New Jersey HOA EV Charging

Quick-Reference EV Charging Table

Section 45:22A-48.4 was added by P.L. 2020, c.108 (A3367) and supplements PREDFDA, applying uniformly to condominiums, cooperatives, and planned developments; it's distinct from P.L. 2021, c.171, the EV-ready "Make-Ready" new-construction law, so the current text is drawn from the New Jersey Statutes and cited by subsection.

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

New Jersey has an owner-protective EV-charging statute, N.J.S.A. 45:22A-48.4, that makes void and unenforceable any governing-document provision prohibiting or unreasonably restricting the installation or use of an electric vehicle charging station in a designated parking space.¹ The statute was added by P.L. 2020, c.108 (Assembly No. 3367), approved October 19, 2020, and sits inside the Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act (PREDFDA), so it reaches an association managing a planned real estate development regardless of how it's organized — condominiums, cooperatives, and planned developments/HOAs alike.¹ Residential unit owners are covered; commercial units are excluded.¹

The statute is protective but not unconditional. An association may still impose reasonable restrictions, process the request as an architectural-modification application, require a licensed electrician and State Uniform Construction Code compliance, require liability insurance naming the association, and place all installation, electricity, maintenance, repair, damage, removal, restoration, and reasonable review costs on the owner.¹ It may also deny an application it reasonably concludes is a life-safety risk.¹

This owner-installation statute shouldn't be confused with P.L. 2021, c.171, the separate EV-ready "Make-Ready" law that governs new parking construction, municipal ordinances, and site-plan approval, not an existing owner's right to install in an existing association.³ The detailed sections below trace each operational rule to the current text of § 45:22A-48.4, cited by subsection, and note where PREDFDA, the Condominium Act, corporate law, and the Department of Community Affairs interact with it.

Section 2: The statutory and regulatory framework

2A. N.J.S.A. 45:22A-48.4

The controlling provision is N.J.S.A. 45:22A-48.4, "Electric vehicle charging stations in common interest communities," added by P.L. 2020, c.108 (Assembly No. 3367), approved October 19, 2020, and effective immediately.¹ It supplements PREDFDA, P.L. 1993, c.30 (C.45:22A-43 et seq.), part of the broader PREDFDA framework at N.J.S.A. 45:22A-21 et seq.² The text described here is the current operative text; the section hasn't been amended since enactment.¹

Coverage is deliberately broad. Subsection a.(1) applies to "an association formed for the management of common elements and facilities of a planned real estate development, regardless of whether organized pursuant to" C.45:22A-43, which reaches condominiums, cooperative housing corporations, and planned developments/HOAs.¹ The definition of "unit owner" in subsection i. covers the record owner of a residential dwelling unit, or in a cooperative the shareholder owning the appurtenant shares, and the act "shall not apply to the owners of commercial units, space, or interest."¹

The core prohibition is in subsections a.(1) and a.(2): an association shall not adopt or enforce a restriction, covenant, bylaw, rule, regulation, master deed provision, or governing-document provision that prohibits or unreasonably restricts installation or use of a charging station in a designated parking space, and any such provision, or any provision in conflict with the section, is void and unenforceable.¹ Subsection a.(4) preserves the association's ability to impose reasonable restrictions, defined in subsection i. as restrictions that don't significantly increase the cost of a station or significantly decrease its efficiency or specified performance.¹

The approval process is set by subsection c. If association approval is required, the application must be processed and approved in the same manner as an architectural-modification application and shall not be willfully avoided or delayed. Approval or denial must be in writing, and if the application isn't denied in writing within 60 days of receipt, it's deemed approved, unless the delay results from a reasonable request for additional information.¹ Subsection c. also lets an association hold an application in abeyance where cumulative EV electricity use requires additional infrastructure until those upgrades are complete.¹ Subsection d.(2) supplies the denial ground: an association may deny an application if it reasonably concludes the station constitutes a life-safety risk.¹

