The majority of owners of an electric or plug-in hybrid car choose to equip their home with a charging station for more comfort and convenience. This solution is very easy to implement when you live in a single-family house. But what solutions are available to half of the French population who live in an apartment building?
The installation of an individual charging station in co-ownership at the initiative of its user
In order to encourage the French to turn more and more towards clean vehicles, the public authorities have set up a certain number of measures, in the form of financial aid (tax credit and aid from the ADVENIR program for condominiums ) and fees, intended to facilitate the installation of charging stations in the homes of owners of rechargeable electric or hybrid cars.
For those of them who live in a detached house, installing a charging station (a wall box connected directly to the electrical installation of the accommodation) is simple to carry out. The case can be more complicated for those who live in a condominium, that is to say in collective housing.
But the latter benefit from a measure called the “right to take” introduced by a decree of November 2014. This right to take allows them to install an individual charging station for their own use, on their private parking space. in a common car park, almost as easily as people living in single-family homes.
Thus, the inhabitants of a condominium, whether they are owners or tenants, can invoke this right to take to inform their condominium that they wish to install an individual terminal on their private parking space to recharge their electric vehicle. The work related to this installation is the sole financial responsibility of the applicant and, as indicated by the National Association for the Development of Electric Mobility (Avere France), ” this work must ultimately be carried out in good intelligence in the interest of the entire co-ownership ».
Note: in a condominium, the individual charging stations installed by an individual must allow an individualized breakdown of electricity consumption. On the other hand, the charging stations accepted correspond to charging systems with a power of 3.7 kW or 7.4 kW supplied with single-phase current.
The steps to assert your right to co-ownership
A resident of an apartment building must comply with certain procedures in order to be able to install a charging station for their individual use in a condominium. These are a little different depending on whether he owns or rents his home.
If the person who wishes to install an individual charging station in his co-ownership is the owner, he must first notify his project to the co-ownership trustee by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt so that the latter places this request on the agenda. of the next general meeting of co-owners. A vote on this request is not required, however.
It is recommended that the applicant first contact an installer of an electric charging station to obtain an estimate which must be attached to the letter addressed to the co-ownership trustee because this letter must be accompanied by a detailed description of the work to be undertaken ( type of charging station, technical connection diagram, electrical power report confirming the capacity of the current infrastructure, technical intervention plan and electrical connection diagram).
The syndic has a period of 3 months to oppose this request. His refusal must be based on serious and legitimate reasons and, for this purpose, the trustee must seize the district court on which the collective building depends.
Without opposition from the syndic of co-ownership, an agreement for the right to take must be signed between the syndic of co-ownership and the service provider chosen by the applicant. The latter can then have the work necessary to install an individual charging station on his private parking space carried out at his own expense.
If the applicant for the installation of an individual charging station is a tenant in a condominium, he must first inform his landlord of his project who, in turn, forwards the request to the syndic of the condominium. If the trustee does not object for valid reasons to this installation, the procedure is the same as for an owner afterwards.
Regarding the connection of an individual charging station in a condominium, there are several solutions: its connection can be made on the meter of the common areas or by creating a new individual meter made by the manager of the public distribution network of electricity (all necessary work is the responsibility of the applicant). The charging station can also be connected directly to the applicant’s home. However, this last solution is not recommended because it presents security risks given the presence of several electrical power sources and the routing of private cables in the common areas of the condominium. In addition, the cable lengths between the dwelling and the parking space often limit the possibility of installing a powerful individual charging station.
The use of an individual charging station in co-ownership via a collective infrastructure
A resident of a condominium also has the possibility of connecting his individual charging station to a collective infrastructure if the latter exists in the car park of his collective building.
We mean by collective infrastructure, also called collective equipment, “ sheaths, cable trays, technical conduits as well as electrical panels and collective cables allowing each user to connect their individual charging installation “, as indicated by the manager of the electricity distribution network Enedis.
The installation of such an electrical installation is decided and voted in general meeting by the syndic of co-ownership. The provision of a collective infrastructure in a condominium meets two main objectives: first, to be able to respond in terms of electrical equipment to the connection needs of individual charging stations on the part of the residents of a collective building, but also to pool the costs involved in installing and connecting these charging systems.
As Avere France points out, a collective infrastructure is ” a collective good shared within the co-ownership, for which each resident must be able to have a right of access in order to be able to connect their charging station ».