New Law to Require New Builds to Include Electric Car Charging Points

As of June 15th, 2022, in a change to building regulations across all of England, building developers will be required to ensure electric-vehicle (EV) charging points are installed within the following:

• New-build homes
• New-build workplaces
• Supermarkets
• Buildings undergoing major renovations. [1]

This plan was initially made public in November 2022, with the government announcing its plans to install 145,000 charging points across the country each year. 

Figure 1: Electric car charging point, Wetherby service station, Nov 2019. [6]

Developments Going Forward

According to the Department of Transport, any new residential homes and buildings will require electric charging points installed to the development. The Building Regulations 2010 state “this approved document takes effect on 15 June 2022 for use in England”, with any building undergoing large-scale renovations that leaves them with over 10 parking spaces, required to install electric vehicle charging points [2]. 

The new regulation will not apply to work subject to a building notice, full plans application, or initial notice submitted before that date, provided the work started on site before 16 June 2023.

What About Rentals? 

An incentive has been brought into light for electric vehicle charger owners to become ‘Hosts’, by renting out their chargers to a few neighbours. Those who will benefit from such an option are motorists who need bookable, reliable, and affordable charging of their vehicle close to their home. 

In taking part in the incentive, there are many benefits for the Host of the electric charging points, the biggest being the current crisis in electricity bills. Setting up appropriate prices for the charger rental, and above the costs of provision, the Host can make additional income.

While on the topic of rentals, property management experts have voiced their opinions on electric vehicle charging points in rental properties; advising that they are going to be expensive and should be planned and saved for now. 

The managing director of MetroMP, Matthew Arnold, states the Institute of Residential Property Management trade body has recently issued a new paper on the subject, highlighting its complexity when applied to the rental sector [4]. Arnold advised that it is highly unlikely that there will be anything in many existing leases to cover EV charging. He also stressed that the writing of any such clauses would need to take note of:

• the latest government policies
• potential financial assistance
• any planning and building control issues
• the correct connections
• charging agreements to electricity supplies.

Conclusion

The incentive itself is an incredible step towards making electric cars more accessible for the general public, and a more realistic goal to move away from petrol and diesel cars. Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister praised the move back in November 2021, with an estimated 145,000 EV chargers being installed due to the regulation. Meanwhile, the Founder and CTO of Daloop, also shared his opinion on the new regulations, stating that it is an important and necessary step towards ensuring the transition to EV vehicles is as smooth as possible. 

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References: 

[1] Reeves, F. (Jun 15, 2022), Massive law changes will see all new homes need an electric car charger from today, Express.

[2] Reeves, F. (Jun 13, 2022), ‘Positive step’: New law change will see new homes have an electric car charger this week’, Express.

[3] Whitlock, R. (Jun 13, 2022), ‘IT specialist calls for residents of new builds with mandatory EV chargers to share them with others’, Renewable Energy Magazine. 

[4] Norwood, G. (June 23, 2022), ‘Warning over Electric Vehicle charging at rental properties’, Letting Agent Today.

[5] Reeves, F. (Jun 10, 2022), ‘A great step forward’: New law will force homes to have an electric car charger next week’, Express.

[6] Taylor, M. (30 Nov, 2019), ‘Electric car charging point, Wetherby service station. Taken on the afternoon of Saturday the 30th of November 2019’. Last accessed on 29th June 2022. Available at Wiki Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Electric_car_charging_point,_Wetherby_service_station_(30th_November_2019).jpg.