All New Homes and Businesses to Have EV Charge Points from 2021

Our Managing Director Richard was invited to speak at Lincolnshire Chamber’s September Construction and Property Network.

He gave an overview of the changes to building regulations for both new homes and commercial properties that are currently being consulted on.

From March 2021, every new residential building must have an associated car parking space with an electric vehicle charge point.

These must be charge points with a minimum 7kw charging speed, as opposed to three-pin sockets – which is what a lot of current charging points include.

It’s also expected that these will need to be smart so that users can use an app to control when the charging takes place.

Having so many charge points on a large housing estate will add to the overall electrical load, which is why load management technology is being considered so that the overall site wouldn’t exceed its electrical capacity.

The domestic regulations will also apply to buildings that are being changed to become dwellings.

Furthermore, every residential building undergoing major renovation with more than 10 car parking spaces will be required to have cable routes for electric vehicle charge points in every space.

While building regulations cannot be applied retrospectively for commercial properties, the Government intends to legislate such that, from 2025 at least one charge point should be installed per 20 spaces in every existing car park.

Therefore, if your business has a car park you will be required to provide a charge point per every 20 spaces.

The regulations also state that there should be at least one charge point and ducting (underground piping that contains cables) for one in five parking spaces associated with new buildings.

As there isn’t currently a grant available, the associated costs for domestic settings may be in the region of £800 to £1,000.

In the case of commercial properties, workplaces can apply for the workplace charge scheme.

These policies represent the most ambitious regulatory package in the world for electric vehicle infrastructure and will help ensure the UK has one of the best electric vehicle infrastructure networks in the world.

Access the full legislation by visiting: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/818810/electric-vehicle-charging-in-residential-and-non-residential-buildings.pdf