For those living in an apartment or condo building, landlords or homeowners associations often stand in the way of public charging. Unfortunately, “there is no one-size-fits-all solution of ‘just follow this formula and you’ll be all set,’” Malmgren said.
But experts say that there are a key few steps that renters or condo owners can take to access charging. The first is looking up local “right-to-charge” laws — regulations that require homeowners’ associations or landlords to allow residents to install Level 1 or Level 2 charging. Ten states have “right-to-charge” laws on the books. In California and Colorado, for example, renters or homeowners have the right to install charging at their private parking space or, in some cases, in a public area at their apartment building. Other states, including Florida, Hawaii and New Jersey, have similar but limited laws.
Residents can also reach out to landlords or property owners directly and make the case for installing charging infrastructure. Charging company ChargePoint, for example, offers a template letter to send to landlords and various charging options that can allow property managers to make a profit off the sales of electricity in the building. In some higher-income buildings, some developers and landlords are investing in charging infrastructure as an amenity to attract tenants.
All of this “puts a fair amount of onus on the driver,” said Ben Prochazka, the executive director of the Electrification Coalition. But, he added, many EV advocacy groups are working on changing building codes in cities and states so that all multifamily homes with parking have to be “EV-ready.” “EV-ready” spaces have upgraded electrical panels and conduit running to the space — making it up to 10 times cheaper to ultimately install a charger, Malmgren said.
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