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Who is this for? 

This is for residents of apartment buildings who own or are planning to buy an electric vehicle and want to be able to charge at home. Because most apartments are governed by a body corporate, getting a charger installed is a building-wide project. Every building is different but it can be done if you follow a structured process. 

Let’s start with the really good reasons for installing EV charging:

Firstly, the main reason for enabling your residents to charge EVs at home is that it will massively reduce their transport bills, and also their household emissions.

Yearly running costs are a lot lower for EVs and, over its lifetime, including upfront costs, an EV could save up to $20,000 in comparison to an ICE car (and more if fuel prices rise further).

EVs can also reduce your operating emissions by over 90%. They do have higher manufacturing emissions from the battery, but this is paid off quickly from the operating emissions savings.

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• Property value - EV charging infrastructure increases property values and makes apartments more attractive to future buyers and renters.
• It doesn't have to be expensive - starting small with a single metered outlet (a power socket that monitors exactly how much electricity is used by the device plugged into it) or shared charger is a legitimate first step, and a costly power supply upgrade is rarely needed.
• Electrical capacity fears are usually overstated - in most buildings, Level 2 charging (7 kW to 22 kW, faster than trickle charging with a standard 3-pin plug) is achievable within the existing power supply using load management software.
• Fire safety concerns are largely based on misinformation - EVs catch fire less frequently than petrol vehicles, and no NZ insurer has added policy exclusions for EV charging.
• Other buildings are already doing it - The Body Corporate Chairs' Group guidelines on EV charging already exist because enough NZ buildings have been through this process successfully; you are not being asked to be a guinea pig.
• Demand is only going one way - act now to futureproof your building as more residents will buy EVs in the future.

Key steps

Step 1- Do your homework first

Before approaching your body corporate committee, read up on what's involved. There’s a couple of useful resources with really helpful practical advice that you can start with:

• The Body Corporates Chairs’ Group NZ (BCCG NZ)  has developed a set of guidelines for installing EV chargers in apartments. This is a great resource and includes practical advice and options. Read these and share them with your body corporate and interested neighbours.
• There’s also this article which is a short summary of the steps and guidance written from a body corporate perspective. 

Two free New Zealand standards, published by Standards NZ and sponsored by EECA, are essential reading. Both are free to download. Which standard is relevant will depend on the set up in your apartment. E.g. in a basement set up with all the chargers operating together as a group and all powered from the same distribution board and MEN (multiple earth neutral link), then the commercial standard would likely apply. If the apartments were more like multi-unit dwellings, the chargers may be installed to each apartment/townhouse own board directly. If this is the case, the residential standard would apply.

• SNZ PAS 6011:2023 (Residential EV Charging) (56 pages) covers safe installation in residential settings.
• SNZ PAS 6010:2023 (Commercial EV Charging) (58 pages) is directly relevant to apartment buildings and covers load management, charger selection, and billing.

Finally, check out your apartment body corporate rules and committee cycles.

Step 2 - Build demand among other residents

Find out how many other residents own an EV or are considering one, and talk about the savings and environmental benefits of going electric. We have many free EV resource on our website to help. A shared proposal carries more weight with a body corporate committee than a single resident's request, and knowing likely demand helps size the infrastructure correctly. A simple survey through your building's existing communication channels (email list, residents' group chat) is a good starting point.

Step 3 - Raise it with your Body Corporate Committee

Submit a request to your body corporate committee asking them to consider installing EV charging as a building infrastructure project. Frame it as a building improvement and reference the BCCG NZ  guidelines, which are the recognised NZ industry standard for this process.

Step 4 - Commission an electrical capacity assessment

The committee's first step should be commissioning a professional electrical capacity assessment to understand what the building can support and what upgrades, if any, are needed. If charging can be managed within existing capacity, you may avoid expensive upgrades. Smart load management is often more cost effective than increasing supply capacity

Step 5 - Agree on demand and a charger standard

Consider demand now and in the future and likely charging patterns. Decide how many carparks will have a charger installed based on this.

The body corporate should agree on a consistent, approved charger type before any installations proceed. Mode 3 smart chargers are the recommended standard for apartments -  they include load management capability, meaning the building's electrical supply is shared intelligently across multiple users rather than overloading the system. 

If the design is based on Mode 3 Smart Chargers, new electrical energy meters will not be required because the Smart Chargers will themselves log all power usage and this information can be pulled from the CPO platform allowing power usage to be on-charged to the vehicle owner.

There’s more detail on this step and step 6 in the BCCG guidelines which is worth reading.

EECA maintains an approved list of smart EV chargers that meet New Zealand technical specifications. This is a good starting point for selecting compliant chargers.

Note: A range of technological solutions are already available or emerging, each suited to different apartment situations, such as wireless charging pads, mobile charging units, and subscription-based models where chargers are installed at no upfront cost to the body corporate, with users instead paying for the service as they charge. As this market matures, apartment complexes will have an increasingly broad set of options to match their budget, infrastructure constraints, and resident demand.

Step 6 - Agree ownership, billing and rules

The body corporate typically owns the core electrical infrastructure (cabling, sub-boards), while individual residents own their charger unit. Billing and rules will depend on the set up design e.g. if communal or individual chargers; type of charger used. Your body corporate's operational rules should document this clearly.

Common billing arrangements include:

• Fixed monthly access fee
• Variable charges based on metered electricity use
• User-pay platforms that bill per session and reimburse the body corporate quarterly

Step 7 - Commission a qualified electrician to install

All EV charger installations must be carried out by a licensed electrician and must comply with New Zealand electrical safety standards. The body corporate should make sure any contractor has experience with multi-unit or commercial EV installations. 

Other points:

• Billing and Maintenance: operational rules should clearly define who is responsible for charger maintenance, what happens if a unit is faulty, and how costs are recovered.
• Future residents: once rules and a charger standard are in place, they should be embedded in the body corporate bylaws so any future resident knows the approved process.

So you get the big NO - what else can you do?

Moving might not be an option; here’s some other ideas

1. A metered three pin plug - over 80% of EV owners in New Zealand do more than half their charging from a three pin plug i.e. a regular power point using a portable charging cable, like a laptop or a phone. This is safe. A solution is to ask for a sub meter to be installed so you can pay for your own electricity. 
2. Starter charger in visitor bays - one way to get started without committing to a bigger solution is for the body corporate to install EV charging in the visitor bays. This is not a long-term solution as more people buy EVs but could be a start.
3. Workplace charging - is there an option to get charging installed at your workplace for employees and charge there? This is a great benefit for employees who drive to work but this isn’t an option for everyone.
4. Public charging nearby - finding a nearby public charging station and making EV charging part of your routine is another option. This works best when public chargers are close and reliably available. But you will have to pay high charging rates.
5. The extension cord option - if you are on the ground floor of a building with easy access to parking then you could use an extension cord. It does carry some risk, and it is advisable to use a heavy duty cord that’s as short as possible and not a trip hazard. It’s not ideal but could push your body corporate into action.

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