Ground Floor Apartment - Installing Sunshade / Pergola / Awning

My partner and I are keen to buy a PPOR in the lower north shore of Sydney, with a view to potentially turning it into an IP down the track (not totally relevant here though).

We've seen a couple of great ground floor apartments with the typical private 'courtyard'. We love the amount of light and space these courtyards have, but several of the ones we particularly like have no sun shade, or privacy from the apartments above (not even a small awning).

If we had no restrictions, this would be no issue, as we'd just get a stand-alone pergola, an awning retracting from the wall or some kind of other shade / privacy.

From my quick research, the general consensus seems to be that getting approval for additional shade / privacy will be heavily dependant on the body corporate approval (and council), in particular whether the structure touches the building itself, how it impacts the aesthetic of the building, fire safety etc.

Wondering whether anyone has had experience in installing some kind of shade or privacy (e.g. awning, pergola etc.) in an apartment (presumably ground floor), and whether there are any easier ways to go about this (e.g. if it is built in your courtyard only, and does not touch the building) or whether we will totally be at the whims of the body corporate and are better off just getting an umbrella.

Examples

- Semi Permanent Gazebo / Pergola ( CONDATE 3X4m Semi-Permanent Aluminium Gazebo with Retractable Shade | Grey | Umbrellas | ) - which I assume would not touch the building itself, but require screws into your courtyard

or

- Retractable Awning ( https://helioscreen.com.au/folding-arm-awnings.html ) which would contact the building

 

Hey has there been any updates for your question?

 

You might get lucky with the strata.
You might not.
That's the thing you won't know really until you buy and try.
Sometimes there are lovely courtyards but they are overlooked