Poland Private electric car chargers in multi-family residential buildings? New regulations will make it easier with their installation
20 December 2021
The amendment to the Electricity and Alternative Fuels Act, signed by the President of Poland on December 7, 2021, introduces major changes to the installation of private electric vehicle chargers at multi-family residential buildings. The new legislation will make it easier for property owners and tenants to install charging points at parking spaces they own. See how you can effectively get your private EV charger installed in a residential garage!
Installing private electric car chargers in residential buildings will be easier
Previous problems related to the installation of an electric vehicle charger at a private parking place in residential buildings have effectively discouraged the purchase of an electric vehicle. The lack of an appropriate procedure that would enable residents to carry out the investment process effectively limited the development of electromobility in cities. The most important difficulties included, among others, difficulties in obtaining permission from the management board of a community or cooperative or the property manager to install an EV charger. There were many reasons for that.
It was not entirely clear how to carry out an effective audit of a building's electrical system in order to determine that a given electrical system is suitable for connecting a charger with a higher power than the one available in the electrical socket, nor who was to pay for the cost of such an analysis. Moreover, interfering with the electrical installation in the common parts of a building has so far constituted an action exceeding the scope of ordinary activities, which in turn gave rise to further problems associated with the need for apartment owners to adopt a resolution consenting to the action and granting the management board a power of attorney to conclude agreements.
In view of the above-mentioned problems and the growing interest of the urban population in changing from conventional to electric means of transport, it has been decided to introduce legal mechanisms which will facilitate installation of chargers at private parking spaces in residential buildings. The latest amendment to the Electromobility Act is to be a panacea for the problems identified.
The new regulations state that in multi-family residential buildings where the number of independent residential premises exceeds three, the charging point shall be installed and operated after obtaining consent of the management board of a community or cooperative or the person managing the real estate, issued upon application of a person holding a legal title to premises in the building and the parking space for exclusive use. From now on, also consenting to the installation and operation of a charging point with a capacity of less than 11 kW shall constitute an ordinary management action. This means that the community board or property manager will be able to consent to the installation of a charger with a power of less than 11 kW on their own, without having to obtain the consent of the premises owners.
Consent of community board or property manager to install and operate a charger in multi-family residential buildings
Approval for the installation and operation of a private EV charger will be granted upon application by an interested resident. The application must be accompanied by:
1) a statement of the applicant's commitment to pay all costs associated with the installation of the charging point, including the purchase and installation of the point;
2) statement confirming legal title to the premises;
3) consent of the owner of the premises for the installation of the charging point - when the applicant is not the owner of the premises;
4) consent of the voivodship conservator of monuments - in case of real estate being a real monument.
Within 30 days from the date of filing the application, the management board of the community or cooperative or the property manager shall commission an expert opinion on the admissibility of the installation of charging points and shall make it available to the applicant immediately upon receipt. If several applicants have submitted applications, one expert opinion may be drawn up for all or selected charging points covered by those applications.
The application is examined within 30 days from the date of receiving the expert opinion, and in case the expert opinion is not required - within 30 days from the date of submitting the application. If the expertise shows that there are no contraindications to the installation of the charging point and the applicant undertakes to cover the costs of its installation, the installation works may be commenced. After their completion, the distribution system operator will install a metering and billing system to measure the electricity consumed by this charging point, after concluding an agreement with the energy company.
Expert opinion on the permissibility of installing charging points
You may be wondering what activities make up the expertise on the admissibility of the installation of charging points? The subject of the expertise is the assessment of the electrical installation within the building and parking spaces located inside or adjacent to this building in terms of admissibility of connecting the charging point covered by the application to this installation and the safety rules associated with its use. The expert report shall determine in particular:
1) the connection power of the building that can be used for the operation of the charging point;
2) points in the electrical installation where connection of the charging point is allowed and parameters of this point, including maximum power of the charging point that can be connected to the electrical installation;
3) the construction and technical-installation solutions to be adopted for the installation of the charging point, including the requirements for the products used for the installation of this point;
4) conditions necessary for safe operation of the charging point;
5) requirements which should be met in terms of fire safety in connection with the installation of the charging point.
The expert opinion shall be prepared by a person holding a building license in the area of installation of networks, installations and electrical and power devices to design without limitations. The cost of preparing the report is borne by the applicant.
It is worth mentioning that the expertise is not required in case of buildings where the electrical installation for supplying the charging points was designed and executed. In this case during installation of the charging point the solutions adopted for electrical installation are taken into account, especially its technical parameters and applied protection measures.
In case when there is no obligation to prepare the expertise and when all the costs connected with installation of the charging point, including the cost of its purchase and installation, will be paid by the applicant, he may proceed with the installation and operation of this point after ineffective expiration of the deadline for consideration of the application.
When a community board or property manager can deny permission to install a private electric car charger?
It should be noted that if the expertise does not contain contraindications to the installation of the charger for electric cars, and the applicant (or applicants) will undertake to cover the costs associated with its installation and connection to the power supply, the community or cooperative board or property manager will not be able to refuse permission to carry out the project. So in what cases can consent to the installation of a private electric car charger be refused?
The management board of a community or cooperative or the property manager has the right to refuse to grant consent for the installation and operation of a charging point if:
1) the expert report shows that the installation of the charging point is not possible or
2) the applicant does not have legal title to the premises within this building and the parking place for exclusive use, or
3) the applicant did not submit the consent of the premises owner for the installation of the charging point - when the applicant is not the owner of the premises
4) the applicant did not undertake to cover all costs related to installation and connection to the electric power grid of the charging point covered by the application.
EV365 will prepare for you an expert report on the admissibility of installing charging points
Do you live in a multi-unit building? Are you planning to purchase an electric vehicle, but are concerned that you will not be able to install a charger next to your parking space? Apply to the community or cooperative board or property manager with a request for permission to install and operate an electric vehicle charger. EV365 is a team of experts in the field of electric vehicle charging. We will conduct a detailed audit and prepare for you an expert opinion on the permissibility of installing charging points on the premises of a multi-family residential building, as well as handle its installation and the selection of the right EV charger for your needs. Contact us and we will explain you where to start.
Source: Own study
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