How do we add EV chargers to HOA common area parking?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 27, 2026

How an HOA board adds EV chargers to common parking: load study, Level 2 vs DC fast, who pays for power, bid scope, TX, FL and CO rules, and a sample motion.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Run it like any other common-area capital project. Survey owners, have an electrician measure the spare capacity feeding the parking area, and settle who pays for the equipment and the electricity before anyone signs a contract. For most communities of 26 to 150 homes, that ends with a handful of networked Level 2 chargers, paid for by the drivers who use them, installed after whatever owner vote the declaration requires for changing the common area. In Colorado and Florida, owners also have charging rights of their own, so a shared program cannot replace them. Rules vary by state and by your governing documents; this guide is general education, not legal advice, so have the association's attorney review the policy and the contract.

Start with demand and the electrical service

Survey owners before you spend money on engineering; a sample question is at the end of this guide. Twelve interested households in a 60-home community is a program. Two may be better served by letting them install their own chargers under written conditions. Then find out what the wiring can carry. Hire a licensed electrician or electrical engineer for a load study of the panel or meter serving the parking area. Ask for peak demand from a year of bills or a 30-day meter log, the spare capacity in amps, and how many 7.2 kW chargers fit without a service upgrade. Have them price the upgrade too. A new transformer or service entrance can cost more than the chargers, and utility lead time can set your schedule, so call the utility the week you order the study. Ask about load management as well: networked chargers can share a circuit and throttle each other to stay under a set limit, which can stretch the service you already have.

Level 1, Level 2 or DC fast

The Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center publishes the basic numbers. Level 1 uses a 120-volt plug, puts out about 1.9 kW and adds roughly 5 miles of range per hour. Level 2 runs on 208 or 240 volts, puts out 2.9 to 19.2 kW and adds about 25 miles per hour; most residential units draw 30 amps and deliver 7.2 kW. DC fast chargers put out up to 500 kW. Cars in resident parking sit for hours, so Level 2 is the right tool, and DOE recommends Level 1 and Level 2 for multifamily housing. DOE's figures put public Level 2 equipment at about $3,500 per connector with installation averaging around $2,500, against $38,000 to $90,000 per connector for DC fast equipment and $20,000 to $60,000 to install it. A 26 to 150 home association should not buy a DC fast charger for residents. A dedicated 120-volt outlet at each assigned space is the cheap alternative, and it covers plug-in hybrids and short commutes.

Who pays for the equipment and the power

Decide this before you pick equipment, because the billing method drives the hardware. In shared spaces open to any resident, the usual model is association-owned networked chargers, with the network billing each driver by the session, hour or kWh and passing the revenue back after its fee. In condos with assigned parking, the association often runs conduit and panel capacity to the spaces, and each owner who wants a charger buys one and pays for power through a submeter. A third option is an operator that installs and owns the equipment and sets the price; read its contract term, removal clause, and who owns the conduit when it ends. Under any model, dues should not buy electricity for a few drivers. Set the price to cover the power, the network fee and a set-aside for repairs. Colorado's statute points the same way for an owner's own charger: the association may require reimbursement of the actual cost of electricity it supplies, or charge a reasonable access fee, plus any network fee (C.R.S. 38-33.3-106.8(2)(b)). Add an idle fee that starts after a car finishes charging, or one resident will park in the shared spot all day. Tell the insurance agent before the chargers go live.

What Texas, Florida and Colorado law says

Colorado. C.R.S. 38-33.3-106.8 bars an association from prohibiting an owner from installing a Level 1 or Level 2 charger, at the owner's expense and for the owner's own use, in the unit, in an assigned or deeded space, and, since HB 23-1233 took effect on May 23, 2023, in a parking space shared with other owners. The association can still enforce code-based safety requirements, require registration within 30 days after installation, and set reasonable rules on size, placement and appearance. The statute also encourages communities to put chargers on common property as an amenity and to apply to the state electric vehicle grant fund. Florida. For condominiums, section 718.113(8) bars the declaration or the board from prohibiting an owner from installing a charger in the owner's limited common element or exclusively designated parking area. The power must be separately metered or run through an embedded meter and paid by that owner, and the owner gets an implied easement across the common elements to bring power to the charger. A board-led installation in the common elements falls under section 718.113(2)(a): a material alteration or substantial addition follows the declaration's procedure, or needs 75 percent of the total voting interests if the declaration is silent. Chapter 720, which governs Florida HOAs, has no EV charging section. If chargers will be open to the public, section 366.94 requires registering them with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services before use. Texas. Property Code chapter 202 lists the items a property owners' association cannot ban outright, such as solar devices, standby generators, flags and pool enclosures. EV chargers are not on that list, and chapters 82 and 209 have no charging section either. A Texas board's authority here comes from the dedicatory instruments, so read the declaration for any owner vote required on new improvements.

Do not budget around the federal tax credit

The federal alternative fuel refueling property credit under IRC section 30C applies to property placed in service from January 1, 2023, through June 30, 2026, and only in eligible low-income or non-urban census tracts. A charger that goes into service now does not qualify. Ask your electric utility whether it has make-ready or rebate programs for multifamily or community charging, and in Colorado, look at the state grant fund named in the statute. Get any award in writing, with its deadline, before you sign the installation contract.

What the bid scope should say

Send the same written scope to at least three licensed electrical contractors, with one joint site walk. Our guide on how to write an HOA request for proposal covers the format. For this project, spell out: - the number of charging ports now, and conduit sized for how many you may add later - charger power per port, such as 7.2 kW, and whether ports share a circuit under load management - equipment certified by a recognized testing lab and installed to NEC Article 625 and local code, which Colorado's statute also requires for any charging system - networked chargers that support Open Charge Point Protocol 1.6 or later, as DOE recommends, so the association can switch networks without replacing hardware - trenching, boring or core drilling, restoration of paving and landscaping, and a unit price for rock or buried obstructions - permits, utility coordination and final inspection - equipment and labor warranties, the network fee per port per month, and who responds, and how fast, when a charger goes down - a separate price per added port, so later expansion is priced now

A survey question, a timeline and a motion

Survey question: 'The board is studying shared EV chargers in [location], paid by the drivers who use them, about $[estimate] per session. Do you (a) drive an EV or plug-in hybrid now, (b) expect to within three years, or (c) neither? Where do you park overnight?' A seven-month timeline. Month 1, survey and pull a year of bills for the parking-area meter. Month 2, load study and utility call. Month 3, pick the billing model, draft the policy, send out the scope. Month 4, compare bids and send any required owner ballot. Months 5 and 6, permits and utility work. Month 7, install, inspect, and publish rules and pricing. Motion: 'Moved to approve the contract with [contractor] to install [number] networked Level 2 charging ports at [location] for $[amount] under the bid dated [date], plus a contingency of up to $[amount], paid from [fund]; to adopt the electric vehicle charging policy as presented, with drivers paying $[rate] per [kWh or hour] and an idle fee after [number] minutes; and to authorize [director] to sign a network service agreement with a term of no more than [number] years.'

Mistakes boards make

The most expensive one is buying chargers before the load study, then learning the service needs a utility upgrade the budget never included. The next is paying for charging out of dues. Boards also sign long operator contracts without reading who removes the equipment, who owns the conduit and what happens if the operator folds. Others trench for two chargers, then trench the same lot again two years later for four; lay the empty conduit while the ground is open. In Colorado and Florida, shared chargers are not grounds to deny an owner's own charger that the statute protects. For the owner side of these requests, see our guide on whether an HOA can stop an owner from installing an EV charger, and write the approval conditions into the same charging policy so every request gets the same answer.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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