diff --git a/Directory.Build.props b/Directory.Build.props
index 2a5ed0116..38297f8ce 100644
--- a/Directory.Build.props
+++ b/Directory.Build.props
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
     <DebugSymbols>true</DebugSymbols>
     <DebugType>portable</DebugType>
     <LangVersion>13.0</LangVersion>
+    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
   <PropertyGroup Condition="'$(GITHUB_ACTIONS)' == 'true'">
diff --git a/src/LibKubernetesGenerator/TypeHelper.cs b/src/LibKubernetesGenerator/TypeHelper.cs
index db27dab97..5d4bb5e28 100644
--- a/src/LibKubernetesGenerator/TypeHelper.cs
+++ b/src/LibKubernetesGenerator/TypeHelper.cs
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ public void RegisterHelper(ScriptObject scriptObject)
             scriptObject.Import(nameof(IfType), new Func<JsonSchemaProperty, string, bool>(IfType));
         }
 
-        private string GetDotNetType(JsonObjectType jsonType, string name, bool required, string format)
+        private string GetDotNetType(JsonObjectType jsonType, string name, bool required, string? format)
         {
             if (name == "pretty" && !required)
             {
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ private string GetDotNetType(JsonObjectType jsonType, string name, bool required
                     switch (format)
                     {
                         case "byte":
-                            return "byte[]";
+                            return required ? "byte[]" : "byte[]?";
                         case "date-time":
 
                             // eventTime is required but should be optional, see https://github.com/kubernetes-client/csharp/issues/1197
@@ -100,58 +100,58 @@ private string GetDotNetType(JsonObjectType jsonType, string name, bool required
                             }
                     }
 
-                    return "string";
+                    return required ? "string" : "string?";
                 case JsonObjectType.Object:
-                    return "object";
+                    return required ? "object" : "object?";
                 default:
                     throw new NotSupportedException();
             }
         }
 
-        private string GetDotNetType(JsonSchema schema, JsonSchemaProperty parent)
+        private string GetDotNetType(JsonSchema? schema, JsonSchemaProperty parent, bool isCollectionItem = false)
         {
             if (schema != null)
             {
-                if (schema.IsArray)
+                if (schema.IsArray && schema.Item != null)
                 {
-                    return $"IList<{GetDotNetType(schema.Item, parent)}>";
+                    return $"IList<{GetDotNetType(schema.Item, parent, isCollectionItem: true)}>?";
                 }
 
                 if (schema.IsDictionary && schema.AdditionalPropertiesSchema != null)
                 {
-                    return $"IDictionary<string, {GetDotNetType(schema.AdditionalPropertiesSchema, parent)}>";
+                    return $"IDictionary<string, {GetDotNetType(schema.AdditionalPropertiesSchema, parent, isCollectionItem: true)}>?";
                 }
 
-                if (schema?.Reference != null)
+                if (schema.Reference != null)
                 {
-                    return classNameHelper.GetClassNameForSchemaDefinition(schema.Reference);
+                    var typeName = classNameHelper.GetClassNameForSchemaDefinition(schema.Reference);
+                    // Collection items are always non-nullable, unless we're at the root level
+                    return (isCollectionItem || parent.IsRequired) ? typeName : typeName + "?";
                 }
 
-                if (schema != null)
-                {
-                    return GetDotNetType(schema.Type, parent.Name, parent.IsRequired, schema.Format);
-                }
+                return GetDotNetType(schema.Type, parent.Name, isCollectionItem || parent.IsRequired, schema.Format);
             }
 
-            return GetDotNetType(parent.Type, parent.Name, parent.IsRequired, parent.Format);
+            return GetDotNetType(parent.Type, parent.Name, isCollectionItem || parent.IsRequired, parent.Format);
         }
 
         public string GetDotNetType(JsonSchemaProperty p)
         {
             if (p.Reference != null)
             {
-                return classNameHelper.GetClassNameForSchemaDefinition(p.Reference);
+                var typeName = classNameHelper.GetClassNameForSchemaDefinition(p.Reference);
+                return p.IsRequired ? typeName : typeName + "?";
             }
 
