The contents on this website are provided for information purposes only. Any information posted from a law firm is general commentary and is not legal advice. Specific advice related to individual matters should be sought independently.

Whilst the information contained in this website has been formulated with all due care, Strata Sphere Management does not accept any liability to any person for the information (or the use of such information) which is provided on this website or incorporated into it by reference.

The information on this website is provided on the basis that all persons accessing the site undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance of the information and should seek advice separately for specific matters,

23 Jul 2022

Active Law

Electric Vehicles in Strata

What are Electric Vehicles and how do they work?

What are EVs?

Battery powers an electric motor (rather than a gasoline tank that relies on petrol/diesel to power an engine)

2 overarching types of EVs:

Battery EVs – solely powered by an electric battery
Hybrid EVs – battery powered and backed up by a fuel powered engine, the “best of both”

Pros and Cons of EVs

Pros

Low carbon emissions
Lower maintenance and servicing costs
Cheaper to run
Quieter to drive
Additional storage

Cons

Lack of charging stations/infrastructure
Higher upfront costs
Limited driving range
Lack of models available
Downtime to recharge battery

How long does it take to charge an EV?

Depends on the size of the battery and the speed of the charging point

Standard EVs has a 60kWh battery

Slow – 7kWh (at home charger) – 3-4 hours
Fast – 43kWh (public charging station) – 30-60 minutes
Rapid – 350kWh (not on the market yet) – 10-15 minutes

Uptake of EVs in Australia

EV sales have tripled in Australia since 2020
As at April 2022, EVs make up 2% of national car sales
By 2030, EVs are projected to make up at least 30% of national car sales
EVs are expected to match petrol vehicles on both price and range by the mid-2020s

What does this mean for Bodies Corporate?

2018 EV Charging in Strata Study

Surveyed 700+ residents across 130+ strata schemes in Sydney

78% were in favour of installing EV chargers in their complex now
48% planned to have an EV in the next 5 years
79% favoured a user pays system
61% favoured charging in their individual lot parking spaces

New Developments are ‘EV Ready’

Urbancom’s Infinity Cove, Lane Cove 2019
Entire development was ‘EV ready’ – built with infrastructure to support EV charging in parking spaces for all 97 apartments
40 owners opted in despite not owning EVs
Remaining 57 owners could install easily and affordably
‘Futureproofing’ their asset

Rent-a-Tesla

Aria Property Group’s The Standard, South Brisbane 2019
Development application approved for 261 apartments
Includes 2 Tesla EVs gifted by the developer to the Body Corporate for residents to share
Teslas are booked through a booking system

Retrofitting EV Chargers

Many existing schemes will not have the electrical infrastructure and load capacity to support EV charging stations
Upgrading a scheme’s electrical infrastructure is costly
Pass a resolution to upgrade
Owners who do not drive EVs will not want to pay for services where the whole body corporate does not benefit from that service
Engage an expert

How can Bodies Corporate prepare for this transition?

No one size fits all answer
2 options:
Exclusive Use Areas – each owner has a separately metered EV charger, and the cost of the electricity billed directly to them
Common Property – communal EV charging stations on common property with ‘tap and go’ payment
Current technology lends to option 2
Shift towards option 1 as EVs become widely used

EV Chargers in Exclusive Use Carpark or Carpark on Title

Exclusive use (EU) carpark

= improvement to common property

Exclusive use (EU) carpark

= improvement to common property

Bodies Corporate would approve applications made by owners to install EV chargers
Owners should pay for the installation and ongoing maintenance costs
EV chargers should not be linked to common property electricity
Lots need to be separately metered or sub-meters installed

Communal EV Charging Stations on Common Property

= improvement to common property

Bodies Corporate would approve applications made by owners to install EV chargers
Owners should pay for the installation and ongoing maintenance costs
EV chargers should not be linked to common property electricity
Lots need to be separately metered or sub-meters installed

Governance

What rules should apply to the use of EV chargers? How will the Body Corporate implement and enforce those rules?

Adopting new by-laws
Supply of services agreement

Adopting By-Laws

Owners/occupiers?
Visitors?
Public?

Limits on usage?
First in servred

What level of coverage?
Who Pays?

Reporting?
Who pays?

How are disputes resolved?
By whom?

Additional measures?

Electricity consumption costs?
Who reads the meter?
Maintenance cost

Caretaking duty?

Supply of Services Agreement

Agreement between the Body Corporate and the EV owner

Section 210 BCCM Act:

The body corporate may supply, or engage another person to supply, utility services and other services for the benefit of owners and occupiers of lots, if the services consist of 1 or more of the following types of services
(a) maintenance services including, for example, cleaning, repairing, painting, pest prevention or extermination and mowing;
(b) communication services including, for example, the installation and supply of telephone, intercom, computer data and television;
(c) domestic services including, for example, electricity, gas, water, garbage removal, air conditioning and heating.
The body corporate may, by agreement with a person for whom services are supplied, charge for the services, including for the installation of, and the maintenance and other operating costs associated with, utility infrastructure for the services, but only to the extent necessary for reimbursing the body corporate for supplying the services.
In acting under subsections (1) and (2), the body corporate must, to the greatest practicable extent, ensure the total cost to the body corporate, other than body corporate administrative costs for supplying a service, including the cost of a commercial service, and the cost of purchasing, operating, maintaining and replacing any equipment, is recovered from the users of the service.

Obstacles

Electricity Consumption

Who pays for the electricity consumption?

Electricity usage should be paid directly by the owner of the EV
Ideally:
(1)a pay per use system in common property charging stations
(2)lots would be separately metered/sub-metered in exclusive use parking spaces
Bodies Corporate should ensure they do not become the debtor to electricity providers
Avoid becoming the administrator of a billing system

Theft

How can Bodies Corporate protect against owners using common property electricity to charge their EVs without reimbursing the cost of the electricity consumption?

= Theft

Don’t need to address theft in the by-laws because it is already dealt with under the law

Closed Networks

Tesla have different charging ports
Sell adaptors separately
Think Apple v Android
‘Superchargers’ work exclusively with Teslas
Does this mean Bodies Corporate must cater to both?

What next?

Bodies Corporate should plan for EV charging
Survey lot owners
Engage an expert
Start budgeting
Consider amending by-laws

Takeaways

Cost should always be passed on the user of the EV chargers

Bodies Corporate should avoid becoming the debtor to electricity providers

About becoming the administrator of a billing system

The below downloadable PDF is available to provide information surrounding Electric Vehicles in Strata, prepared by Active Law

Download PDF