Interested in having an electric vehicle charger installed on your property? If so, you may be wondering – do you need planning permission for EV chargers?
In this blog, we’ll explore the permissions, regulations and permits surrounding EV charger installation in the UK and discuss what’s needed to ensure your charger is compliant with the law.
Typically, planning permission is not required to have an electric vehicle (EV) charger installed on your property. If you want your EV charger wall mounted on your own land and you have off-street parking, you’re good to go – however, the electrical outlet and casing must not:
Alternatively, if you are interested in a ground-mounted charger (where the unit sits on a base or post), you’ll need to have off-street parking and own the land. In addition, the electrical outlet and casing must not:
Of course, there are exceptions to this.
Yes, if your property is a listed building or is located in a conservation area, you must obtain planning permission for your electric car charger due to the nature of the building.
As mentioned before, normally, if you don’t have off-street parking, you wouldn’t be able to have an EV charger installed on your land, and you’d have to resort to slow – and potentially dangerous – three-pin plug charging or, alternatively, public rapid chargers.
But don’t fret – we have a new innovative solution for you – the ChargeArm.
With the ChargeArm, you can have a dedicated EV charger installed on your property, even without off-street parking. However, the caveat to this is that you will need to get planning permission from your local council before the unit can be installed.
However, we feel the benefits, such as easier, cheaper charging, outweigh the inconvenience of contacting your local council.
It’s worth noting that the regulations and guidelines regarding EV charger installations may vary between different local authorities, so it’s always best practice to check with your local planning authority to determine whether permission is required.
At We Power Your Car, we guide you through the installation process, whether you require a home EV charger – off-street or on-street – a charger(s) for flats, apartments or commercial installations.
The requirements of an EV charger installation vary depending on certain factors, such as location and the type of property. That said, overall, there are several forms of permission that you may need to obtain before installing an EV charger on your property in the UK:
If you rent your property or live in a multi-unit building, you must obtain permission from your landlord or property manager before installing an EV charger.
Electric vehicle charger installations in rented properties can be more complicated than in a property you own. Not only because installations tend to be slightly trickier when there are multiple residents. For example, blocks of flats and apartments will require significantly more work than a single rented property. But also because a number of factors need to be discussed with the property manager or landlord.
Quantity of chargers, charger location, who’s permitted to use the charger, payment and ongoing costs (such as who will pay the electricity bills) all need to be set out and approved by your landlord before you can go ahead.
Currently, the EV chargepoint grant allows people who own flats or rent accommodation to claim £350 in government aid to help with the cost of an EV charger installation. So, we’d recommend leading with this when speaking to your landlord.
You may need approval from your Distribution Network Operator (DNO) to connect your home electric vehicle charger to the grid. This is because your EV charger will draw power from the local electricity network, and the DNO may need to assess the impact of your installation on the network to ensure that it can handle the extra demand.
In some cases, the DNO may require you to upgrade the local network infrastructure to support the additional load. This may involve upgrading your main electrical fuse. Whether or not the distribution network operator (DNO) needs to upgrade your fuse before an EV charger installation depends on several factors, including the capacity of your existing fuse and the expected demand of your EV charger.
In the UK, the standard fuse for a domestic property is 60 amps. 60 amps is typically sufficient for most households, but it might not be enough to support the additional demand of a 7kW home EV charger rated at 32 amps.
If the demand of your EV charger exceeds the capacity of your existing fuse, the DNO may need to upgrade your fuse to a higher capacity to ensure that your electrical supply can handle the extra load.
You may not need a fuse upgrade for an EV charger installation if the demand of the charger is within the capacity of your existing fuse. However, it’s worth noting that even if you don’t need a fuse upgrade, you may still need approval from your Distribution Network Operator (DNO) to connect your EV charger to the grid. This is because the DNO may need to assess the impact of your installation on the local electricity network to ensure that it can handle the extra demand.
Getting DNO approval can be a complex process that involves coordinating with the DNO and potentially upgrading the local network infrastructure. This can add additional costs and time to the installation process, so it’s essential to plan ahead and allow sufficient time for approval or any necessary upgrades.
At We Power Your Car, we take care of the DNO process for you. We contact the DNO on your behalf and provide them with details of the proposed installation, including the type of charger you plan to install, the expected charging rate and the maximum demand at your property. The DNO will then confirm whether a fuse upgrade is needed or whether they will approve installing the EV charging point without a fuse upgrade.
You will need to comply with building regulations when installing an EV charger. This includes ensuring that the installation is safe and complies with electrical standards.
Firstly, any electrical installation, including EV chargers, must comply with the current edition of BS 7671: Requirements for Electrical Installations (the IET Wiring Regulations), which sets out the minimum requirements for electrical safety.
Additionally, EV charger installations must meet the electrical safety standards laid out in Building Regulations Part P. These standards are designed to protect people and property from electrical hazards that could arise from installing an EV charger.
