Electric vehicle charging in blocks of flats

You can often have an electric vehicle charger at a flat, but you will almost always need permission first. The parking space, the cable route and the electricity supply are rarely all yours, so the lease decides what is possible.

Why it is harder than at a house

At a house you own the drive and the supply, so a charger is a simple job. In a block, three things get in the way.

• The space. It may be part of your property, it may be allocated to you with only a right to use it, or parking may be first come, first served.
• The cable. Power from your own meter usually has to cross shared areas such as a car park, a riser or a garden to reach the space.
• The supply. The landlord’s supply in the car park is paid for by every leaseholder through the service charge, so one resident cannot simply plug into it.

What to find out before you ask

• Do you own your parking space, or do you only have a right to use it? Your lease plan and title register will show this.
• Where would the electricity come from, and can a cable physically get from there to the space?
• What does the lease say about alterations and running cables? You are likely to need a licence to alter. Check whether it comes from the freeholder, the management company or both.
• Who will pay to install, insure, maintain and periodically test equipment that sits in a shared area?
• Has anyone else at the development already asked? There may be a policy in place.

It is for the person asking to show that the installation can be done safely. A written proposal from a qualified installer, with the charger model, cable route and supply details, makes a decision much quicker.

Your own charger or a shared scheme

Where a space belongs to one flat and can be wired back to that flat’s meter, an individual charger is usually the simplest answer. The owner pays for it and for the electricity it uses.

Where that is not possible, the alternative is a shared scheme, with chargers in the car park run by an operator who bills each driver for what they use. That way the electricity is paid for by the people charging, not by the service charge. A shared scheme is a decision for the freeholder or the directors of the management company. The lease may limit what service charge money can be spent on, and the building’s incoming supply may need checking for spare capacity.

Safety

Chargers must be fitted by a competent installer to the current wiring regulations (BS 7671). Where chargers are proposed in a basement or undercroft car park, the fire risk assessment for the building should be reviewed as part of the decision.

Grants

As at October 2026, the government’s EV chargepoint grant for renters and flat owners gives money off the cost of buying and installing a socket, and there is a separate grant for residential landlords. For the renters and flat owners grant you need your own private off-street parking space. You apply online, and your installer then claims the grant and takes it off your bill. Both grants are currently due to close on 31 March 2027, so check the latest rules on GOV.UK before you commit to a quote.

New developments

Since June 2022 the Building Regulations in England have required new homes with associated parking to be built with charging points, so newer developments may already have chargers or the cabling for them. The lease should say who owns and maintains them.

How to ask us

If you live at a development we manage, send your request to your property manager with your flat and space number, the charger you would like, the installer’s details and the proposed cable route. We will check the lease and put the request to the freeholder or the directors for a decision.

This article is general guidance based on the law in England in October 2026. It is not legal advice. Your lease or transfer deed always comes first, so check it, and take professional advice on anything in dispute. The TPI advice note attached to this article dates from August 2018. We have brought the information on grants and building regulations up to date. You will find more answers in our FAQs.