Hawaii HOA EV Charging

Quick-Reference EV Charging Table

HRS § 196-7.5 supplies the cross-cutting owner protection for both community types: no outright ban, thirty-day registration, consent for common elements, no placement fee, electricity reimbursement allowed. Neither Chapter 514B nor Chapter 421J currently contains a separate codified EV-charging section; the board-decision and integration-planning provisions that appear in some secondary summaries were introduced in the Legislature but never enacted. Draw each column's values from § 196-7.5 plus the applicable chapter and declaration.

Section 1: Overview — How EV charging is regulated for HOAs in Hawaii

Hawaii is an owner-protective state on electric vehicle charging: HRS § 196-7.5 voids any governing-document provision that would prevent an owner from installing an EV charging system on or near the parking stall of a multi-family dwelling or townhouse the owner owns, and it declares any contrary provision void and unenforceable.¹ That protection comes through a single cross-cutting statute rather than through EV-specific sections inside the two community-association acts. Hawaii operates two parallel community statutes: the Condominium Property Act, HRS Chapter 514B, with older projects potentially under the prior Chapter 514A, governs condominiums,² and the Planned Community Associations law, HRS Chapter 421J, governs planned communities.³ Neither chapter contains its own EV-charging section; instead, § 196-7.5 reaches both because it applies to any "private entity," a term defined to include homeowners associations, community associations, condominium associations, and cooperatives.¹ An association may still impose reasonable restrictions on placement and use, require compliance with design specifications, require a licensed contractor and a certificate of insurance naming the association as additional insured for installations on common or limited common elements, require registration within thirty days of installation, and require reimbursement for the cost of electricity.¹ It may not prohibit installation outright or charge a fee for placement.¹ This places Hawaii among the owner-protective EV states alongside California and Colorado, though Hawaii reaches the result through its own mechanics rather than a single condominium-act provision. The sections that follow work through the statutory framework, the operational do's and don'ts, and recent legislative and judicial activity.

Section 2: The statutory and regulatory framework

2A. The cross-cutting statute: HRS § 196-7.5

HRS § 196-7.5, titled "Placement of electric vehicle charging system," sits in the state energy chapter and was enacted by Act 186, Session Laws of Hawaii 2010.¹ It's the operative EV-charging statute for community associations. Subsection (a) provides that, notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no person shall be prevented "by any covenant, declaration, bylaw, restriction, deed, lease, term, provision, condition, codicil, contract, or similar agreement, however worded," from installing an EV charging system on or near the parking stall of any multi-family residential dwelling or townhouse that the person owns, and states that any contrary provision "shall be void and unenforceable."¹ The statute applies to any "private entity," defined to mean "any association of homeowners, community association, condominium association, cooperative, or any other nongovernmental entity with covenants, bylaws, and administrative provisions with which a homeowner's compliance is required," which is why it supplies the same owner-protective floor to both condominiums and planned communities.¹ Subsection (b) permits a private entity to adopt rules that reasonably restrict placement and use, provided the restrictions "shall not prohibit the placement or use of electric vehicle charging systems altogether"; it also bars any fee "for the placement" of a system while expressly allowing the entity to "require reimbursement for the cost of electricity used."¹ Subsection (c) sets the owner's obligations: the system must comply with rules and specifications adopted under (b); it must be "registered with the private entity of record within thirty days of installation"; and if placed on a common element or limited common element, the owner must first obtain the entity's consent, which "shall be given if the homeowner agrees in writing to: (A) Comply with the private entity's design specification for the installation of the system; (B) Engage a duly licensed contractor to install the system; and (C) Within fourteen days of approval of the system by the private entity, provide a certificate of insurance naming the private entity as an additional insured on the homeowner's insurance policy."¹ Subsection (d) assigns damage, maintenance, repair, removal, and replacement responsibility for common-element installations to the owner and each successive owner.¹

2B. Condominiums: HRS Chapter 514B and the alterations provisions

Condominiums are governed by the Condominium Property Act, HRS Chapter 514B, which took effect July 1, 2006; condominiums created before that date may remain under the prior Chapter 514A.² Chapter 514B doesn't contain a dedicated EV-charging installation-request section. The section sometimes cited for that purpose, § 514B-146, actually addresses "Association fiscal matters; lien for assessments," and § 514B-140 governs "Additions to and alterations of condominium" generally, not EV charging specifically.^2,5 A 2015 proposal, SB1316, would have added a section requiring the board to approve or deny a complete EV installation request within sixty days, but that language was removed before enactment; the enacted law, Act 164 (2015), created only a study working group.⁶ As a result, an EV charging request in a condominium is governed by § 196-7.5 as the controlling owner-protective rule, layered over the board's general authority under Chapter 514B and the declaration. Section 514B-140 remains relevant to how a board evaluates additions and alterations, and it expressly addresses solar-device installation, and the board retains authority over common and limited common elements, but that authority is constrained by § 196-7.5: the board may set design specifications and reasonable restrictions and require the insurance and licensed-contractor conditions, yet it may not deny installation outright or charge a placement fee.^5,1 Architectural and design-review authority therefore continues to exist under Chapter 514B and the declaration but operates within the § 196-7.5 floor.

