Renault Group

The right to an electrical socket for apartment owners and renters

07 November 2019
4 min
The rise of the electric car depends on access to charging facilities for those living in apartment blocks. This is both a need and a right.
by Renault Group

Studies show that most electric vehicles are charged in private areas, essentially at home or at the workplace. This being the case, measures have been introduced to try and meet the needs of apartment dwellers, including those without their own attributed parking space.

In France, this right has been granted since January 1st 2015, under the Mobility Law (“Loi pour les Mobilités”). The regulations apply to apartment blocks that have covered enclosed parking lots but are more difficult to enforce in co-owned properties without parking lots.

This is why an EU directive called the EPBD (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive), a revised version of which was published in 2018, sets a framework in place which each country must transpose into its own law. So, for existing buildings, the regulations mean that co-owners must set a date for putting charging facilities on their general meeting agenda.

Moreover, all new buildings must offer access to a collective charging facility whose cost is billed to the applicant(s). However, there is financial assistance available for both owners and renters of the property in question. Electricity consumption is then billed separately for each user.

Financial assistance in France

A directive on the energy performance of buildings published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 19, 2018, sets the framework for the right to an electrical socket. Now, after notifying the other co-owners, everyone has the right to have a charging point installed at their own cost.

In France, this can be financed through energy-saving certificates (subject to means testing). Under another electric car development program set up by Avere-France, financial assistance can cover up to 40% of the cost in apartment blocks (capped amount). Early in the summer, an announcement made by the government (ADVENIR program) laid out financial assistance equal to 50% of the cost of the installation work for the first 3,000 co-owned properties to have charging points installed.

Finally, in Paris, financial assistance for social housing associations and landlords has been put in place, capped at 500 euros per electrical socket for up to four sockets per apartment block. So it’s the right time for Parisians to get equipped if they have just purchased an electric vehicle, at a time when the “Mobility Bill” promotes easier, cheaper and cleaner commuting.

An international right to an electrical socket

In the UK, financial assistance can cover up to 75% of the cost thanks to a special program backed by the government’s low-emission vehicles office.
Meanwhile, Norway has built up a subsidy fund for energy and climate issues, and subsidizes up to 20% of the costs incurred (subject to approval) up to a maximum of 5,000 kroner (around 500 euros) per charging point.

On a different continent, in Tokyo (Japan) in 2018 the authorities introduced measures allowing charging points to be installed in apartment complexes free of charge. Upon request from those living in an apartment block, who reach agreement on the decision and number of charging points to be installed, they receive combined subsidies from the state and Tokyo City Hall. They cover the cost of installing charging points but not maintenance or electricity.
India is also an active player in this field, with its FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles) program. Again, budgets are set aside for the rollout of charging facilities, not only for cars but also for the famous rickshaws – very popular three-wheeled vehicles – which are now going electric too.

Thanks to the various financial efforts and across-board involvement, new and existing buildings are set to meet the needs of electric vehicle users better and better.

 

Copyrights : Extreme Media, dchadwick


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