Owner obligations appear in subsection d. The owner must agree in writing to comply with the association's architectural standards (d.(1)(a)); engage a licensed electrician to install all necessary electric lines and infrastructure in compliance with those standards (d.(1)(b)); within 14 days of approval and before installation, obtain and maintain insurance protecting the association and other owners (d.(1)(c)); pay for electricity usage (d.(1)(d)); and pay the association's reasonable review costs, including engineering and legal fees, which may be escrowed in advance (d.(1)(e)).¹ Under subsection d.(6), the owner and each successive owner must maintain a homeowner's liability coverage policy of $100,000 and name the association as a certificate holder with the right to receive notice of cancellation; an association may require coverage above $100,000 only if its documents require all owners to carry more, may procure insurance on a defaulting owner's behalf at the owner's cost, and is owed a hold-harmless obligation.¹ The station must be designed to the State Uniform Construction Code and provide at least Level 2 charging (subsection i.).¹ Subsections d.(4) and d.(5) make the owner and successive owners responsible for damage, maintenance, repair, replacement, restoration after removal, electricity, and installation costs, and require disclosure of the station and related duties to prospective buyers.¹

Location rules round out the section. A "designated parking space" (subsection i.) includes a garage, a deeded space, or a limited-common-element space restricted to one or more owners.¹ Subsection a.(3) requires the board to grant exclusive or limited use of a common element where access for utility lines or meters is needed. Subsection e. lets the board license a common-area parking space for an owner's exclusive use at its sole discretion, provided the grant isn't fraudulent, unconscionable, or self-dealing, and subsection f. lets an association install stations in common-element spaces for all owners.¹

2B. How the rest of PREDFDA and the Condominium Act bear on EV charging

Section 45:22A-48.4 doesn't create a standalone review track; it routes EV applications through the association's existing architectural process. Subsection c. requires the application to be handled "in the same manner as an application for approval of an architectural modification," and subsection d.(1)(a) requires the owner to comply with the association's architectural standards.¹ The EV rule therefore borrows the association's architectural machinery while overriding any architectural standard that would prohibit or unreasonably restrict a station.

The New Jersey Condominium Act, N.J.S.A. 46:8B, governs condominium associations generally, including common elements, alterations, and association powers.⁴ It remains the background authority for condominium governance, but for EV charging the specific provision, § 45:22A-48.4, controls across all association types. The EV rule isn't an application of the Condominium Act's general alteration provisions, and it's separate from the solar-energy provision codified at N.J.S.A. 45:22A-48.2.⁵

PREDFDA also supplies the governance backdrop. The 2017 "Radburn" amendments, P.L. 2017, c.106, reshaped board elections and voting participation across community associations and are administered by the Department of Community Affairs; they're governance scaffolding for how a board acts, not an EV-specific authority.⁶ Where a governing document conflicts with § 45:22A-48.4 on EV charging, the statute controls and the offending provision is void.¹ P.L. 2021, c.171 is a separate new-construction and land-use law and isn't the source of the owner-installation right.³

2C. The role of governing documents and corporate law

Master deeds, bylaws, and rules continue to operate, but subject to § 45:22A-48.4. They may impose reasonable restrictions and architectural standards, but they may not prohibit or unreasonably restrict installation or use, and any provision that does so, or that conflicts with the section, is void and unenforceable under subsection a.(2).¹ The practical order of precedence is: § 45:22A-48.4 and other non-variable PREDFDA provisions first, then governing documents consistent with the statute, then board-adopted rules consistent with both.

Most New Jersey associations are incorporated as nonprofits under the New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation Act, N.J.S.A. 15A:1-1 et seq., which supplies corporate-formality scaffolding such as board authority, meetings, and fiduciary duties.⁷ That statute governs how the board acts as a corporate body; it doesn't supply EV-specific authority.

Enforcement runs through the Department of Community Affairs. Subsection h. provides that the Commissioner of Community Affairs shall enforce § 45:22A-48.4 under the authority in section 18 of P.L. 1977, c.419 (C.45:22A-38).¹ That provision, N.J.S.A. 45:22A-38(a), states that a violator "shall be fined not less than $250.00, nor more than $50,000.00 per violation," which the Commissioner "may levy and collect ... after affording the person alleged to be in violation ... an opportunity to appear ... and to be heard."⁸ Where the statute and governing documents are silent, ordinary contract and property doctrine fills the gaps, subject to the statute's overriding EV protections.

