Most townhouse owners have a clothesline in their courtyard or private yard — and most schemes don't think twice about it. The general rule: a clothesline inside your lot is yours; a common clothesline shared between lots is the OC's. Since 2021, NSW law has also made it harder for owners corporations to ban or restrict clotheslines, treating them as sustainability infrastructure.
Typical position
Usually owner
- Clothesline in your courtyard
- Replacement when worn or broken
- Folding clotheslines and portable airers
- Damage caused by your activity
Usually OC
- Common clothesline area (rare in townhouses, common in older flats)
- Common drying poles or rotary lines on common property
- Mounting brackets on common walls
Often grey
- A wall-mounted clothesline fixed to a common-property wall
- An older built-in clothesline you've inherited
- Common clotheslines being neglected — when does the OC step in?
⚠ Townhouse advantage
Townhouse schemes are well set up for clotheslines — most owners have a private courtyard or rear yard where the line is out of sight and not affecting anyone else. Apartment buildings often have strict by-laws about visible clothes drying because lines on balconies can be seen from outside.
Since the 2021 sustainability infrastructure reforms (introduced into the SSMA), OCs can't unreasonably refuse a request to install or use a clothesline. Clotheslines fall within the definition of sustainability infrastructure because they reduce reliance on energy-intensive dryers. An OC requiring all clothing to be machine-dried is unlikely to survive a challenge at NCAT.
Grey areas
Wall-mounted clotheslines on common walls
If your clothesline is bolted to a common-property wall (typical for fold-away wall lines), strictly it touches common property and may need OC approval. In practice, OCs rarely object — but if you're putting up a new one, raise it with the strata manager first as a courtesy.
Visible drying from the street
If your clothesline is inside your courtyard and not visible from public areas, there's almost nothing the OC can do about it. If your courtyard is open to the street view, some schemes have aesthetic by-laws that limit visible items — but these have to be reasonable. Asking someone to never use a clothesline isn't reasonable. Asking them to use it discreetly, or behind a screen, might be.
Common clothesline areas
A small number of older townhouse schemes have a shared clothesline area — a poled line in a common garden, for example. These are common property and the OC maintains them. They're rare and usually outdated. If the scheme is replacing one, consider whether it's still needed.
Sustainability infrastructure rights
Since 2021, the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 has included specific protections for "sustainability infrastructure" — measures that reduce energy or water use, or greenhouse gas emissions. Clotheslines fall within this because they reduce dryer energy use. An OC can require reasonable conditions, but a blanket ban is unlikely to be enforceable.
Sources
Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), s4 (common property), s106 (strict duty), s132B and related provisions on sustainability infrastructure introduced by the Strata Schemes Management Amendment (Sustainability Infrastructure) Act 2021.
Cooper v The Owners — Strata Plan No 58068 [2020] NSWCA 250 — by-laws cannot be harsh, unconscionable or oppressive (applies to clothesline restrictions).
NSW Fair Trading — Strata living and sustainability infrastructure guidance.