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Satellite Dishes in a Privately Managed Development

“I recently installed a satellite dish on my property and now the Management Company wants me to remove it! Why?”

Satellite dishes are a great source of frustration for many Owners Management Companies and are a divisive topic of discussion for many residents in OMC’s. Some view them as “monstrosities” whilst others regard their installation as essential for the enjoyment of their property!

There are a number of means by which the OMC can deny consent to install a Satellite Dish to your property. Generally speaking OMC’s will usually contain within their published house rules a proviso that the installation and/or erection of satellite dishes is specifically not allowed under any circumstances.

Commonly, house rules are usually based on the lease for the property. The “Covenants by the Lessee” contained within your lease clearly set out the rules under which the property must be held by the Lessee (Owner). Following are a number of covenants which we have taken from a single random lease.

the Lessee shall;

• Not erect any external wireless of television aerial, satellite dish or other like instrument on the Premises or the Licensed Areas or the external wall of the premises;

Your lease may not contain a covenant such as this; however, there are usually other covenants which refer to unauthorised development or alterations to the property. The following have been taken from the same lease as the previous covenant: –

the Lessee shall;

• Not make any structural alterations or additions to the Premises and the Licenced Areas without the prior approval in writing of the Lessor which approval may be granted subject to such conditions as the Lessor may see fit to impose;
• Not decorate the exterior or alter the external appearance of any of the buildings on the Premises or the Licensed Areas without prior consent in writing of the Lessor;

If you install a Satellite Dish at your property the OMC can reasonably note under the terms of the lease that work has been carried out to the premises for which consent has not been requested – this is something which is often overlooked by owners.

Aside from the visual aspect of satellite dishes; it is possible that the addition of satellite dishes to the front or rear of an apartment block represents a material contravention of the buildings’ planning permission, and it is for this very reason that leases are quite specific in relation to alterations in general.

In the case of houses, satellite dishes are regarded as exempted development only if they meet the following criteria;

Dept. of Environment – You can erect one satellite dish on or within the curtilage of a house, but it must not be on the front wall of the house or forward of the house, nor should it be on the front roof slope of the house or higher than the highest part of the roof of the house. The height of any satellite dish should not exceed 1 metre.

Houses which form part of an OMC, like an apartment, may first require consent from the OMC before they can officially install or seek planning permission to install a satellite dish on their home and it’s worth checking your lease in this regard.