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

Because New Jersey applies one uniform statute, these obligations apply across condominiums, cooperatives, and planned developments unless the statute distinguishes them.

A. Installation rights and prohibitions

An association may not adopt or enforce any restriction, covenant, bylaw, rule, master deed provision, or governing-document provision that prohibits or unreasonably restricts installation or use of a station in a designated parking space, and any such provision is void and unenforceable, § 45:22A-48.4(a)(1)–(2).¹ Where an owner has no designated space, the board may license a common-area parking space for the owner's exclusive use, at its sole discretion, provided the grant isn't fraudulent, unconscionable, or self-dealing, § 45:22A-48.4(e).¹ The line between a permitted reasonable restriction and a prohibited one is drawn by the statutory definition: a restriction is reasonable only if it doesn't significantly increase the station's cost or significantly decrease its efficiency or specified performance, § 45:22A-48.4(a)(4), (i).¹

B. Conditions an association may impose

An association may require the owner to comply with its architectural standards, engage a licensed electrician, meet the State Uniform Construction Code, and provide at least Level 2 charging, § 45:22A-48.4(d)(1)(a)–(b), (i).¹ It may require the owner to obtain and maintain a $100,000 homeowner's liability policy naming the association as certificate holder within 14 days of approval and before installation, and to hold the association and other owners harmless, § 45:22A-48.4(d)(1)(c), (d)(6).¹ It may impose reasonable aesthetic and location conditions that don't significantly increase cost or decrease efficiency or specified performance, § 45:22A-48.4(a)(4).¹ The 60-day clock requires a written denial within 60 days of receipt, absent a reasonable request for more information, or the application is deemed approved; a denial must rest on a valid ground such as a reasonable conclusion that the station is a life-safety risk, § 45:22A-48.4(c), (d)(2).¹

C. Cost, metering, and maintenance allocation

The owner bears installation cost, electricity cost, maintenance, repair, replacement, damage, removal, restoration, and the association's reasonable review costs, including engineering and legal fees that may be escrowed, § 45:22A-48.4(d)(1)(d)–(e), (d)(4).¹ On metering, the statute makes the owner responsible for the station's electricity use but doesn't create a right to an EV-dedicated time-of-use meter; whether a separate meter or submeter is required or permitted is governed by the declaration and the utility, not by a statutory metering mandate, § 45:22A-48.4(d)(1)(d).¹ New Jersey's rule differs from California's dedicated-meter mechanism, which is set out separately at California Civil Code § 4745.1.⁹ On the utility side, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities regulates utilities, and New Jersey law provides that an entity that owns, controls, operates, or manages EV supply equipment isn't a public utility, so an owner charging on a private or dedicated meter generally isn't reselling utility service.¹⁰

D. Dispute resolution and enforcement

The statute contemplates association-level processing of the application first, § 45:22A-48.4(c), (d).¹ The Department of Community Affairs, through the Commissioner of Community Affairs, enforces PREDFDA including § 45:22A-48.4 under C.45:22A-38, § 45:22A-48.4(h), and PREDFDA also requires associations to offer alternative dispute resolution for housing-related disputes.⁸ Contested matters proceed through the New Jersey Superior Court, Law or Chancery Division, with appeals to the Superior Court, Appellate Division, and discretionary review by the New Jersey Supreme Court.¹¹

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

The operative source remains the enacting law. No bill in the 2024-2025 or 2026-2027 sessions amends § 45:22A-48.4 or changes EV-charging rules specific to community associations; the community-association EV statute stands unamended since October 19, 2020.¹

B. Recent appellate rulings

No published or unpublished New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, or New Jersey Supreme Court opinion issued between 2022 and 2026 cites or interprets N.J.S.A. 45:22A-48.4. As of July 18, 2026, the EV-charging-in-community-associations statute hasn't been construed by a New Jersey appellate court. Boards and counsel should therefore rely on the statutory text and the architectural-application analogy rather than case-specific guidance.

