If you rent, or you own a unit in a strata block, you’ve usually got three real paths: a portable air conditioner you can wheel in today, a fixed window or wall unit if you can get it approved, or a proper split system installed with the right permissions. The portable is the only one that needs nobody’s sign-off. The other two start with a written request.
Portable air conditioners: the no-permission option
A portable is a self-contained unit on castors. It plugs into a normal power point, and a flexible exhaust hose carries the heat out through a window or sliding door. Nothing gets drilled or wired in, and the refrigerant stays sealed inside from the factory.
The trade-off is performance. The unit, the compressor and all its noise sit in the room with you. The hose itself gets warm and gives some of that heat straight back. Single-hose models also push room air outside, so warm air gets drawn back in through gaps around doors and windows. Expect it to take the edge off a bedroom or small living area, not to chill an open-plan space. If you’re weighing it against the fixed options, our comparison of split, portable and window air conditioners goes through the differences side by side.
Getting the window seal right
Watch the gap around the hose. If the flat plastic slider that comes in the box doesn’t fit your window or door snugly, hot air pours straight back through the gap.
A zip-up window seal fixes that without touching the frame permanently. Something like this zip-up window seal for portable air conditioners fits around the opening, and the hose pokes through the zip. It fixes to the frame with an adhesive fastener, so if you’re renting, try the adhesive on a hidden bit of the frame first. You want it to come off cleanly at the end of your lease.
A few other habits make a real difference:
- Keep the hose short and straight: every extra bend and every extra bit of length puts more heat back into the room.
- Close the door: a portable in a closed bedroom does far better than one trying to cool a hallway as well.
- Check the condensate: depending on the model, it may collect water in a tank you empty, or need a drain hose. The manual will say which.
- Size it for the room: a unit that’s too small will run flat out all afternoon and still fall behind. Our guide to sizing an air conditioner covers what to look for on the spec sheet.
Window and wall units: better, but they need a yes
A fixed window or wall unit puts the noisy half of the machine outside the room, which is why it usually outperforms a portable. The catch is fitting it. It either sits in a window opening, which usually means that window stays shut and blocked for as long as the unit is there, or it goes through a hole cut in the wall. Either way you’re changing the building, so a renter needs the landlord’s written consent first.
Check how it’s powered before you buy. Smaller units often run off an ordinary power point. Bigger ones can need their own circuit, and that’s a job for a licensed electrician, not a weekend project.
A proper split system: ask, don’t assume the answer is no
In some states the rules are more on your side than you’d expect.
In Victoria, Consumer Affairs Victoria lists changes a rental provider can’t unreasonably refuse. One of them is a change needed to make sure the renter is not too hot or cold in the property. That doesn’t mean the landlord has to pay for it, and it isn’t an automatic yes. It does mean a cooling request is one the landlord needs a reason to knock back.
In NSW strata, the NSW Government’s strata renovation guidance lists installing a reverse cycle air conditioner as a minor renovation, which needs approval. A tenant writes to the landlord first. The landlord can’t unreasonably reject a request for a cosmetic or minor renovation, and if they agree, they take it through the strata approval process on the tenant’s behalf. Other states handle this differently, so check your own state’s tenancy regulator and your building’s by-laws before you spend a cent.
If you get the go-ahead, the install itself isn’t a DIY job. Connecting a split system means handling refrigerant, which needs a technician holding the right licence from the Australian Refrigeration Council. You can check a licence through Look for the Tick. The electrical side needs a licensed electrician.
What to put in the request
- Exactly what you want installed: the type of unit and which room it’s for.
- Where the indoor and outdoor units would go.
- Who’s installing it: the business name and that they hold an ARC licence and use a licensed electrician.
- Who pays and what happens at the end of the lease: whether it stays as a fixture or gets removed and the wall made good.
Put it in writing and keep a copy.
What if the answer is no?
Then the portable is your main tool, and the room around it matters just as much. Block the afternoon sun before it hits the glass, run a fan to move air across you, and cool one room properly instead of the whole place badly. Our piece on cooling a room without aircon has the low-cost tricks that stack well with a portable. For the bigger picture on system types, running costs and upkeep, start with the Australian home air conditioning guide.
