We are seeing more “strata committees are blocking XYZ” reports lately! People sometimes forget that strata buildings are a democracy and the committee is elected to enact the collective wishes of all owners. And in most strata plans the strata committee would not be authorised to approve the installation of electric vehicle charging equipment. Such decisions usually require approval by a majority of owners, and any owner in a strata plan can ask for a decision by all owners in a General Meeting.
If an owner wants to install a charger and cannot do so through their strata plan’s renovation approval process, they can ask for it to be voted on at a general meeting – either the next AGM or by calling an EGM. A motion to install EV chargers would probably fall under sustainability infrastructure and if so it only requires a 50% majority to pass. And this can be a simple online vote – there is no need for a physical meeting.
But it also requires expert reports on the suitability of the electrical supply, fire and insurance considerations, and any other issues, so the owners can make an informed decision. By-laws to cover the installation, use and maintenance of EV charging equipment will also need to be drafted, approved and registered. These by-laws might need to include provisions for the owner to contribute towards additional costs incurred by the building, such as upgrading the power supply or increased insurance premiums.
A strata plan I work with, where owners have garages, recently decided to upgrade their electrical systems to provide each garage with a 15 amp power socket connected to the main power supply via that owner’s electricity meter. This cost about $70,000 – approximately $1,000 per owner. This was a good solution for them but maybe not practical for buildings with basement or open plan car parking. Such buildings might opt to install charging points at selected open air common property (visitor) spaces, but should the building, meaning all owners, have to share the cost when it is for the benefit of a select few?
And who pays if installing EV chargers requires an expensive upgrade of the building’s electricity supply? The best option may be to have an external provider install and maintain the shared facilities on a commercial basis, where they pay for the installation and the electricity used, and they receive the revenue from the users.
In major European and Asian cities electric vehicles are becoming the norm, yet most people live in apartments that do not have on-site parking. The EVs are parked on the street and charged at public facilities, so these strata questions do not arise!