Clarified Rights and Obligations Under the Illinois Electric Vehicle Charging Act: What Do Illinois Community Associations Need to Know?

The Illinois Electric Vehicle Charging Act (“Act”), which imposes certain requirements to foster widespread adoption of electric vehicles (“EVs”), took effect on January 1, 2024. Per its original terms, the Act applied only to “newly constructed single-family homes and multi-unit residential buildings that have parking spaces and are constructed after the effective date of this Act.” However, the Act was amended by a subsequent public act (P.A. 103-572 ­– available here) on December 8, 2023 to expand the applicability of certain requirements under the Act to all Illinois condominium associations.

Specific questions regarding this amendment to the Act are answered below.

What Changed?

The amendment, which took effect on January 1, 2024, requires that new and existing condominium associations with parking spaces comply with Sections 30 and 35 of the Act. Section 30 of the Act governs the right of unit owners to install EV charging systems and Section 35 covers this right for renters. This change represents a major shift insofar as it grants all unit owners a general right to install EV charging systems, subject to reasonable restrictions and on the terms provided under the Act.

Does the Act Authorize Unit Owners to Install EV Charging Systems?

Yes. Section 30 of the Act permits unit owners to tie into the common element electrical system and install an EV charging system to serve their designated parking space (i.e., deeded parking unit or designated / limited common element parking right), subject to certain terms summarized below.

What Are the Terms for Installing an EV Charging Systems?

The following terms apply for installation of an EV charging system in a common area or exclusive use common area (i.e., limited common element area):

• Board Approval: The requesting unit owner must obtain prior written approval of the board, which approval must be granted if the unit owner agrees in writing to the terms listed below. The Act also provides that the application must be processed and approved “in the same manner as an application for approval of an alteration, modification, or improvement to common elements or common areas or an architectural modification to the property.”

Note: Per the Act, board approval is deemed granted if the board does not issue a written denial within 60 days of receipt of an application to install an EV charging system “unless the delay is the result of a reasonable request for additional information”.

• Architectural Standards; Building Code: Installation of the EV charging system must comply with the association’s architectural standards or “other reasonable conditions and restrictions,” as well as applicable State and local health and safety standards.

• Installation by a Qualified Contractor: The requesting unit owner must engage a duly licensed and insured electrical contractor to install the EV charging system.

• Insurance: The requesting unit owner must (a) maintain certain liability insurance coverage for the EV charging system and provide proof thereof on an annual basis; and (b) within fourteen (14) days of approval, provide a certificate of insurance naming the association, its officers, directors, and agents as an additional insured party under the unit owner’s insurance policy.

Note: Per the Act, “[a] unit owner is not required to maintain a homeowner liability coverage policy for an existing National Electric Manufacturers Association standard alternating current power plug.”

• Costs: The requesting unit owner is responsible for the following costs: (a) installation of the EV charging system; (b) repair of any damage caused by installation, use, maintenance, repair, replacement, or removal of the EV charging system; and (c) electricity usage (submeter or “a reasonable calculation of cost, based on the average miles driven, efficiency of the electric vehicle . . . and the cost of electricity for the common area.”).

Can the Community Association Board Impose Additional Restrictions on Installing an EV Charging System?

Yes, the Act expressly permits community association boards to impose “reasonable restrictions” on electric vehicle charging systems. Per the Act, a restriction is “reasonable” if it “does not significantly increase the cost of the electric vehicle charging station or electric vehicle charging system or significantly decrease its efficiency or specified performance.”

Note: For any community association that is subject to the Act, any provision of the governing documents or any instrument affecting the transfer or sale of any unit that “effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the installation or use of an electric vehicle charging system” in a parking unit or limited common element parking space is void.

What About Renters – Does the Act Allow Them to Install EV Charging System?

Yes. The Act permits renters to install certain EV charging systems, subject to certain terms contained in Section 35 of the Act, many of which are similar to those listed above for EV charging systems installed by unit owners.

What Are the Penalties for Failing to Comply with the Act?

Associations that willfully violate the Act are liable to the unit owner for actual damages as well as a civil penalty not to exceed $500. The Act also includes a one-sided attorneys’ fees provision in favor of unit owners. This means that unit owners can recover their attorneys’ fees to enforce the Act, but an association cannot collect attorneys’ fees from a unit owner for defending against an enforcement action. As such, it is important that condominium boards that receive requests to install EV charging stations comply with the requirements of Sections 30 or 35 of the Act to avoid any potential issues.

LP is committed to keeping our community association clients informed of, and prepared to proactively and successfully navigate, any changes in the law. For questions regarding the Illinois Electric Vehicle Charging Act, or other issues facing your condominium or community association, please contact Howard Dakoff, Laura Marinelli, Adam Kahn, or Molly Mackey of LP’s Community Association Group.