Fitting a charge point to a house with its own drive is routine. Fitting one where parking is shared, unallocated or in an undercroft is a different exercise, because the questions are about which supply feeds it, who pays for the electricity and who has permission to alter the building. This guide sets out the common arrangements we see across flats, converted houses and shared driveways, and what each one means in practice.
Which supply feeds the charge point
There are three realistic options. The unit can be fed from your own flat's consumer unit, from the landlord or communal supply, or from a new dedicated supply installed by the network operator. Feeding from your own supply is cleanest for billing because the electricity appears on your meter, but it requires a viable cable route from your flat to the parking space.
Feeding from a communal supply is often physically easier, particularly in undercroft parking, but then the cost has to be recovered fairly. That usually means a charge point with its own metering and user authentication, so each user is billed for what they draw.
Permission and the lease
In most leasehold flats, altering the structure or using communal areas needs the freeholder's consent. That is not a refusal by default, but it is a step that takes time. Written consent should cover the cable route, the fixing points, the parking space allocation and who maintains the equipment.
Where a management company is involved, presenting a clear technical proposal from an electrician tends to move things along far faster than an open question. Include the proposed route, the unit specification and how billing will work.
Unallocated parking
If nobody has a designated bay, a charge point fixed to a wall next to a specific space creates an informal claim on that space. Some blocks resolve this by installing shared units with access control, so any resident can use them and is billed individually.
Shared units cost more per point but avoid the situation where one resident has effectively privatised a bay. It is worth raising early, because retrofitting fairness after the first unit is fitted is much harder.
Cable routes in blocks and conversions
Routes through communal corridors, risers and car park ceilings need fire stopping wherever they pass through a compartment wall or floor. That is not optional and it is a genuine cost. Surface containment in a car park is usually acceptable and much cheaper than concealed routes.
In converted houses, the loft and the external wall are the usual routes. Where several flats share the building, agreeing a single containment route that everyone can later use avoids a tangle of individual cables across the facade.
Load management across multiple points
Where several charge points share one supply, dynamic load management is essential. It monitors total demand and shares available capacity between vehicles, so the building's main fuse is never overloaded. Charging is slightly slower when several cars are plugged in at once, which is rarely a problem overnight.
Designing this in at the first installation is far cheaper than retrofitting it when the fourth resident buys an electric car.
Practical routes forward
If you are a single leaseholder wanting one point, the fastest route is usually a feed from your own consumer unit with freeholder consent for the cable route. If several residents are interested, a shared scheme with metered access and load management gives a better long term outcome for the block.
- Establish who owns the parking area and the supply
- Get a technical proposal before asking for consent
- Decide metering and billing before installation
- Design in spare capacity and containment for future points
Where a charge point is not the right answer
On street parking with no legal route to run a cable is a genuine dead end for a fixed home charge point. Cable covers across a public footpath are not a solution an installer can certify or recommend. In those cases, workplace and public rapid charging remain the practical option until the local authority provides on street provision.
Building the case with neighbours
Blocks move faster when one resident brings a costed proposal rather than a question. Gather the number of residents likely to want charging within three years, a quote for a shared scheme with load management, and a clear statement of how running costs will be billed. Presented that way, a management company is being asked to approve a plan rather than to solve a problem, and approval is markedly more likely.
Common questions
- Can my freeholder refuse?
- They can, but a clear technical proposal covering route, fixings and billing is far more likely to be accepted.
- How is electricity billed on a communal supply?
- Through a metered charge point with user authentication, so each user pays for their own consumption.
- Can several flats share one charger?
- Yes, with access control and load management. It is often the fairest arrangement in a block.
- Do cables in communal areas need special treatment?
- Yes. Any penetration of a fire compartment must be properly fire stopped.
- What if I only have on street parking?
- A fixed domestic charge point is not viable if the cable would cross a public footpath.
We survey flats and shared parking properly, including consent documentation. Ask for a communal charging assessment.
Related guides
- EV Charger Installation at Home: How It Actually WorksMost of the job happens before anyone drills a hole: the survey decides whether the installation is simple or awkward.
- Electrical Work in Flats and MaisonettesIn a flat, the boundary between your installation and the building's is the first thing to establish.
- What a Home EV Charger Installation CostsThe unit is a fixed price. Everything around it is where quotes diverge.