2C. Planned communities: HRS Chapter 421J, plus corporate law

Planned communities are governed by HRS Chapter 421J, the Planned Community Associations law, deliberately lighter than the condominium act and running from § 421J-1 to § 421J-16.³ Like Chapter 514B, Chapter 421J contains no dedicated EV-charging section.³ A 2022 bill, SB2196, would have required associations, including planned community associations, to develop plans to integrate EV charging stations by January 1, 2030, and to make reserve moneys available for that purpose, but the bill didn't pass and no such requirement is codified.⁷ Accordingly, a planned-community EV request is governed by § 196-7.5, layered over the association's authority over lots, common areas, and exterior modifications under Chapter 421J and the declaration. The order of precedence runs from § 196-7.5 and other non-variable statutory provisions, to the Chapter 421J defaults as modified by the declaration, to the declaration, to the bylaws, then to the rules. For associations organized as nonprofit corporations, the Hawaii Nonprofit Corporations Act, HRS Chapter 414D, supplies corporate-formality scaffolding — board fiduciary standards, meeting mechanics — but grants no EV-specific authority.⁸ Where the statutes and declaration stay silent, common-law contract and property doctrine fills the gaps. As with condominiums, the association may impose reasonable, non-prohibitory conditions but can't ban installation or charge a placement fee.¹

Section 3: What HOAs can and cannot do regarding EV charging

A. Installation rights and prohibitions

An association may not prohibit installation outright; a governing-document provision that would prevent installation on or near an owner's parking stall is void and unenforceable under § 196-7.5(a). This applies to both condominiums and planned communities.¹ Hawaii has no statutory board-decision clock: the sixty-day decision period that appears in some summaries came from a 2015 bill that was never enacted, so no deemed-approval rule exists, true for both.⁶ The line an association must respect is between a reasonable restriction on placement and use, which § 196-7.5(b) permits, and an outright ban, which it forbids, true for both.¹

B. Conditions an association may impose

The association may adopt rules that reasonably restrict placement and use, set design specifications, and require code compliance, including compliance with National Electrical Code Article 625, which the statute references in defining an EV charging system, true for both.¹ For an installation on a common element or limited common element, the association may require the owner to engage a duly licensed contractor and, within fourteen days of approval, to provide a certificate of insurance naming the association as an additional insured; § 196-7.5(c)(3) frames these as conditions that, once met, entitle the owner to consent, true for both.¹ The owner must register the system with the association within thirty days of installation under § 196-7.5(c)(2), true for both.¹ The association may not charge a fee for placement, but it may require reimbursement for the cost of electricity used, under § 196-7.5(b), true for both.¹

C. Cost, metering, and maintenance allocation

Installation cost falls on the owner; the statute bars a placement fee but allows the entity to require reimbursement for electricity, so the cost of electricity is the owner's under § 196-7.5(b), true for both.¹ Metering method isn't dictated by § 196-7.5; a common-meter building may require submetering or a separate account, a practical matter handled with the utility rather than a statutory allocation, true for both, per declaration and utility arrangement.⁹ For installations on common or limited common elements, § 196-7.5(d) assigns responsibility for damage, maintenance, repair, removal, and replacement to the owner and each successive owner until the system is removed, true for both; for installations wholly within a separately owned interest, the declaration controls maintenance allocation.¹ On utility-resale questions, an owner charging a personal vehicle on a private or submetered arrangement is generally not reselling utility service: Hawaii treats an entity whose facility is "primarily used to charge or discharge a vehicle battery that provides power for vehicle propulsion" as not a public utility, and the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission is the regulator of electricity, gas, telecommunications, private water and wastewater, water carriers, and motor carriers, true for both.^10,11

D. Where the station may be installed

In a condominium, location determines the process. If the stall is part of the separate interest — a unit, including an attached space defined as part of the unit — the owner proceeds under § 196-7.5 subject to reasonable rules. If the stall is a limited common element, such as assigned parking, or a general common element, the § 196-7.5(c)(3) consent step applies, and the owner must meet the design-specification, licensed-contractor, and certificate-of-insurance conditions.¹ In a planned community, the owner's lot, driveway, or assigned space is defined and limited by Chapter 421J and the declaration, subject to the same § 196-7.5 floor; where the space is a common area, the consent mechanism in § 196-7.5(c)(3) governs.^1,3

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

Two measures matter for understanding the trajectory, though neither is a currently pending bill and the operative statute remains the 2010 enactment.

