Regulations Make it Easier to Install Electric Vehicle Charging in Stratas

On December 6, 2023 Order in Council OIC 671-23 brought into effect legislation and regulations that make it easier for strata owners to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and infrastructure. See our blog post about the requirement to obtain electrical planning reports: 10 Facts about Electrical Planning Reports for BC Stratas.

Can a strata owner install a charging station in a parking stall?

The Strata Property Act (SPA) contains a new section called “Alterations to Common Property to Install EV Charging Infrastructure for Owner”. There are 3 sections numbered 90.1 to 90.3. Notably it says “owner”, not tenant or resident.

An owner must request permission to install an EV charging station or other EV charging infrastructure on common property or limited common property. In order to provide all of the information required, the request should be in writing. Most stratas have a bylaw that says an owner must obtain the written approval of the strata corporation before making an alteration to common property, including limited common property, or common assets. See Standard Bylaw 6.

When can an owner make a request?

An owner could make a request at any time, however there can be no expectation that it will be approved until SPA s. 90.1 comes into effect for their strata. The timing of when SPA s. 90.1 becomes effective is explained in Regulation 5.4. It depends on whether the strata has an electrical planning report. Note that an EV Ready Plan is not an electrical planning report. See our blog post: 10 Facts about Electrical Planning Reports for BC Stratas.

If the strata does not have an electrical planning report and the deadline to obtain one has not passed, the strata is not required to consider the request.
If the strata has obtained an electrical planning report, or the deadline to obtain one has passed, council must decide whether to approve an owner’s request within 3 months after receiving the request.
If the strata is not required to obtain an electrical planning report (it has fewer than 5 strata lots), it must consider requests received on or after December 31, 2026.

What information does an owner need to include in their request?

In a request for permission to install an EV charging station or other EV charging infrastructure on common property or limited common property, SPA s. 90.1 and Regulation 5.3 require the owner to include the following information:

(a) the owner’s contact information and strata lot number

(b) a description of the proposed EV charging infrastructure

(d) the number or location of the parking stall at which the EV charging infrastructure would be used

(e) the name and contact information of a contractor who is qualified to make the proposed alterations for which approval is sought

(f) a description, prepared by the contractor referred to in paragraph (e), of the work required to make the proposed alterations

(g) an estimate, prepared by the contractor referred to in paragraph (e), of

(i) the cost of making the proposed alterations, and

(ii) the time needed to make the proposed alterations

Does the council have to approve the request?

The strata corporation cannot unreasonably refuse to approve an owner’s request if it was properly made under SPA s. 90.1. An owner may only make a request under this section if it has come into effect for their strata. Council must decide whether to approve an owner’s request within 3 months after receiving the request. If approved, council may require the owner to agree in writing to reasonable conditions.

There may be situations when a request can be denied. SPA s. 90.2 sets out conditions and criteria that a council may consider when reviewing an owner’s request.

Many stratas will be required to hold a majority vote under SPA s. 71 for owners to approve a “significant change in use or appearance of common property”. Passing this resolution once is usually sufficient to cover future installations. It depends on the wording of the resolution and the nature of each individual installation.

The council must review the information in the request and determine if it is satisfied that the request meets the criteria in the Act and Regulation. See SPA s. 90.2 for a complete list of considerations.

For example, the council can consider the strata’s electrical system and future needs. The council should review the information in the strata’s electrical planning report to understand the:

current capacity of the electrical system
current peak demand and spare capacity
electrical capacity needed to power heating, cooling, ventilation and other systems that the strata corporation anticipates may be modified or installed in the future

What are reasonable conditions of approval?

Under SPA s. 90.2, council can require the owner to agree in writing to conditions. These conditions could include the strata’s approval of the infrastructure, contractors, and materials. The legislation also recognizes that circumstances may change after an owner has installed infrastructure. It allows the strata to require the owner to modify or replace the infrastructure in the event that the strata corporation installs other EV charging infrastructure for the benefit of the owners. For example, if the strata corporation later decides to install a networked, load-managed EV charging system, it’s likely that the owner’s previous installation will be incompatible. The owner could be required to replace their charging station with a compatible model.

Many of the conditions listed in the Act that council may consider are not binding unless there is an agreement between the owner and the strata corporation. The conditions that council wants to include in their approval should be set out in an indemnity agreement, assumption of liability agreement, or other form of written agreement. The strata could have a lawyer draft a standard agreement that can be used for each request that is approved by council.

Who pays for the EV charging infrastructure on common property?

SPA s. 90.3 states that if the request is approved, the owner is responsible for any expenses associated with making the alteration “unless otherwise agreed between the owner and the strata corporation”. For clarity, the responsibility for the owner to pay, and what they are responsible to pay for, should be detailed in a written agreement.

Who installs the EV charging station and infrastructure?

Under the SPA, the strata corporation may make the alteration or allow the owner to make the alteration. Many stratas will want to take control of the project and hire their usual contractors to perform work in common property electrical rooms. This seems prudent to ensure safety, consistency, compliance with the Electrical Code, and to avoid potential insurance issues.

