Q: My wife and I bought a condo a few years ago. Last year we purchased an electric vehicle, but the building limited the private charger to 14 and the three shared chargers for nearly 200 parking spaces. The board informed me that the restrictions were due to electrical services to the building. And upgrading services requires special ratings that other residents don’t like. Now I’m charging my car at a nearby mall despite being willing to pay for a charger installed at my assigned location. Is there anything I can do? – Anonymous
A: In Florida, where I practice, the law allows owners of apartment units to install an electric vehicle office in designated parking spaces.
However, this right is subject to certain conditions and restrictions, including the unit owner’s liability to cover all costs associated with installation, operation, maintenance and removal, and that installation will not cause irreparable damage to the property of the apartment building.
Constraints on electrical services for certain buildings create important issues as they protect the right to install chargers, while also not having to upgrade the building’s electrical infrastructure to accommodate additional chargers.
Your association can regulate, manage and maintain the association that it deems appropriate, as long as it does not arbitrarily discriminate or discriminate against certain residents. Your association appears to have valid concerns about the capabilities of electrical services and is acting reasonably in the circumstances as it offers shared fees.
Thanks to evolving technology, there may still be several options. The new load management system allows for more chargers to be installed than raw capacitance is permitted by ensuring that raw capacitance draws all maximum power at the same time. Do your research and petition to consider this inexpensive solution.
If your community doesn’t want to invest in this new technology yet, you may need to band with some other interested owners to cover the costs.
Board-certified Real Estate Attorney Gary Singer writes about legal issues in the industry and the housing market. To ask him questions, email him at gary@garysingerlaw.com or visit sunsentinel.com/askpro.
Original issue: May 1, 2025 5am Edit