B. Recent appellate rulings

No published Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals or Hawaii Supreme Court decision within the past thirty-six months squarely addresses EV charging in a community association. The closest recent appellate authority on the analogous question of common-element alterations and cost allocation is noted below for context. Hawaii's civil path runs from the Circuit Courts, or the District Courts for smaller matters, to the Intermediate Court of Appeals, with discretionary review or transfer to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

C. Active legislative debates

As of this update, no pending Hawaii bill would create or amend EV-charging installation rights or restrictions specifically for community associations, and the January 1, 2030 integration deadline referenced in some materials reflects a failed 2022 bill rather than active law.⁷ EV policy activity in recent sessions has centered on state-facility charger-readiness and infrastructure funding — for example, the 2025 SB230, which addressed retrofits at state buildings and died in committee — rather than association mandates.¹³

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

Nationally, states fall into three groups on HOA EV charging. A first group has EV-charging-station statutes that void or limit association prohibitions, such as California, under Civil Code § 4745, and Colorado, under C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.8; Hawaii belongs in this owner-protective group through HRS § 196-7.5. A second group addresses EV charging more narrowly inside a condominium or HOA act. A third group has no EV-charging-specific statute, leaving the declaration to control. Hawaii reaches the owner-protective result through a single cross-cutting energy-code statute that applies to both condominiums and planned communities, rather than through separate condominium and planned-community provisions, so a multi-state operator entering Hawaii should treat § 196-7.5 as the controlling rule: owners hold statutory installation rights, and associations may impose reasonable conditions but not outright bans or placement fees.¹ Because this is a fast-moving area, Hawaii's provisions are worth rechecking every quarter.

HOA Weekly's Hawaii EV Charging coverage updates quarterly as the Legislature and courts act, and we re-verify HRS § 196-7.5 and the relevant Chapter 514B and Chapter 421J provisions against current text each cycle. Federal incentives such as the Section 30C credit may affect installation economics, but no federal law mandates HOA EV charging access.¹⁴

Footnotes

1. HRS § 196-7.5, Placement of electric vehicle charging system (L 2010, c 186, §1), Hawaii Revised Statutes (current), capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent ↩
2. HRS Chapter 514B, Condominiums (table of contents, current), capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent — § 514B-146 ("Association fiscal matters; lien for assessments") and § 514B-140 ("Additions to and alterations of condominium") ↩
3. HRS Chapter 421J, Planned Community Associations (table of contents, §§ 421J-1 to 421J-16, current), capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent ↩
4. HRS § 196-7.5 sets no board-decision deadline and no deemed-approval rule; no such provision appears in Chapter 514B or Chapter 421J (current text), capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent ↩
5. Hawaii Real Estate Commission, Condominium Bulletin (Mar. 2020), discussing § 514B-140 "Additions to and alterations of condominium" and solar-device installation, cca.hawaii.gov ↩
6. SB1316 (2015), as introduced (board-decision sections later dropped); enacted as Act 164, SLH 2015 (working group only), LegiScan / capitol.hawaii.gov — status: "Act 164, on 06/26/2015 (Gov. Msg. No. 1265)" ↩
7. SB2196 (2022), relating to Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (integration plans by Jan. 1, 2030; reserve funding) — advanced to SD1 (SSCR2425) but not enacted, capitol.hawaii.gov ↩
8. Hawaii Real Estate Commission condominium governance materials noting the role of the Hawaii Nonprofit Corporations Act (HRS Chapter 414D) for associations organized as nonprofits (fiduciary standards, § 414D-149(a)), cca.hawaii.gov ↩
9. Hawaiian Electric, Multi-Unit Dwelling (MUD) EV charging options, including submetering and separate-account arrangements, hawaiianelectric.com ↩
10. U.S. DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center, Hawaii Electricity Laws: "An entity that owns, controls, operates, or manages a plant or facility primarily used to charge or discharge a vehicle battery that provides power for vehicle propulsion is not defined as a public utility," afdc.energy.gov ↩
11. Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, agency overview (regulates electricity, gas, telecommunications, private water and wastewater, water carriers, and motor carriers), puc.hawaii.gov ↩
12. Frost v. Association of Apartment Owners of Pu'u Po'a, CAAP-23-0000436, Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals (memorandum opinion, filed Feb. 27, 2026; not for publication), courts.state.hi.us ↩
13. SB230 (2025), Relating to Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (state-facility retrofits) — status "Introduced - Dead," referred to GVO/EIG, WAM, LegiScan / capitol.hawaii.gov ↩
14. IRS, Instructions for Form 8911 (12/2025), IRC § 30C Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit — termination date moved to June 30, 2026 by P.L. 119-21 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act); residential credit generally the lesser of 30% of cost or $1,000 per item, business credit 6% (or 30% with prevailing-wage/apprenticeship) up to $100,000 per item, eligible census tracts only, irs.gov ↩