EV charging in multi-unit buildings
Charging at home is often the cheapest and most convenient way to charge an EV, but not everyone has easy access to home charging.
Approximately 28% of Canberrans live in multi-unit buildings like apartments and townhouses. These types of housing present some unique challenges for EV owners. This is because parking is usually located in shared areas, with shared electrical infrastructure. This requires owners to develop collaborative solutions to upgrade electrical infrastructure (if needed), install chargers and manage the costs.
What does 'EV ready' mean?
'EV ready' means getting a building ready to install EV chargers but does not mean installing chargers in every car space. In multi-unit buildings, this typically involves upgrading electrical infrastructure in car parks and garages so that residents can install their own chargers in the future.
Making buildings EV ready means residents can transition to an EV, and easily install a home charger, at a time that suits them.
Why is this important?
Many existing multi-unit buildings in the ACT are not EV ready and may need electrical or structural upgrades to car park areas before EV chargers can be safely installed. Residents will need to work closely with their building managers to install chargers and develop a strategy that considers future demand for the building.
Making new buildings EV ready
To support EV uptake in Canberra, it is important that we design and construct new buildings that are EV ready.
From 15 January 2024, the National Construction Code requires certain building types (e.g., apartment complexes) to meet new energy efficiency requirements that facilitate the future installation of on-site renewables and electric vehicle charging.
EV ready information for new buildings is available on the ACT planning website.
Retrofitting existing buildings
For existing multi-unit buildings, getting EV ready usually means retrofitting electrical infrastructure into parking areas. If you are a resident, owners corporation or strata manager who is ready to start their EV ready journey, download the Making your building EV ready guide [689.6 KB]. is designed to help residents, owners corporations and strata managers start their EV ready journey.
Making existing buildings EV ready in a safe and equitable way is often more complex and more expensive than installing EV ready infrastructure during construction. To better understand the scale and cost of this challenge, the ACT Government is undertaking a Residential Strata EV Ready Pilot Study.
The $300,000 Pilot Study will fund:
- EV ready feasibility studies for up to 10 strata
- the installation of EV ready infrastructure in at least two of these strata.
Find out more about the Residential Strata EV Ready Pilot Study.
Did you know?
The ACT Government has amended the Unit Titles (Management) ACT 2011 to facilitate residents installing EV charging infrastructure in buildings managed by owners corporations.
This update ensures that building managers or executive committees cannot, without good reason, prevent or restrict the installation of sustainability and utility infrastructure, such as EV chargers. For more information, visit the ACT Planning website.
Steps to make your building EV ready
There are a number of steps that owners corporations can take to make informed decisions about whether to invest in becoming EV ready.
- Step 1: Survey unit owners and residents.
You can use the Electric Vehicle and EV Charging Survey template [39.3 KB] to find out your owners' and residents' plans to purchase an EV and thoughts on installing EV charging infrastructure.
- Step 2: Conduct an energy assessment.
Engage a licenced and suitably qualified electrical contractor to do an energy assessment covering historical peak loads and energy use patterns.
- Step 3: Develop a comprehensive EV ready design.
Engage a licenced and suitably qualified electrical contractor to design an EV ready solution for your building.
- Step 4: Install EV ready infrastructure.
Engage a suitable electrical contractor to install the backbone infrastructure to make the building EV ready.
- Step 5: Owners start installing chargers.
Once the building is EV ready, owners can install suitable chargers when they are ready.
For a more detailed breakdown of the steps to become EV ready, download the Making your building EV ready guide [689.6 KB].
Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as traditional custodians of the ACT and recognise any other people or families with connection to the lands of the ACT and region. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.