How to get body corporate approval for an EV charger

This guide is general information about sectional title schemes in South Africa, not legal advice. Rules differ between schemes. Check your scheme’s rules and take advice from a sectional title attorney or your managing agent. Regulatory references are summarised on our body corporate approval page.

Why approval matters, for owners and trustees

In a sectional title complex, your parking bay is often an exclusive use area on common property, and the cable from the DB board almost always crosses common property. That makes an EV charger a body corporate matter, not just a private one.

There’s currently no EV-specific law for community schemes, and no reported court or CSOS ruling on EV charging, as reported by IOL/Business Report (27 April 2026). Trustees are working from general sectional title rules. A clear, well-documented request makes their job much easier.

Getting it right also protects everyone’s pocket. A single 7 kW charger has been estimated to add R2 500 to R4 000 per car per month to a complex’s common electricity bill if it isn’t metered, as reported by BusinessTech (April 2026).

The rules that usually apply

Three parts of the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act regulations come up most often:

• Improvements to common property (PMR 29). Improvements that are not reasonably necessary need a unanimous resolution. Reasonably necessary ones need 30 days’ written notice to all members, with costs and financing, and a special resolution if a member asks for a general meeting (Acts Online, PMR 29).
• Separate metering (PMR 29(3)). Members may resolve to install separate meters for sections or exclusive use areas and recover the metered costs. Prepayment meters need a special resolution and 60 days’ notice (same source).
• External appearance (Conduct Rule 5). Changing the external appearance of a section or exclusive use area needs the trustees’ written consent (Acts Online, Conduct Rule 5).

Your scheme may have amended conduct rules that add to these. Whether a charger counts as “reasonably necessary” hasn’t been settled by any source we found, which is why your scheme’s attorney should advise on the route.

Step by step: from request to installation

Step 1: Read your scheme’s rules

Ask the managing agent for the current conduct and management rules and any existing EV or alterations policy. Check whether your bay is an exclusive use area and where the nearest supply point is.

Step 2: Get a technical assessment

Trustees will want to know three things: is there enough capacity, where will the cable run, and how will the electricity be measured? A site assessment answers all three. It covers a load check on the complex’s supply, a proposed cable route, and metering options. If several owners are interested, assess them together. A shared backbone is cheaper per bay than one-off runs.

Step 3: Submit a written request

Put the request to the trustees in writing, with:

• The proposed charger (for example a 7 kW wallbox from our home and wallbox range) and where it will be mounted.
• A plan of the cable route on common property.
• The load assessment results and any load management proposed.
• How electricity will be metered and paid for.
• The installer’s details and confirmation that a registered person will issue a Certificate of Compliance.
• Who pays for installation, maintenance and eventual removal.

We prepare this as an approval pack for owners and trustees.

Step 4: The trustees decide, or take it to the members

Depending on the work and your scheme’s rules, the trustees may give written consent, or the matter may need notice to members and a resolution. Allow time for notice periods and meeting dates.

Step 5: Install, certify and meter

Once approved, the installation goes ahead as agreed. The installer issues a CoC for the new work, and meters are recorded so billing can start from day one. Our installation and setup and commissioning services cover this end to end.

For trustees: set a policy before the second request

Commentators recommend that schemes adopt a written EV charging policy, a load assessment and confirmation of electrical compliance, as reported by IOL/Business Report (27 April 2026). A good policy covers:

• Eligibility and process: who can apply, and what they must submit.
• Technical standards: approved installers, CoC requirements, charger types and load management.
• Metering and billing: sub-meters, smart-charger metering or prepaid, and how often owners are billed.
• Costs: who pays for shared infrastructure versus individual connections.
• Maintenance, liability and removal when an owner sells.
• Visitor or shared bays, if any, and how they’re paid for.

For larger schemes, shared infrastructure with dual-socket commercial chargers in visitor bays can work alongside private wallboxes. Read more on our page for body corporates and HOAs.

If you can’t agree

Most requests resolve with good information and a fair billing plan. If a dispute remains, the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) accepts applications from parties to, or people materially affected by, a scheme dispute (Zybutz v Body Corporate of Helianthus, 2024). Take legal advice before going that route.

Ready to start? Request a quote for a site assessment and approval pack.