California's HOA right-to-charge rules
California has a specific statute on owner EV charging stations in common interest developments: Civil Code §4745. Read the official text on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov and talk to your association's counsel before you write a policy or respond to a request. General information, not legal advice.
Owner responsibilities to address
Whatever the statute requires, your policy should state plainly who handles each of these:
- Paying for installation, and for electricity used.
- Insurance for the charging station.
- Maintenance, repair and eventual removal.
- Using a licensed electrical contractor and pulling permits.
- What transfers to the buyer when a unit is sold.
Common-area vs assigned spaces
Requests for an owner's deeded or assigned space usually mean a circuit through common areas to that space. Shared chargers sit in common areas and serve many residents. Your policy should cover both: route approval for private installs, and access, pricing and etiquette for shared chargers.
Policy template outline
- Purpose and scope: which spaces and buildings the policy covers.
- Application: the form, required drawings and contractor details.
- Board review: what the board checks, and its response timeline under the law.
- Electrical capacity: how capacity is allocated so early installs don't block later ones.
- Costs and metering: installation, electricity, submetering or network billing.
- Insurance and indemnity: required coverage and certificates.
- Installation standards: licensed contractor, permits, conduit routes, signage.
- Maintenance and removal: who repairs, and what happens on sale or removal.
- Shared chargers: access, pricing, time limits and idle fees.
- Disputes and review: how the policy is updated.
When a community-wide program beats one-off approvals
Once several owners want chargers, or the electrical service is tight, a community plan shares capacity fairly and replaces repeated reviews with one decision. See EV charging for condo and HOA communities and EV load management.