Charge! Rental sector disadvantaged over costs for electric car charging

A property management firm says the private rental sector is effectively disadvantaged in the fight against climate change because it does not have the financial benefits given to individuals who install and use car charging facilities. 

Earlier this month the government said it would bring forward the ban on the sale of petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles from 2040 to 2035. 

By the end of 2019, 265,000 electric car models were on UK roads, and the market is expected to grow to 56 million by 2040. While some people remain reluctant, with more than 350 new EV models to debut by 2025, and as vehicles prices decline, electric cars will only become more common. 

As part of that, the government’s Road to Zero strategy has proposed that by 2025 every new residential and non-residential building with an associated car parking space should have an EV charging station. 

But while individuals can apply for grants to help cover installation costs, there is currently no such scheme for landlords.

“The costly requirements to install, operate and maintain an EV charging station present significant barriers. Furthermore, there are longer-term billing complexities to consider” explains Joseph Gurvits, chief executive of Y&Y Management.

He says there are three main EV charger types to choose from: slow, fast and rapid, taking from about eight hours to just 30 minutes for a substantial or 100 per cent charge on electric vehicles. 

Gurvits says: “However, landlords with properties in city centres could investigate the options for covering the costs by providing rapid charging points as a part of parking rental schemes. Another approach could be for landlords to grant a longer-term concession to a charging provider, which is then responsible for operating and maintaining charging points within a development and recovering their investment from their customers.”

On top of all that, he says it would currently be difficult to isolate the electricity used in charging individual cars that can then be billed to the appropriate tenants. Instead, most properties find the cost of charging falls to the whole building to be later recouped in the service charge. 

“Installing charging stations is not yet an easy process. Ultimately, more conversations need to be had with the government to highlight the current challenges landlords face and the role that we could play in the electric revolution if better supported. Landlords have great untapped potential to aid the road to zero carbon emissions” he concludes.