EV chargers in condos, triple-deckers and rentals

Last checked November 8, 2026

What the law says

Chapter 239 of the Acts of 2024 added section 10A to M.G.L. c. 183A. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) issued a notice on February 26, 2025 that the rule is in effect. It has not filed regulations and says to consult legal counsel with questions. The law's key points:

• No prohibition, no unreasonable restriction. Historic district commissions, neighborhood conservation district boards, and the manager or organization of unit owners of an association cannot block a charger in your separate interest or an area you have exclusive use of.
• Dedicated parking counts. The law defines a dedicated parking space as one in your unit or one in a common area with exclusive use rights, such as a deeded space, a garage space, a carport or a designated space.
• Associations are broad. Condominium associations, homeowners' associations, community associations, cooperatives and trusts with covenants or by-laws all count.
• Reasonable restrictions are allowed. They cannot significantly raise the cost of the equipment or its installation, significantly lower its performance, or effectively prohibit it. In setting them, the board must give substantial weight to climate change and the state's emission limits.

Sources: M.G.L. c. 183A, section 10A; EOHLC notice, February 26, 2025. Checked November 2026. This page reads the statute for you. It is not legal advice.

Steps for a condo or HOA owner

1. Read your by-laws and the architectural modification process. If the board has one, the charger application follows the same process, in the same way.
2. Get a plan from a licensed electrician. Where the panel and meter are, how the circuit gets to your space, and whether the charger can go on your own electric account. The law wants it on your own account unless the contractor says that is impossible.
3. Apply in writing. Include the plan, the charger model, and a note that you are applying under M.G.L. c. 183A, section 10A.
4. Watch the clock. The board must approve or deny in writing. If it does not deny in writing within 60 days of receiving the application, it is deemed approved, unless the delay is for a reasonable request for more information.
5. Permit, install, inspect. The wire permit and inspection apply as in any home. See permits and inspections.
6. Keep your records. You must disclose the charger when you sell, and say whether it stays or goes.

What the owner takes on

The association can also install chargers in a common area for all residents, provided it adopts appropriate terms of use. If your building wants shared chargers instead of individual ones, that is a board decision under the same section.

Renters

The state law protects owners. If you rent, the landlord has to say yes. A short written request that names the charger, the circuit, the electrician and who pays gives the landlord what is needed to decide, and a landlord can use the same utility programs. National Grid's EV Charging Upgrade Program serves tenants and landlords of 2 to 4 unit buildings and landlords or managers of 1 to 4 unit buildings who have one account for the building or a house meter. It pays up to $1,400 toward wiring for a 2 to 4 unit building, up to $2,000 in environmental justice neighborhoods, with the work and application due by December 10, 2026. Tenants and landlords who cannot enroll in Off-Peak Charging because they have no EV or have shared parking are exempt from that requirement.

Eversource's rebate worked the same way for 2026 and is closed. It paid up to $700 when one household uses the charger and up to $1,400 when a charger is shared by households in a 2 to 4 unit building. Rebates for larger apartment buildings are available by calling the program. Both utilities say changes are expected in 2027. See rebates and rates.

Triple-deckers and shared-meter options

In a triple-decker, the usual question is whose meter pays. There are four paths, and each one is sourced:

• The tenant's own account. The charger is wired to the unit's own meter. National Grid's rebate applies in a 2 to 4 unit building where the tenant has their own National Grid account.
• The house meter. The landlord wires it to the common-area account or the single building account. National Grid's program covers landlords with a house meter. The statute, for condos, allows the common account only when connecting to the owner's own account is impossible, with reimbursement.
• A separate EV meter. Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light offers a separate meter for charging only, on an EV time-of-use rate, with up to $1,250 for the electrician's preparation work. That is one utility's program, in one town.
• Dedicated space in a larger building. In buildings of 5 or more units, National Grid's rebates apply if each unit has a dedicated parking space and the circuit is on an individual unit's account.

Meters, panels and service size are a separate project in a three-family. Our triple-decker and multi-family page and panel upgrade guide cover them, and the Boston permit records show how often multi-family service changes happen.