Malvern's houses, rules and supply
Villas on generous blocks
Villas went up around the railway in the 1880s, and farms and estates were later split into curving streets of substantial houses. The old council kept wooden buildings to set streets and insisted on minimum block sizes, so brick is the norm.
Heritage overlay permits
Stonnington says a planning permit is needed under its Heritage Overlay for external alterations, and solar systems visible from a street need one. Its gradings run from significant (A1, A2 and B) to contributory (C), and the higher the grading, the fewer changes it allows.
Flats as well as houses
At the 2021 Census, 45.8% of Malvern's occupied homes were separate houses and 30.8% were flats or apartments. 26.7% were rented.
United Energy, with a busy zone substation
United Energy's Caulfield and Gardiner zone substations supply Malvern. Its 2025 planning report says the Caulfield one ran above its N-1 rating in summer 2024-25: lose one of its two transformers at a busy time and not every customer could be supplied. Outages go to United Energy on 13 20 99.
Gardiners Creek
Malvern is bounded to the north and east by Gardiners Creek, and the council developed Central Park in 1907, then more parks along the flood-prone creek.
The work that keeps coming up
Switchboards and rewiring. A villa's wiring has usually been extended room by room over a century. When an old fuse board finally gets replaced, the electrician often finds circuits that need re-running too.
Solar, batteries and permits. Before panels go on a street-facing roof in a Heritage Overlay, check the permit question with Stonnington. Solar and batteries are also prescribed electrical work in Victoria, so an independent inspector checks them before they're switched on.
Flats with older boards. In a block, each flat's board may be modern while the main board and meter panel are much older, and the main board is usually common property.
What we'd do in Malvern
If you're planning solar on a heritage-listed villa, we'd sort the switchboard and the council question at the same time, before ordering any panels. An electrician who's done heritage homes can tell you where panels and an inverter can go without upsetting the street view, and what the board needs first.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.