-            if (p.IsArray)
+            if (p.IsArray && p.Item != null)
             {
-                // getType
-                return $"IList<{GetDotNetType(p.Item, p)}>";
+                // getType - items in arrays are non-nullable
+                return $"IList<{GetDotNetType(p.Item, p, isCollectionItem: true)}>?";
             }
 
             if (p.IsDictionary && p.AdditionalPropertiesSchema != null)
             {
-                return $"IDictionary<string, {GetDotNetType(p.AdditionalPropertiesSchema, p)}>";
+                return $"IDictionary<string, {GetDotNetType(p.AdditionalPropertiesSchema, p, isCollectionItem: true)}>?";
             }
 
             return GetDotNetType(p.Type, p.Name, p.IsRequired, p.Format);
@@ -161,7 +161,8 @@ public string GetDotNetTypeOpenApiParameter(OpenApiParameter parameter)
         {
             if (parameter.Schema?.Reference != null)
             {
-                return classNameHelper.GetClassNameForSchemaDefinition(parameter.Schema.Reference);
+                var typeName = classNameHelper.GetClassNameForSchemaDefinition(parameter.Schema.Reference);
+                return parameter.IsRequired ? typeName : typeName + "?";
             }
             else if (parameter.Schema != null)
             {
diff --git a/tests/KubernetesClient.Tests/NullableReferenceTypesTests.cs b/tests/KubernetesClient.Tests/NullableReferenceTypesTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a1f142932
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/KubernetesClient.Tests/NullableReferenceTypesTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using k8s.Models;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace k8s.Tests
+{
+    public class NullableReferenceTypesTests
+    {
+        [Fact]
+        public void ContainerVolumeMountsIsNullableProperty()
+        {
+            // Arrange & Act
+            var container = new V1Container();
+
+            // Assert
+            // VolumeMounts should be null by default (nullable property)
+            Assert.Null(container.VolumeMounts);
+
+            // This should not throw NullReferenceException anymore - users should check for null
+            // container.VolumeMounts.Add(new V1VolumeMount()); // This would throw
+
+            // Proper usage: Initialize the list first
+            container.VolumeMounts = new List<V1VolumeMount>
+            {
+                new V1VolumeMount(),
+            };
+
+            Assert.NotNull(container.VolumeMounts);
+            Assert.Single(container.VolumeMounts);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void ContainerNameIsRequiredProperty()
+        {
+            // Arrange & Act
+            var container = new V1Container
+            {
+                Name = "test-container",
+            };
+
+            // Assert
+            // Name is a required property (non-nullable string)
+            Assert.NotNull(container.Name);
+            Assert.Equal("test-container", container.Name);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void ContainerImageIsOptionalProperty()
+        {
+            // Arrange & Act
+            var container = new V1Container();
+
+            // Assert
+            // Image is optional (nullable string)
+            Assert.Null(container.Image);
+
+            container.Image = "nginx:latest";
+            Assert.Equal("nginx:latest", container.Image);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void ContainerLifecycleIsOptionalComplexProperty()
+        {
+            // Arrange & Act
+            var container = new V1Container();
+
+            // Assert
+            // Lifecycle is optional (nullable reference type)
+            Assert.Null(container.Lifecycle);
+
+            container.Lifecycle = new V1Lifecycle();
+            Assert.NotNull(container.Lifecycle);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void ContainerCollectionItemsAreNonNullable()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var container = new V1Container
+            {
+                // Initialize the list - the list itself can be null, but items cannot be null
+                VolumeMounts = new List<V1VolumeMount>
+                {
+                    new V1VolumeMount { Name = "vol1", MountPath = "/data", },
+                    new V1VolumeMount { Name = "vol2", MountPath = "/config", },
+                },
+            };
+
+            // Act & Assert
+            Assert.NotNull(container.VolumeMounts);
+            Assert.Equal(2, container.VolumeMounts.Count);
+            Assert.All(container.VolumeMounts, vm => Assert.NotNull(vm));
+        }
+    }
+}