If the strata corporation makes the alteration, SPA s. 90.3 says that the owner must pay the strata the anticipated costs up-front, unless otherwise agreed between the owner and the strata corporation. If that amount is insufficient, the owner must pay any amounts required to cover the remaining expense. The strata is required to pay any excess amount back to the owner.

Again, for clarity, details about payment should be set out in a written agreement.

What if the parking stall is common property?

Previously under the Act, common property stalls (that have not been designated as limited common property for the exclusive use of a strata lot) could only be assigned to an owner or tenant for short-term exclusive use of up to one year. An owner wishing to install a charging station in a common property stall assigned to them or to their tenant had no assurance that they would have the privilege of using the same stall in coming years.

SPA s. 76(2) and Regulation 5.101 now allow a common property parking stall to be assigned for up to 5 years if EV charging infrastructure has been installed for use at the parking stall and the installation resulted from an owner’s request made under SPA s. 90.1. Section 76 says the permission or privilege “may” be given, not “must” be given.

Note that SPA s. 90.1 isn’t in effect until the strata receives its first electrical planning report or the deadline to obtain one has passed. This results in the interpretation that a grant of short-term exclusive use can only be for up to one year until such time as the strata has received an electrical planning report, or the deadline to obtain one has passed.

Permission for short-term exclusive use of common property may be given for a period of not more than one year for:

parking stalls where the strata installed the EV charging infrastructure for use at the parking stall (i.e. it was not installed due to an owner’s request made under SPA s. 90.1)
parking stalls where there is no EV charging infrastructure installed
common property that is not a parking stall

In these cases, council is required to review grants of short-term exclusive use every 12 months. SPA s. 76 allows the strata council to renew the permission or privilege and, on renewal, may shorten the period or change the conditions. Renewing permission annually often results in an owner or tenant having use of the same parking stall for many years. While an owner or tenant has no guarantee of continued use of the same common property parking stall, the council could choose to renew permission annually.

What votes are needed for a strata to commence a project to install EV charging infrastructure?

If resolutions are properly passed, the strata corporation can pay for and install EV charging infrastructure and charging stations on common property, including limited common property. Amendments to the Strata Property Act became effective on May 11, 2023 that make it easier for strata corporations to approve these projects.

Significant change in use or appearance

Under SPA s. 71, a vote is required to approve a “significant change in use or appearance of common property” (including limited common property). The voting threshold is a majority vote (instead of the usual ¾ vote) if the change “is related to the installation of EV charging infrastructure or the management of electricity used by EV charging infrastructure”. This vote is usually required for an owner’s project as well. See “Does the council have to approve the request?”

Expenditures from the CRF

Many stratas wish to pay for projects using money from the contingency reserve fund (CRF). SPA s. 96(b)(i)(A) says that a majority vote (instead of the usual ¾ vote) is required to approve expenditures from the CRF:

related to the installation of EV charging infrastructure or the management of electricity used by EV charging infrastructure
necessary to obtain an electrical planning report under SPA s. 94.1
necessary to obtain any other report respecting the installation or operation of EV charging infrastructure or the management of electricity used by EV charging infrastructure (such as a CleanBC EV Ready Plan)

Acquiring personal property

A majority vote (instead of the usual ¾ vote) is required for the strata corporation to acquire or dispose of personal property “for a purpose related to the installation, operation, maintenance or repair of EV charging infrastructure, or the management of electricity used by EV charging infrastructure”, if it has a market value of more than the amount set out in the bylaws, or $1,000 if the bylaws are silent as to the amount. See SPA s. 82 for details. Personal property is something that is owned and is “movable”, unlike real property or real estate which is immovable. An example of personal property would be a charging station owned by the strata corporation.

What records does the strata have to keep?

SPA s. 35 lists the records that a strata corporation must keep. SPA s. 35(2)(n.4) now requires the strata to keep any reports obtained by the strata corporation respecting the installation or operation of EV charging infrastructure or the management of electricity used by EV charging infrastructure. SPA s. 35(2)(n.3) also requires the strata corporation to keep any electrical planning reports obtained by the strata corporation. These reports must be kept permanently.

The strata must also keep all correspondence with owners and contractors and copies of indemnity agreements and assumption of liability agreements. Log in to your member profile to access a copy of VISOA’s Records Retention Guide.

Resources updated to December 6, 2023:

Strata Property Act
See SPA 35(2), 71(b)(i), 76(2)(b)(ii), 82(3.1)(a), 90.1, 90.2, 90.3, 96(b)(i)(A)
Strata Property Regulation
See Regulations 5.101 and 5.3 to 5.6

Order in Council OIC 671-23
BC Government Strata Housing website Electric vehicle charging in strata corporations
VISOA’s web page Electric Vehicle Charging in Stratas
VISOA’s YouTube channel
Send EV charging questions to: EVcharging@visoa.bc.ca