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The government has opened a consultation on making it easier for tenants and leaseholders in England to get permission to install electric vehicle (EV) charge points. Published on 21 October 2026, it focuses on homes with off-street parking, where residents may have somewhere to charge but still need a landlord's or freeholder's agreement to carry out the work.
The proposed "ability to charge" could be introduced through voluntary guidance or future legislation. It is not a new consent duty. Guidance alone would leave landlords free to decide whether to follow the suggested process; the legislative option would require primary legislation and parliamentary time.
Under the legislative option, landlords and freeholders would have to decide requests promptly. The consultation paper also proposes:
This also includes the corresponding requirement on the landlord/freeholder not to unreasonably refuse the request.
A tenant in a privately rented home would submit a written request to the landlord. Where that landlord holds a lease rather than owning the freehold, they would generally pass the request to the superior landlord or freeholder, unless they have authority to decide themselves. In a block of flats, the tenant's immediate landlord may not control the building's wiring or parking area.
The paper suggests acknowledging receipt and then giving a formal written decision, with reasons if permission is refused. It uses "such as 28 calendar days" as an example of a response period. The deadline and the route for challenging a refusal or delay are among the details being consulted on.
This concerns the owner's permission for installation, separately from planning permission. A landlord considering a request would need details of the proposed work, the cable route and equipment, and any other permissions needed.
The government wants the approach to cover more than a driveway belonging to the home. It proposes covering parking allocated to a resident and spaces included within a tenancy or lease. A parking bay away from the building may present a different installation problem from one beside the front door.
Communal parking is harder. Several households may want access to the same area, while one installation could affect electrical capacity or the cost of later works for everyone else. The consultation asks how shared parking, mixed-tenure developments and buildings with several decision-makers should be treated.
The proposal expects the tenant or leaseholder to arrange and pay the upfront cost of the charge point and installation. The government is seeking views on who should pay for maintenance, electricity used and eventual removal.
Charging costs also deserve attention where electricity is included in the rent. Our Q&A on electric car charging in HMOs deals with use of shared electricity, rather than permission to install a dedicated charge point.
The paper suggests circumstances in which refusal could be reasonable:
The government is asking whether these circumstances should be set out in legislation or guidance, and what other reasons should be included.
Landlords and agents who have dealt with requests may have useful evidence about the time needed for electrical checks, freeholder approval or a network assessment. A response deadline needs to allow for those dependencies, particularly where the immediate landlord cannot approve the work alone.
The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 16 December 2026. Landlords and agents can respond through the official consultation page linked above.