Condo Facts:

Electric Vehicles

Act 186 (2010) prohibited associations from preventing a unit owner from placing an electric vehicle charging station on or near the owner’s parking stall in any “multi-family residential dwelling or townhouse.” The purpose was to help meet the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative goal of 70 percent clean, renewable energy by 2030, thereby greatly reducing Hawaii’s dependence on fossil fuels. The act is very similar to legislation allowing homeowners to install solar energy devices and clotheslines on the common and limited common elements. In other words, the association may adopt rules that reasonably restrict the placement and use of electric vehicle charging systems but cannot prohibit the installation or use of electric vehicle charging systems altogether. Associations should have rules in place regulating the placement of electric vehicle charging stations.