Academy/Parking, Roads & Vehicles
EVs
What state law actually protects, and what your declaration still controls.
An HOA generally cannot ban electric vehicles as a vehicle type since no researched state statute singles them out, so ordinary parking rules apply just as they would to any other car. Installing a charging station is different: many states now void HOA restrictions that block a charger, though protection strength varies widely, and some states have none.
EVs are not a restricted vehicle type
Many declarations restrict RVs, boats, trailers, commercial vehicles, or motorcycles by name. See Commercial vehicles and RVs. Electric vehicles are not on that list anywhere this course researched. California and Texas were checked directly, and neither state's vehicle-restriction rules mention EVs as a category at all.
That means, absent a specific line in your own declaration, an EV parks under the same rules as a gas or hybrid car of the same size: same spot, same guest-parking limits, same everything. If your declaration does single out EVs, that provision controls. Check the recorded document, not general practice.
Charging equipment gets separate legal protection
Installing a charger is a different question from parking the car, and it is where states have actually legislated. A minority of states have passed what is often called a right to charge statute: a law that voids or limits an association's power to block a charging station.
"Any covenant, restriction, or condition that either effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the installation or use of an electric vehicle charging station within an owner's unit or in a designated parking space, including deeded parking spaces, parking spaces in an owner's exclusive use common area, or parking spaces specifically designated for use by a particular owner, is void and unenforceable."
Source: California Civil Code §4745, State of California
| State | What the statute does |
|---|---|
| California | Voids any rule blocking installation in an owner's own or exclusive-use space; board may set reasonable, cost-neutral conditions. |
| Colorado | Bars charging any fee beyond actual electricity cost for a Level 1 or 2 system. |
| Hawaii | Bars any covenant from blocking installation near an owner's stall; no placement fee allowed. |
| New York | Defines an unreasonable limitation numerically, as a cost increase of more than 10 percent. |
| Oregon | Protects the right to install, but lets the association charge a review and permitting fee. |
| Maryland | Uses a renewable, term-limited license for common-element installations. |
| Virginia | Weaker protection: the declaration itself can override the default rule. |
| Florida | Protects condominium owners only; the separate HOA statute has no equivalent. |
| Most other states | No right-to-charge statute found; the request runs through ordinary architectural review. |
Illinois and Massachusetts have reportedly passed similar laws recently, but this course did not verify their text. Confirm your own state's current statute directly rather than relying on a neighbor's or another state's rule.
What your board should actually do
Start with your own state's statute, not a story from social media or a homeowner's printout from another state. Protection ranges from ironclad in California to overridable by the declaration in Virginia to nonexistent in most states. Then check your declaration for common-element installations, since several statutes still let the association require proof of insurance or a licensed contractor even where the base right to charge exists.
For the actual approval process, deadlines, and electrical requirements, see Charging stations.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A board wants to ban all electric vehicles from parking anywhere in the community, the same way it restricts RVs and boats. Is this allowed?
A California HOA denies an owner's request to install a Level 2 charger in her deeded parking space, citing the community's general no-alterations rule. What happens under California's statute?
A Texas owner emails the board a California right to charge statute and demands approval for a charger within 60 days. How should the board respond?
Sources
- California Civil Code §4745, State of California
- California Civil Code §4700, State of California
- Florida Statutes §718.113(8), The Florida Senate
- Colorado Revised Statutes §38-33.3-106.8, State of Colorado
- Hawaii Revised Statutes §196-7.5, State of Hawaii
- New York Real Property Law, Article 9-D §343, State of New York
- Oregon Revised Statutes §94.762, State of Oregon
- Maryland Real Property Code §11-111.4, Maryland General Assembly
- Code of Virginia §55.1-1823.1, Virginia Legislative Information System
- Texas Property Code, Chapter 209, Texas Legislative Council
Parking, Roads & Vehicles
Installing a charger, not just parking an EV? See how the approval process actually works in Charging stations.
Whether a right-to-charge statute exists, how strong it is, and whether it covers common-area or only owner-controlled parking spaces varies by state. Several statutes also let the board impose insurance, contractor, or fee conditions that the reader must check separately.