At We Power Your Car, we are OZEV-approved, NAPIT and TrustMark accredited, meaning all our electricians nationwide are qualified and authorised to install EV chargers. Additionally, our engineers are consistently vetted and trained to uphold our high standards.
By choosing qualified installers such as ourselves to install your EV charger, you can have peace of mind knowing your installation complies with the necessary building regulations and electrical safety standards.
Whatever you do, don’t attempt to undertake an electric car charger installation yourself unless you are a qualified professional. Not only will you likely not comply with regulations, but there’s a high risk of harm due to dealing with complex electrics.
In the unlikely event that your EV charger installation coincides with your neighbour’s property – for example, if the cable run crosses over your neighbour’s property or if you share a looped supply – you’ll have to acquire permission from your neighbour or inform them of the DNO’s required work.
In conclusion, whether you need permission to install an EV charging point at your property depends on various factors, such as the type of property you have, the charger’s location, and your home’s electrical capacity.
From enquiry through to installation, we handle everything within your EV charging journey, including DNO notification and grant paperwork. For impartial advice and a free, no-obligation quote, call us at 03333 44 96 99, fill in the contact form below, or simply view our range of home EV chargers.
As a nationwide company, we can install electric vehicle chargers across the UK with first-class customer service. We are rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot with over 700 reviews.
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This type of electric charger has it's own cable to charge your car.
This type of electric charger requires a seperate cable to charge your car.
Spread over a 60 month period.
Tenants and homeowners are eligible for finance.
You decide the amount of months.
Minimum of £1000.
We will contact you to process the credit application. Approval is subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. 13.9% APR representative. T&Cs apply.
Your order is not confirmed until your application has been approved.
We lay SWA cable laid at 600mm deep, with a protective cable warning tape laid 150mm above the cable. These are laid on a sand or sifted sand soil bed then backfilled.
We position overhead cables at a minimum height of 3.5m and are run along a catenary wire. The cable run should not be accessible to vehicles.
Standard Installation
Our instant price is fixed if it falls within our standard installation package plus any additions that you have selected (extra cabling for example). This package covers the majority of homes in the UK. Before we undertake your installation we will carry out a digital survey to check that nothing has been missed. After reviewing the survey results some additional work may be required in order to complete your installation safely and to the required standards. If this is the case, we will contact you well before the installation date and advise the cost of any required work. You can then continue with your installation, or alternatively we will refund you in full if you do not want to proceed.
Included in our standard installation is :
• Fitting of a single phase charge point to a brick or plaster wall or other suitable permanent structure
• Up to 10 metres of cable, run and neatly clipped to the wall between the electricity supply meter / distribution board and the charge point.
• Routing of the cable through a drilled hole in a wall up to 500mm (20 inches) thick if this is needed.
• The fitting and testing of electrical connections and protections required for the charge point.
• An additional three way consumer unit, if required
• Installation of a Type A RCBO in an RCBO enclosure
• Up to 3 metres of plastic trunking to conceal interior wiring.
• An O-pen earth protection device if the charge point requires it. (This is NOT an earth rod)
• Up to 4 hours of labour from your installer to complete the work.
• Electrical testing of the whole installation.
• Handover and setup of the charge point and any app that may be needed.
Not included in our standard installation (additional work) :
• Where the installation requires additional cabling over and above the amount you have told us about.
• Upgrade/replacement of the main incoming supply fuse where the local DNO (eg Northern Powergrid) would need to attend site.
• If the charge point is to be mounted on a post/pedestal rather than an existing wall and where you have not selected a post as an extra cost option in your order.
• Installation of a charge point to a three phase supply.
• Where gas and water mains bonding (earthing) is not in place at your property. If this is not in place, additional work would be required before installation of the charge point.
• Any groundwork that has not been selected during the order process.
A Surge Protection Device is not included in our standard installation.
What else you need to know :
• On the day of installation, please ensure that the area around your consumer unit (fuse box), incoming electricity supply meter and proposed charge point location (including where the cable is expected to be run) is clear and free of obstructions.
• We will need your WiFi password as part of the installation process in order to connect your charge point to the internet. Please have this available for the installer. Details will not be kept.
• The charge point must be on your own designated off road parking.
• The charger will be fixed in line with current guidelines at a height where it cannot be hit by a vehicle.
• Our installers are not able to enter loft spaces; lift floorboards or flooring; take apart any furniture of work above a height of 2m. If you anticipate that any of this may be required, then please contact us and we can discuss in more detail and provide you with a quotation.
• Should there be extreme weather conditions our installers may not be able to continue with you installation if it is not safe to do so (for example flooding). They will always do their best to complete the work where they can.
If you have any questions then please contact our customer service team who will be happy to help. Please also read our terms and conditions.
