🚗 Electric vehicle charging points in rental properties 🔋

It is now practically impossible to drive anywhere without seeing a registration place without the little green rectangle on the left hand side. According to SMMT 1.1% of new vehicles were plug-in, which grew to 3.2% in 2019, but accelerated to 18.6% by the end of 2021. The electric vehicle trend is now common practice when considering a new car and with the government policy that all new vehicles from 2030 need to be electric, this is something which cannot be ignored and will soon be a must for tenanted properties.

The question we all want to know is, who is responsible for the installation and upkeep of charging points? Unfortunately the answer is not a clear one, which is complicated further in leasehold situations. In the interest of keeping things simple we’ll only refer to properties with their own private parking either in the form of a drive adjacent to the property or a private garage with its own electrical supply. Even in doing so there are a number of considerations for landlords in deciding the best course of action when being presented with the question by the tenant.

🤷‍♂️ Who – both landlord and tenant can arrange to install a charging point. The tenant will, of course, need permission from the landlord. If the landlord provides a charging point, they will be responsible for maintaining it.

🔌 Electrical safety – as with any major electrical works, the landlord is ultimately responsible to ensure they have a certificate of works to adhere to the electrical safety regulations. If they agree for the tenant to install the charging point it is likely the tenant will receive one as part of the installation, however they’ll likely need to obtain their own certificate when the charging point is removed.

🤕 Damage – the most careful installation and removal will still leave a sign. It’s unlikely the landlord will be able to claim for completely making good, so is it really beneficial to have the tenant take the charging point away?

💷 Cost – this then begs the question of who pays for the installation. With the cost of a charging point being less than an average month rent, can the landlord afford not to?

🌍 Environmental – although an EV charging point will not improve the EPC for the property, it will help keep the environmental impact of the property and its occupants.

🔥 Fire – landlords and property managers need to assess properties for fire risks. If the tenant arranges to install the charging point this risk assessment will need to be updates, and appropriate risks be considered if granting permission to the tenant.

Our advice to landlords is to install the charging point now. It is likely they will increase in cost in the run up to 2030, it will increase the desirability of the property to tenants (even those without electric vehicles yet!) and you avoid the possible issues with installation, and removal, during the tenancy.

Where do you stand on EV charging points? Has your fleet gone electric already?!

If your landlords are interested in sustainability and you would like to automate maintenance to free up time for your property managers and save money for your landlords, you can book a demo of the Help me Fix video triage service here.