By David Lu
Electric Vehicles (EVs) are becoming more attractive to consumers (myself included). However, before buying that new plug-in vehicle and saying good bye to weekly visits to the gas station, condo residents need to be aware of the situation at their building regarding EV charging stations.
Many new condominiums, particularly in Montreal and Toronto, have charging stations builtin. The advantage of this arrangement is that the use of the charging stations is governed by the new condominium’s governing documents. I haven’t heard of any new condominiums in Ottawa that will have charging stations built in, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.
For existing condominiums, the challenge is to balance the rights of the condo owners/residents who want to charge their EV in their building and the condo owners/residents who do not own EVs. Who should pay for electrical upgrades and increased electricity use? This is a challenging issue because the governing documents at many condominiums never contemplated the advent of EVs. At my firm we are increasingly seeing these issues arise.
In response to this issue, the provincial government released regulations under the Condominium Act that outline the procedure for installing EV charging stations at existing condominiums.
A condo board (the “Board”) can, in some cases, install EV charging stations at the condominium’s expense if: (1) the installation cost (excluding post-installation/operating expenses) is no more than 10% of the condominium’s annual budget; and (2) the Board believes that the owners would not regard the installation as a major reduction or elimination of their use of condominium property. If these conditions are met, the Board can notify the owners with details of the proposed installation and proceed with the work 60 days later. Owners only have the right to call a meeting to challenge the Board’s proposed installation if either of the two conditions above is not met.
A Condo Owner can apply to install their own EV Charging Station
If a condo owner wants to install an EV charging station at their own expense, they must apply to their condo board in writing. The Board must respond to an owner’s application within 60 days or by a mutually agreed upon deadline.. An application can only be rejected if an expert (such as an engineer) concludes that the installation would: (1) be contrary to a statute or regulation; (2) adversely affect the structural integrity of condominium property or assets; or (3) pose a serious health and safety risk to people or a serious risk of damage to condominium property or assets.
If an owner’s application is accepted, the parties must enter into an installation agreement. The agreement determines who is responsible for the costs associated with the charging station and other related costs, as well as maintenance obligations.
In our experience dealing with EV charging stations, a major source of dispute is with regards to determining who is responsible for paying the associated expenses. When dealing with issues that can involve competing interests of different owners (such as this one), emotions can run high and threats of legal action can be made.
Solving disagreements through compromise and without the need for legal action is often the best solution. Living in a condo community means that issues that involve competing interests (like EV charging stations) sometimes come up. To solve these challenges, the Board should consider not only the interests of the individual owner, but also of the community as a whole. Each condominium will need to determine the arrangement that will suit their community best.
David Lu is an associate at Davidson Houle Allen LLP, a boutique condominium-law firm serving Eastern Ontario.