What to Do When a Tenant Asks for EV Charging

Your tenant just knocked on your door. Or maybe they emailed you. Either way, the message is the same: “Can I install an EV charger at my parking spot?”

This EV charging request rarely existed a decade ago. Now, it frequently appears in inboxes nationwide. Electric vehicles have made their way from niche to mainstream. They are parked in residential and even multi-family dwellings across the country. As a result, property owners have a new maintenance request to address.

As a property owner, if an EV charging request comes from a new tenant, you don’t have to panic. Although the request should not be ignored, it should not be a source of anxiety. For your peace of mind, this request is addressed in the following guide, a “how-to” for complying with the law while protecting your property and retaining a good tenant.

Why EV Charging Requests Are Becoming Common

Electric vehicle sales have climbed steadily, and more renters now own one. Many of these renters don’t have a garage or driveway of their own. Their only charging option is the parking space that comes with their lease. Without access to a charger there, they’re stuck relying on public stations, which cost more and take longer.

This trend matters to property owners. First, investing in EV charging infrastructure on rental property will attract the growing number of environmentally conscious renters. Should property owners need to sell the rental property in the future, the investment will pay off. Either way, it will enhance the selling price. Additionally, this investment will outweigh the potential loss of business for property owners who ignore this trend.

Know the Law Before You Respond

Before you say yes or no, check what your state requires. This is the single most important step, and skipping it can cost you.

State “Right-to-Charge” Laws

California is a best-case scenario for tenant charging access. The strongest law to date is Civil Code 1947.6. Under this law, a landlord must approve a tenant’s request to install EV chargers in their assigned parking space if the tenant pays for it. There are exceptions. The law does not apply to spaces that do not include parking. The law also does not apply to buildings where EV chargers are available in 10% or more of the parking spaces, or to buildings with fewer than 5 parking spaces.

Connecticut also passed a similar law. Under the new law, a tenant charger request is automatically approved, but the law varies depending on the number of rental units owned by the landlord.

More states, including New York, Oregon, and Florida, have passed new protection laws, and an even greater number introduce similar laws every year. Even if your state has not passed similar protection laws, check the codes of your local cities and counties. Some local laws are already more advanced than state laws, especially in terms of EV charging access.

What Happens If There’s No Right-to-Charge Law Where You Are

If your state hasn’t passed a right-to-charge law, you still have full discretion over whether to approve the request. That said, an outright “no” isn’t always your best move. Tenants who can’t charge at home may simply look for a rental elsewhere once their lease is up. Treating the request as a negotiation, rather than a demand, usually works out better for both sides.

Step 1: Get the Request in Writing

Even if your state does not require a written request, you should make one. A written request creates a paper trail. It should have the tenant’s name, unit number, parking space number, and a simple statement of what they wish to have installed. If a situation arises in the future where you need to clarify a complaint, this protects you.

Step 2: Check the Electrical Capacity

Not every building can support new EV charging load without upgrades. Before agreeing to anything, have a licensed electrician assess your property’s electrical panel and service capacity. Older buildings, especially those built before the 1990s, may need a panel upgrade before a Level 2 charger can safely run. This inspection also tells you whether the tenant’s unit has its own metered circuit, or whether the charger would draw off a shared building meter, which changes how you handle billing.

Step 3: Decide Who Pays

In most states that have a right-to-charge law, the cost of equipment, installation, electricity, and removal falls on the tenant. Even if there is no law, it is a good practice to charge tenants for the costs, which also allows for negotiation. One negotiation could be whether the tenant pays a flat monthly fee for electricity or gets a submeter to track their usage and pay for the electricity used.

Some landlords elect to install the charging equipment and recover a percentage of the cost through rent, particularly in multi-unit buildings where multiple tenants could be using the same equipment. This is a good practice if you expect to have other tenants requesting charging equipment in the future.

Step 4: Choose the Right Equipment

There are two common paths here, and the right one depends on your budget and your tenant’s needs.

NEMA 14-50 Outlet

The simplest and cheapest option is a dedicated 240-volt outlet, often called a NEMA 14-50. This costs roughly $150 to $400 to install and lets the tenant plug in their own portable charger. It’s not fancy, but it charges most EVs fully overnight, and it works for any future tenant regardless of what car they drive.