C. Active legislative debates

There's no active proposal specifically amending § 45:22A-48.4; adjacent EV activity concerns utility demand-charge reform and a statewide EV-charger uptime requirement enacted as P.L. 2023, c.278 (S3102), approved January 16, 2024 and codified at N.J.S.A. 48:25-12, which requires state-incentivized EVSE to remain operational at least 97 percent of the time, excluding exempted downtime, as calculated on an annual and site-wide basis, neither of which alters the owner-installation right in existing associations.¹⁴

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

New Jersey sits firmly among the owner-protective EV-charging states, alongside California, Civil Code § 4745, and Colorado, C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.8, against which more restrictive or silent states are measured.⁹ Nationally, jurisdictions fall into three broad groups: mandate states that void bans and channel installations through defined procedures, California, Colorado, and New Jersey among them; states that address EV charging more narrowly; and states with no EV-charging-specific statute, where the declaration and governing documents control. For a multi-state operator, the practical point is that New Jersey grants owners an installation right in a designated space that most states don't, so a silent-state playbook doesn't transfer here; a New Jersey board that treats an EV request as freely deniable is exposed to deemed approval and voided restrictions. Section 45:22A-48.4 may be amended in future sessions, and this page is re-verified against current text each quarter.

HOA Weekly's New Jersey EV Charging coverage updates quarterly as the legislature and courts act, and § 45:22A-48.4 is re-verified against current statutory text each cycle. Federal incentives may affect installation economics, but no federal law mandates HOA EV charging access; the Section 30C Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit is scheduled to end for property placed in service after June 30, 2026, and NEVI is a state-administered funding program, not a grant of authority over associations.¹⁵

Footnotes

1. N.J.S.A. 45:22A-48.4, enacted by P.L. 2020, c.108 (Assembly No. 3367), approved October 19, 2020 (full enacted text, New Jersey Legislature) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
2. Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act (PREDFDA), N.J.S.A. 45:22A-21 et seq. (New Jersey Statutes portal, lis.njleg.state.nj.us) ↩ ↩
3. P.L. 2021, c.171 (S3223), EV-ready "Make-Ready" new-construction and municipal land-use law (New Jersey Legislature) ↩ ↩
4. New Jersey Condominium Act, N.J.S.A. 46:8B-1 et seq. (New Jersey Department of Community Affairs) ↩
5. N.J.S.A. 45:22A-48.2, solar collectors on certain roofs (New Jersey Statutes portal, lis.njleg.state.nj.us) ↩
6. P.L. 2017, c.106 (S2492), the "Radburn" governance amendments to PREDFDA (New Jersey Legislature) ↩
7. New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation Act, N.J.S.A. 15A:1-1 et seq. (cross-verification of statutory framework) ↩
8. N.J.S.A. 45:22A-38, Commissioner of Community Affairs enforcement authority and penalties ($250–$50,000 per violation) under PREDFDA (statutory text) ↩ ↩
9. California Civil Code § 4745 and § 4745.1, EV charging in common interest developments (comparison jurisdiction, California Legislative Information) ↩ ↩
10. New Jersey law providing that an entity owning, controlling, operating, or managing EVSE is not a public utility (U.S. DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center, summarizing N.J.S.A. Title 48) ↩
11. New Jersey Courts: Superior Court, Appellate Division, and Supreme Court structure (New Jersey Judiciary) ↩
12. Assembly No. 3367 / P.L. 2020, c.108, bill and statement (New Jersey Legislature) ↩
13. A4624 (2024-2025), commercial EV charging tariffs and non-volumetric fees, bill history (New Jersey Legislature) ↩
14. EVSE 97% uptime requirement for state-incentivized equipment, P.L. 2023, c.278 (S3102), N.J.S.A. 48:25-12 (U.S. DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center, New Jersey summary) ↩
15. IRS Instructions for Form 8911, Section 30C Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit terminating for property placed in service after June 30, 2026 (Internal Revenue Service) ↩