view in is mostly ceiling, and anyone standing close to the glass. The lower and middle glass matters, and the top can stay clear for the sky.
A unit on the schedule
A privacy job in a tower is rarely every window. It is usually the two or three panes the building opposite can see, with the rest left clear or given a light tint so the room still matches from outside.
The quote is written from this schedule, one pane at a time, with the film for each. The amount of glass, the film on it and getting to it are what move the price, and in a tower getting to it includes the lift booking and where the van can park.
Heat or glare in the same room? Heat and glare in a unit goes on the same schedule.
Example schedule, one unit
- W1Living room, balcony door, left: Privacy
Band height marked on the measure, from the sofa.
- W2Living room, balcony door, right: Privacy
Frosted band, matched to W1.
- W3Living room, fixed pane above the door: Keep the look
Left clear. This is where the daylight comes in.
- W4Bedroom 1, window: Privacy
Full frost.
- W5Ensuite, patterned obscure pane: Privacy
Textured glass: we look at this pane on the measure.
Building: lift booking and parking through the building manager. Film details to the strata committee first.
Unit privacy done badly
Reflective film for privacy
Reflective film chosen for privacy works until the lamps go on, then shows the room. It also changes how the building looks from the street.
The band at a stock height
Set without looking back at the building, the band hides a strip of glass the neighbours were never looking through.
Film first, committee second
If the film needed approval and never had it, the owner can end up paying to take it off.
Every pane frosted
The whole room turns milky when only the panes facing the tower needed it. The light stays and the view out goes.
Questions about privacy film in a unit
Will the people opposite see in at night?
With the lamps on, to some degree, yes, whichever film you choose, as long as it lets light through. Frost shows a glow and shapes; reflective film shows the room. Keep the blind for night, and let the film do the daytime.
Do I need strata approval for privacy film?
We cannot answer that for your building, and no general rule can either. Your by-laws may name window film or window coverings, and NSW lets each scheme add to its lists. Ask your strata manager or committee. We give you the panes, the film and how it looks from outside to take to them.
I rent the unit. Can I have privacy film put on?
Ask your landlord first. In a strata building it is the owner who goes to the owners corporation, so they will want the film details too. Film can be taken off later, and it is worth agreeing in writing who does that when the lease ends.
Can I still see out?
By day, through reflective film and a light tint, yes. Through frost, no: it lets the light in and stops the view both ways. A band keeps the view out above and below it.
Other units in our building already have film. Can ours match?
Tell us which units and which side of the building, and we note it on the schedule so the film is chosen to match. One look across the building is also one decision for the committee, not one per unit.
Tower suburbs we measure
In North Sydney, St Leonards, Chatswood and Hornsby most homes are flats or apartments, and in North Sydney new towers are still going up along Miller Street beside the older ones.
- St Leonards and North Sydney
- Chatswood
- Lane Cove
- Lindfield, Killara and Gordon
- Wahroonga and Hornsby
Privacy on a house instead: street-facing sidelights and bedrooms. For the committee in more detail: film in a North Shore apartment.
Flats and apartments, share of homes
| North Sydney | 84.4% |
|---|---|
| St Leonards | 96.2% |
| Chatswood | 67.6% |
| Waitara | 89.3% |
| Hornsby | 59.1% |
| Lane Cove | 62.4% |
| Gordon | 48.3% |
| Lindfield | 44.3% |
Source: ABS Census 2021 QuickStats, each suburb's summary.
Reference
- Strata renovation rules, NSW Government. The three kinds of work in a strata unit, which need approval, and the risk of paying to put unapproved work back.
- Strata by-laws, NSW Government. How by-laws are made and changed, and where to get a copy for your building.
- ABS Census 2021 QuickStats, Australian Bureau of Statistics. The share of occupied homes in each suburb that are flats or apartments.