I drive an electric car and am moving into a rented property – can I ask my landlord to install an EV charger?

Being able to charge an electric car at home has until now been a luxury only for those who own properties with off-street parking.

However, progress is being made towards eliminating this “driveway split.”

More options are emerging for renters that open up convenience and lower home electricity prices to those who would have previously relied on the relatively expensive public charging network.

With more than a third (35.7 per cent) of Britons living in rented properties, what can be done for those who want access to a home EV charger?

This is Money has tapped the expertise of home charger expert Cord to answer any installation questions you may have so you can avoid getting into a wallbox war with a landlord.

Financial support for tenants and owners for the installation of electric vehicle chargers

In March, the Electric Vehicle Charging Point Grant (EVCG) was extended to those who own or rent properties without off-street parking but do have access to suitable on-street parking.

The grant offers a discount of £350 (or up to 75 per cent, whichever is less) on the cost of purchasing and installing a Wallbox home charger.

An EV infrastructure grant is also available to property owners (up to £30,000 or 75 per cent of the cost of the project, with the amount dependent on the number of parking spaces covered by the project).

Owners can use both the infrastructure grant and the charging point on the same property.

Both the EV Charging Grant and the EV Infrastructure Grant are intended to help reduce the cost of EV ownership for drivers who are disadvantaged because they do not own a property with off-street parking.

If you can communicate with your landlord and get a good written agreement, then financially installing a Wallbox charger is a great idea for both tenant and landlord.

Is it a good financial decision to install a Wallbox charger if you rent or own a home?

Money’s Motoring reporter Freda Lewis-Stempel answers: As a tenant, getting your landlord to install an EV charger will not only make charging your EV much easier and less expensive, but it will also add value to your landlord’s property.

According to Open Property Group, adding a home charger will add around 1.7 per cent to the value of a property, which translates to £4,840 (based on the average house price of £284,691).

If a tenant can communicate with the landlord and get a written agreement, then financially, it is a win-win situation.

You can save a lot if you choose an electric vehicle and even more if you charge it at home.

In July, the average price to charge an EV was 57p/kWh at slow/fast chargers and 80p/kWh at fast/ultra-fast chargers.

Using an average-efficiency electric vehicle, this equates to 17 pence per mile and 24 pence per mile respectively, ZapMap data shows.

A domestic EV tariff can cost on average just 8p/kWh.

Cord shows how people without access to home chargers are affected by higher costs

ZapMap calculated the typical annual cost of different battery electric vehicle (BEV) drivers to show how charging habits affect operating costs.

John and Rosa, who charge at home 80% of the time, pay almost half of what Michael and Marie, who charge at home only 50% of the time, pay. Kris, who doesn’t have a charger at home, pays almost three times what John pays.

Drivers like John and Rosa, who are paid mostly at home, will only pay 7p per mile, while Kris, who is paid in public, pays 18p per mile.

Legal aspects explained

Paul Tomlinson, co-founder of Cord, explains how to protect yourself when it comes to the logistics of collecting payments between tenants and landlords.

We’ve divided them into useful sections.

If I ask my landlord to install a home charger, do I need a written contract?

Paul Tomlinson answers: This will depend on each owner.

At Cord, we ensure that if the property is rented, the tenant has written permission from the landlord for the installation.

What if the landlord and tenant want to split the cost?

This is where a written contract can really come in handy, but in general we recommend landlords cover the full cost of the device as it adds value to their property and can be difficult for the tenant to relocate.

Is the landlord legally required to cover maintenance?

This depends on any written agreement during installation.

Owners are generally responsible for the maintenance of fixed infrastructure.

If I move, can I take the charger with me? Is it possible to uninstall and reinstall a charger?

It is possible and we are in fact looking to launch a much more portable charger soon, however it will need to be completed by a qualified electrician and also installed in accordance with regulations at the new property.

Having a written agreement is essential to know who will pay for maintenance and repairs, especially if you move.

If I move and leave my charger behind, who pays for maintenance or repairs? Me, the landlord, or the future tenant?

This would depend on the agreement made when the charger was installed.

Does Cord see a future where home charger preference dictates house or apartment search and pricing?

Chargers generally add value, but a person may have a particular brand of charger that they use and not want to move to a house with a different charger.

We don’t see this as a big risk in the future because there is actually a lot of standardization in chargers.

While some extra features may be exclusive to certain brands, most modern chargers can charge cars just fine, and features like off-peak rates are becoming more standard.

Much more important to most EV drivers is the availability of off-street parking.

However, we believe that chargers add significant value to homes. And in the near future, it will be much harder to rent homes without chargers, just as it is difficult to rent homes without broadband today.