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California bill to requires landlords to allow EV Chargers to be installed

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Great ... nanny state is full action. So much for individual rights ...

Slippery slope people. Slippery slope.

The bill does not force landlords to install EV chargers, if that is what concerns you. It simply empowers tenants who want to pay for installing a charger to be allowed to do so.

Quote from the article: "California lawmakers have passed a bill that would enable residential and commercial tenants to install electric-vehicle charging stations, provided that they foot the bill, according to Charged EVs. If passed into a law, Assembly Bill 2565 would make it harder for landlords to enact lease provisions that would prevent tenants from buying and installing such stations".

That seems like a positive development. I see no "nanny state" implications.

Power to the people!
 
The bill does not force landlords to install EV chargers, if that is what concerns you. It simply empowers tenants who want to pay for installing a charger to be allowed to do so.

I see this as a great thing. There have been many posts on these forums about potential EV owners who want to own an EV but don't because they wouldn't be able to install a charging solution at their residence.
 
That seems like a positive development. I see no "nanny state" implications.
Power to the people!
Cognitive dissonance aside....

Suppose the "installing resident" chose a "bad device", or the "installing electrician" did a poor installation, or the "consuming vehicle" has a fault of some kind... and the device catches fire and the dwelling burns down. It will be interesting to see who pays the bill for the mess.
 
Cognitive dissonance aside....

Suppose the "installing resident" chose a "bad device", or the "installing electrician" did a poor installation, or the "consuming vehicle" has a fault of some kind... and the device catches fire and the dwelling burns down. It will be interesting to see who pays the bill for the mess.

As far as liability is concerned, we could turn the question around, what happens if a gas car catches fire and burns down the building? But it's pretty easy to guess at, electrician or their insurance if the problem is with the install. Car owner/insurance if it's the car. Device owner/renters insurance for a faulty device. And of course we have courts for when the car manufacturer blames a faulty device and the device manufacturer blames the car.
 
As far as liability is concerned, we could turn the question around, what happens if a gas car catches fire and burns down the building? But it's pretty easy to guess at, electrician or their insurance if the problem is with the install. Car owner/insurance if it's the car. Device owner/renters insurance for a faulty device. And of course we have courts for when the car manufacturer blames a faulty device and the device manufacturer blames the car.
There's a significant difference between the "charging appliance" and a "vehicle that uses it", IMO.

If you were installing a gas pump at the apartment, then the examples would align.
 
As a landlord, I am in favor of this. While initially I had some concerns, I believe they have been addressed.

The bill has many exceptions, including:

  • residential rental properties with fewer than 50 parking spaces
  • Properties subject to rent control (gee, that's most of So Cal).
  • The tenant has to pay for EVERYTHING: install, permits, damages
  • The tenant has to be the one to hire a licensed contractor, not the landlord
  • The tenant has to maintain a $1,000,000 liability policy specifically naming the property
  • All local codes and laws must be followed, yada, yada.
  • If 10% of spaces already have charging available, the Landlord need not comply
  • If the tenant does not have a reserved parking spot, he/she can be charged a monthly rate for access to a reserved spot
 
Great ... nanny state is full action. So much for individual rights ...

Slippery slope people. Slippery slope.

I'd need to read the law (and don't have time at the moment), I'm on the fence. As long as the landlord gets to set the terms of install (for example, I would never accept a tenant of mine telling an electrician to run FMC conduit along the wall in the garage -- I would require the tenant have it properly installed in the wall) and the tenant either leaves it or restores to original condition to my satisfaction (including painting, etc.) then I'm fine with it.
 
Absolutely Support! Well said ecarfan

The bill does not force landlords to install EV chargers, if that is what concerns you. It simply empowers tenants who want to pay for installing a charger to be allowed to do so.

Quote from the article: "California lawmakers have passed a bill that would enable residential and commercial tenants to install electric-vehicle charging stations, provided that they foot the bill, according to Charged EVs. If passed into a law, Assembly Bill 2565 would make it harder for landlords to enact lease provisions that would prevent tenants from buying and installing such stations".

That seems like a positive development. I see no "nanny state" implications.

Power to the people!
 
I don't see what this has to do with any overblown fears of a nanny state. It is fairly common for prospective Tesla owners who are renters to be stymied by this issue. Maybe you think someone who rents shouldn't have a Tesla?

This will be more of a big deal when the Model III is available.
 
I too am a landlord-commercial. And, I installed a Chargepoint station.

Again, dont have time to read the bill ... but my instincts are:

What happens when there are multiple tenants requesting individual outlets? Then, all of a sudden your property is a conduit Christmas tree and your property looks like crap .... seems to keep the Landlord's hands tied.

Again, it's wrong to mandate this kind of action. Unintended consequences.
 
I don't see what this has to do with any overblown fears of a nanny state. It is fairly common for prospective Tesla owners who are renters to be stymied by this issue. Maybe you think someone who rents shouldn't have a Tesla?

This will be more of a big deal when the Model III is available.
Exactly, and renting in the more expensive areas of the state is terribly common, even for those with high income.

Fortunately our building is relatively EV-friendly and has a collection of shared ChargePoint chargers which with I'm able to make due, but not everyone in the area is so lucky.
 
As a landlord, I am in favor of this. While initially I had some concerns, I believe they have been addressed.

The bill has many exceptions, including:

  • residential rental properties with fewer than 50 parking spaces
  • Properties subject to rent control (gee, that's most of So Cal).
  • The tenant has to pay for EVERYTHING: install, permits, damages
  • The tenant has to be the one to hire a licensed contractor, not the landlord
  • The tenant has to maintain a $1,000,000 liability policy specifically naming the property
  • All local codes and laws must be followed, yada, yada.
  • If 10% of spaces already have charging available, the Landlord need not comply
  • If the tenant does not have a reserved parking spot, he/she can be charged a monthly rate for access to a reserved spot

I can agree with a lot of those exceptions; but a few of them basically make the bill useless; e.g. the last one. If a landlord doesn't want the tenant installing a charger; charge $10,000+/mo for a reserved spot.

There's a balance between tenants rights and landlords rights, as a landlord myself, I of course would love to charge $5000/mo for a wooden shack with no heat/electricity/water. The world changes, sometimes the government needs to step in and ensure things for society as a whole improve. E.G. The requirement that you have running water. That's an easy one to pick one but I think it makes my point. Overall I see this bill a step in the right direction.
 
I would also make the argument that a Tesla-owning, presumably pro-EV landlord might want to consider watching EV adoption rates over the next few years. Based on that, you might want to proactively offer some charging infrastructure in your properties as a competitive advantage to attract high-income tenants, and also help EV adoption.
 
I would also make the argument that a Tesla-owning, presumably pro-EV landlord might want to consider watching EV adoption rates over the next few years. Based on that, you might want to proactively offer some charging infrastructure in your properties as a competitive advantage to attract high-income tenants, and also help EV adoption.
We're starting to see that here in the Bay Area. Our building advertises its EV hookups aggressively, and we're up to around 10 EV/Plug-In Hybrids for something like 150 or so units. Looking around the rentals on Craigslist, I'm starting to see 240V garage hookups of various types noted in the listing with some regularity.

The Bay Area has an unusually high concentration of EVs compared to the rest of the country, but I agree that as the market expands landlords will start advertising EV charging as a competitive advantage. The problem, however, is that this behavior is going to start in the expensive new construction units. I doubt the retrofit uptake will be anywhere near as high.