Electric Vehicle charging point solutions for Residents Management Company’s, Landlords and Leaseholders

Whilst Common Ground’s article on the various obstacles towards obtaining an EV charging point at your property may seem daunting, fear not, there are many innovative solutions to the problems already on the market.

This article explores the various approaches towards solving the problem.

1. The free for all

This solution involves each leaseholder being responsible for their own EV charging solution. This approach may be well suited to smaller developments but will be a function of building design, estate layout and the covenants of the lease. The government has already mandated that any new building (or an existing building undergoing “major renovations”) with more than 10 car parking spaces will be required to have an EVCP and EV charging cables routes ready for every parking space – charging facilities will be the norm.

2. Communal EV systems

There is already a tremendous amount of choice in the market and this section of the article explores the pro’s and con’s of the various types of solution.

i) Fully funded, fully installed systems

A fully funded, fully installed system would mean that the upfront costs of the system will be covered by the installer. As with any business, the installer has to recoup costs, and this will likely be through an annual rental charge and charges to individual leaseholders for the electricity they use.

Pro’s

• No are reduced upfront costs
• Likely to be able to obtain the technology sooner
• Simple billing systems

Con’s

• Increase to the service charge
• No choice of electric supplier
• Possibly restricted choice of electrical charger
• Possibly restricted choice of power rating of EV charger
• Will likely be paying a higher cost per Kilowatt hour for electricity

ii) Infrastructure only systems

This solution would involve installing the electrical infrastructure to enable leaseholders to then connect their own EV chargers to a communal infrastructure.

Pro’s

• Greater choice of electrical chargers
• Leaseholders will not be compelled to install an EV charger
• Leaseholders can install EV chargers at their leisure

Con’s

• There may be a requirement to provide the upfront capital expenditure
• You may have to arrange a billing system as the system will run off a communal feed
• If you own the infrastructure, to what extent can you future-proof it to accommodate new technologies?

Other considerations

Ultimately, the choice of charging system boils down to the requirements and desires of the leaseholders in any development.

• Load balancing
• Billing solutions
• Liaising with National grid
• Security
• Electrical Safety
• Fire safety

For a more comprehensive view of all the issues raised above, we recommend reading Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in Communal Living Environments published by the Institute of Residential Property Management in May 2022.  You can obtain a copy from https://www.irpm.org.uk/news-articles/irpm-think-piece-ev-charging-infrastructure/

If you are considering installing an electric vehicle charger at a leasehold development, we recommend contacting EV Solutions Group, specialists in retro-fitting EV infrastructure into leasehold developments. Please visit www.evsolutuionsgroup.co.uk for further information.