Power EV

EV charging for apartment blocks: options, grants, and what it costs.

Getting an EV charger in an apartment block is more involved than a standard house installation, but it is achievable. Whether you are a leaseholder with a dedicated space or a property manager planning shared charging for the whole building, here is what you need to know.
Gavin Rogers
Gavin Rogers · DirectorUpdated 9 November 2026
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OZEV EV chargepoint grant (leaseholders)
Up to £350
Typical shared charger per parking space
£800–£1,500 installed
Max grant for landlords (per socket)
Up to £350

The challenge with apartment block EV charging

Apartment block EV charging is more complicated than fitting a charger at a house. Three things make it harder:

Shared ownership of communal areas
Car parks, cable routes, and electrical supplies are communal. Any installation needs the involvement of the freeholder or management company.
Leasehold arrangements
Even if you own your flat, you do not own the building or the land. Work on communal infrastructure requires formal consent from the freeholder.
Constrained electrical supply
Older apartment blocks often have limited electrical capacity shared between all residents. Adding multiple high-power EV chargers requires careful load management.

None of these challenges are insurmountable. Apartment block EV charging installations have become a core part of what OZEV-authorised installers do, and there are well-established approaches for both individual leaseholders and whole-building solutions.

Options for apartment residents

There are two main routes, depending on whether you are acting as an individual leaseholder or whether the whole building is being upgraded together.

Individual charger for a dedicated space
If you have a parking bay allocated specifically to your flat, you can apply for the OZEV grant as an individual. You need written consent from your landlord or freeholder, and an OZEV-authorised installer to carry out the work.
Shared charging for the whole building
The landlord or management company installs multiple chargers across the communal car park. Residents authenticate and pay per session through charge management software. This is usually the right approach for buildings with 10 or more flats.
Individual applications require a dedicated parking space. If your parking space is shared with other residents on a rota or first-come basis, it does not qualify as a dedicated space under the OZEV grant rules. You would need the whole-building route instead, with the landlord or management company as the applicant.

Shared charging solutions for the whole building

For buildings with communal car parks, a shared charging installation managed centrally is usually the most practical and cost-effective approach. Here is how a typical shared system works:

  1. 01
    Electrical infrastructure assessment
    An OZEV-authorised installer surveys the building's main supply, the capacity available for EV charging, and the cable routes to the car park.
  2. 02
    Charger selection and layout
    Chargers are specified based on available capacity and the number of spaces to be served. 7kW single-phase units are standard for residential use.
  3. 03
    Load management setup
    Dynamic load management software is installed to share available electrical capacity between all chargers automatically. This prevents overloading the building's supply when multiple cars charge at once.
  4. 04
    Charge management platform
    An OCPP-compatible back-office system is configured. Residents register, receive RFID cards or app access, and are billed per kWh used.
  5. 05
    OZEV grant application
    The landlord or management company applies for the OZEV EV Chargepoint Grant. Up to £350 per socket can be claimed, reducing the capital cost of the installation significantly.

Getting landlord or freeholder consent

Written consent is a formal requirement before any installation can proceed, whether you are applying as an individual or the management company is overseeing a whole-building scheme. Without it, the OZEV grant application cannot be submitted and the installer cannot start work.

Landlords and freeholders cannot unreasonably refuse a request for EV charger installation. The UK government has proposed right-to-charge legislation that would give leaseholders a formal legal right to install a charger subject to certain conditions. As of November 2026, this legislation is not yet in force, but the direction of travel is clear and most freeholders are aware of it.

Practical steps that help move consent along faster:

  • Ask your installer to provide a formal scope of works and site plan for the freeholder
  • Confirm in writing that the installation will not affect other residents' parking or communal areas
  • Reference the OZEV grant: freeholders are often more amenable when they see public funding is involved
  • For larger buildings, propose a whole-building assessment so the freeholder can plan for multiple residents at once

OZEV grants for apartment blocks

The OZEV EV Chargepoint Grant covers EV charger installations in domestic settings, including flats and apartment blocks. There are two ways the grant applies in a shared building:

Individual leaseholder grant
Up to £350 per socket. Applies when a leaseholder with a dedicated parking space applies individually with landlord consent. The installer handles the application.
Landlord or management company grant
Up to £350 per socket for shared charging installations. The landlord or property manager applies as the grant recipient. There is no limit on the number of sockets, so a 20-charger installation could qualify for up to £7,000 off the total cost.

The grant is applied by the installer and deducted from your invoice. You do not pay the full cost upfront and claim it back: the installer handles the OZEV paperwork, deducts the grant at point of sale, and claims reimbursement from OZEV directly.

For more detail on the flat-specific grant rules, see our guide to the OZEV EV chargepoint grant for flats. For renters specifically, our renter EV charger grant guide covers the eligibility conditions in detail.

Managing shared chargers: billing and access

For any shared installation with more than two or three chargers, a charge management platform is essential. Without it, there is no way to track who used each charger, bill residents individually, or prevent non-residents from accessing the chargers.

All reputable charge management systems are built on the OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) standard, which means they are not tied to a single charger manufacturer. The key features to look for:

Authentication
Residents authenticate via RFID card, key fob, or smartphone app. The system logs who started each session.
Individual billing
Each session is metered and attributed to the authenticated user. Residents receive a statement showing their usage and cost, billed monthly or through a prepaid wallet.
Dynamic load management
The system monitors total site electrical load and automatically reduces individual charger output when capacity is tight. This prevents tripping the building's main fuse.
Remote monitoring and reporting
Property managers can see charger status, session history, and revenue reports from a web dashboard without needing to visit the site.
Load management is not optional for most apartment blocks. If 10 residents each have a 7kW charger and all plug in at the same time, that is 70kW of demand. Most apartment blocks cannot supply that. Dynamic load management reduces peak demand automatically, so the building's supply is never overloaded.

What does it cost?

Costs vary considerably depending on the number of chargers, the building's existing electrical infrastructure, and the length of cable runs from the main supply to the car park.

Individual installation (one leaseholder)
£800–£1,500 installed, depending on cable run length and car park type. After the OZEV grant: £450–£1,150.
Small shared installation (4–10 chargers)
£5,000–£15,000 for supply, chargers, load management, and charge management setup. Grant reduces this by up to £350 per socket.
Larger block installation (10+ chargers)
£15,000–£40,000 or more, depending on the need for new electrical infrastructure or supply upgrades. Grant can offset a significant portion of the charger hardware cost.

For whole-building projects, getting multiple quotes is important. Pricing varies significantly between installers, and the scope of work (whether the main supply needs upgrading, whether cabling is surface-run or ducted) has a large impact on cost.

Common questions

Yes, if you have a dedicated parking space and written consent from your landlord or freeholder. The OZEV EV Chargepoint Grant covers up to £350 per socket. Landlords and property managers installing shared chargers can also apply, with the same per-socket maximum.

Get a free quote for apartment block EV charging

Whether you are a leaseholder with a dedicated bay or a property manager planning a shared installation, our OZEV-authorised installers can assess the site and provide a free quote.

Gavin Rogers

Gavin Rogers

Director · Drives a BMW iX2

Gavin co-founded Power EV alongside EV Charge Cable, the UK's specialist EV charging cable retailer. Between the two sites, the team covers the full home-charging picture: finding a qualified installer and getting the right cable to go with the charger.

Meet the team