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Big Changes for EV Chargers in Condos Effective May 1, 2018

Big Changes for EV Chargers in Condos Effective May 1, 2018

The Ontario government announced new regulations on March 26, 2018 that support the installation of electric vehicle charging systems (EVCS) in condominiums.   These regulations become effective May 1, 2018.

 

As contemplated in our March 22 blog posting, these new regulations change the landscape significantly for condominium corporations.  Of the many details in the regulations, two big items jump out at us:

  1. Firstly, there is now a prescribed process to be followed by (a) the unit owners making a request for an EVCS and (b) the condominium corporations that need to approve the requests.  For example, an owner requesting an EVCS must make a written application that includes specific information, and the condominium corporation board has 60 days to respond to the owner’s completed application.
  2. Secondly, corporation boards are not permitted to reject an owner’s application to install an EVCS except under certain limited circumstances.  Additionally, any disagreement between the parties is subject to mediation or arbitration.

Crossbridge has long encouraged the installation of EVCS in condominiums.  We were the first management company to author an EVCS protocol, and we plan to update our 2013 protocol to incorporate these legislative changes.  These legislative changes are extensive, and complex – so, stay tuned to this blog for our progress on updating our protocol.  We don’t have much time - May 1st is quickly approaching.

Click here for the government announcement, which includes a plain language guide of the changes.  A broad overview of the changes from the perspective of a condominium law firm (Fogler, Rubinoff LLP) is available here.