Regulations - Charging electric cars in housing associations and condominiums

On 4 December 2020, the Norwegian Parliament adopted changes to the Housing Associations and Owners Section Act. This means that residents who have the right to park on the property of the housing association or condominium can demand access to charging. The change in law entered into force on 1 January 2021.

The purpose of the change in the law is to ensure that all residents in housing associations and condominiums will have the opportunity to buy an electric car and at the same time be able to charge their car. Now the housing association or condominium cannot refuse residents to charge their car.

The following rules apply to charging electric vehicles

What is charging right?

The charging right gives you rights as a section owner or unit owner in a condominium or housing association if you:

• disposes of its own parking space on the property of the housing association or owners' section condominium, then you have the right, with the board's consent, to set up a charging point for electric cars and plug-in hybrid cars adjacent to the parking space. Consent can only be refused if there is a factual reason for it.
• only have the right to park on the condominium's property, but without disposing of their own space, you can demand that a charging point be set up for electric cars and plug-in hybrid cars. The board must comply with the requirement unless there is a factual reason to refuse. The board decides where the charging point is to be set up.

What is the factual reason for refusal?

The law gives the possibility for a housing association or condominium not to fulfill the charging right towards its residents as long as there are objective reason(s) for it. However, the board cannot use any reason for refusal. It is the board that must provide evidence that it is impossible to charge the car in the shared facility.

A common counter-argument against electric car charging in many discussions in housing associations and condominiums has, until now, also been the risk of fire. This has been refuted by DSB. This is therefore not a valid reason for refusing a charge. However, there is a good argument for establishing a safe charging system for charging.

Cost is the most common reason for creating a charging system. If the upgrade is very costly for a housing association or condominium that already has large financial obligations, waiting with the investment can be an argument. This must nevertheless be documented. An indicative amount of how much financial obligations the board of the housing association can take on on behalf of each resident to fulfill the charging right is half of the basic amount in the national insurance, currently approx. NOK 50,000. If the housing association or condominium has very poor finances and already has a lot of loans, this can be considered a factual reason to refuse, even if the amount limits are lower than this. Our experience related to the establishment of charging systems rarely becomes as expensive as the indicative limit.

Another reason for delaying residents getting the right to charge in individual parking spaces is if there is a process underway to invest in a larger shared charging facility.

The board can also argue that even if you have your own parking space without charging, you have had your right to charge fulfilled by the fact that they have secured access to charge the car through charging points in a shared parking area. But then there must be enough charging points available so that you can charge your car within a reasonable time.

The law also encourages joint solutions, and it makes sense to plan the development of charging infrastructure comprehensively in joint garage facilities. The board can therefore say no to you setting up a single charging point that covers your short-term needs if they are a comprehensive development on the way.

What can Elbilgrossisten assist condominiums and housing associations with?

We assist the housing association or condominium in complying with the legislation and what is needed to get a solid charging system. We can offer financing without interest costs or you can finance this yourself. You will own the facility (not rent) and thus can write this down over a short period of time. The charging system gives all residents access to charging when they want or need it.

Fill in the form below to find out more about the charging system and inspection.