ChargePoint

When a dedicated charging station is needed, ChargePoint is a great choice for residential and commercial properties. ChargePoint allows property owners to monitor the usage of the chargers through their management software. With their software, owners can also charge tenants and configure the chargers for use by specific tenants. Hardwired Level 2 charging stations cost between $1,200 and $3,500. The cost is dependent on the property’s electrical system and proximity of the charging station to the electrical panel.

Regardless of the choice of charging stations, always use a licensed and insured electrician to do the work. Even if the tenant is covering the cost, do not allow the use of an unlicensed installer to install a simple charging outlet.

Step 5: Put the Agreement in Writing

Once you’ve worked out the details, formalize them in a lease addendum. This document should spell out who owns the equipment, who’s responsible for repairs, what happens if the tenant moves out, and how electricity costs get billed. Many right-to-charge laws already require the charger to be treated as a fixture of the property if the tenant doesn’t remove it at move-out, so be clear about that upfront to avoid confusion later.

Step 6: Look Into Rebates and Tax Credits

Do not make the tenant pay the full amount. Many utility companies provide rebates for EV charger installations, ranging from $200 to $2,000, depending on the state. Since the rebates depend on the specific state, contact your local utility provider.

On the federal side, the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (Section 30C) can help offset costs, but the details matter for landlords specifically. The $1,000-capped, 30% version of this credit applies only to a taxpayer’s own primary residence, so it generally does not cover a charger installed on a rental unit you don’t live in. Landlords installing a charger as a business expense may instead qualify under the business version of the credit, worth 6% of cost (30% if prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements are met), up to $100,000 per charger.

Both versions require the property to sit in an eligible low-income or non-urban census tract, and both were ended early by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: neither version is available for property placed in service after June 30, 2026. Confirm current availability and eligibility with a tax professional before counting on this credit.

Why Saying Yes Can Pay Off

There’s more than one way to benefit from an EV charger on your rental property. Studies show that access to EV chargers can increase the resale value of a property by several percentage points. Adding a charger can also increase the property’s rental potential, since the number of EV owners continues to increase. A property that has an EV charger, or a property that can have a charger added with ease, will stand out in rental property listings.

A retention strategy can also be developed by adding an EV charger for your tenants. A tenant who has their charger request approved is less likely to look for other rental options when their lease ends. When you compare the cost to turn over a rental unit with the amount of time a property is vacant after being re-listed, you will most likely calculate that it is more profitable to just add a charger.

Common Landlord Concerns, and How to Handle Them

Cost is almost always the primary concern, but the solution is easy: have the tenant pay for the installation, maintenance, and electricity, and include that in the agreement. The second worry is liability. You can address this by having tenants obtain renters insurance for the equipment and ensuring your landlord policy covers EV chargers. Lastly, the concern is the safety of the electrical work. This is a non-issue as you can stipulate that a licensed electrician is required for each of the steps from assessment of the circuit panel to final installation.

When You Can Say No

Even in the more protective ‘right to charge’ jurisdictions, there are valid grounds for refusing the request. Generally, if the lease does not include a parking space, the law does not apply. If a meaningful percentage of parking spaces in your building already have charging, that is grounds for refusing the request. It is also an acceptable refusal reason if the building lacks the capacity, and you can document the reason. If it’s not financially viable to upgrade, you can refuse the request.

What you cannot do in a jurisdiction with a ‘right to charge’ is to deny the request because it would be an inconvenience to you, or because you would rather not deal with it. This exposes you to a legal risk, and you should definitely review the regulations in your jurisdiction before you say no.

Conclusion

A tenant asking about EV charging isn’t a problem to dread. It’s a request you can manage with a clear process: confirm your state’s law, get everything in writing, verify your electrical capacity, decide on cost-sharing, pick the right equipment, and document it all in a lease addendum. Handled this way, an EV charging request becomes a straightforward addition to your property, not a headache. And with EV ownership only growing, the landlords who get comfortable with this process now will be ahead of the curve later.

FAQs