Illinois condo and HOA EV charging rights

On your own unit or a parking space deeded to or set aside for you, an EV charger is protected. A covenant or rule that effectively bans it, or loads it with unreasonable conditions, is void. The board keeps some control: it can require architectural standards, a licensed and insured electrician, safety compliance, proof of liability insurance naming the association, and prior approval for work that affects common elements.

The 60-day rule gives the right teeth. If you submit a written application and the board does not deny it in writing within 60 days, it is deemed approved, unless the board has made a reasonable request for more information. And a board that willfully ignores the Act can owe you actual damages, a civil penalty up to $500, and your attorney fees.

If you drive electric, read these before you make an offer:

• Whether your parking is a deeded or exclusively designated space, where the protection is strongest.
• Any blanket ban on electrical modifications or chargers, which the Act voids.
• Insurance, contractor, or approval conditions the association requires.
• Whether the home already has a charger and whether it was approved.

EV charging is now a settled right in Illinois community associations, and a board cannot simply say no on a deeded space. The conditions it can set are about safety and insurance, not a veto, and the 60-day clock protects you from being stalled.

An HOA Notes brief checks the declaration and rules for an EV restriction, confirms your parking designation, flags a rule that overreaches, and cites the page behind each finding.

765 ILCS 1085/30 (Illinois Electric Vehicle Charging Act, effective January 1, 2024) (EV charging installation rights). Any covenant, restriction, or condition in any deed, contract, or governing document that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the installation or use of an electric vehicle charging system within an owner's unit or a parking space deeded to or exclusively designated for the owner is void and unenforceable; the association must respond in writing within 60 days of a written application -- failure to deny within 60 days constitutes automatic approval; penalties for violation include actual damages, a civil penalty up to $500, and reasonable attorney fees. The association may impose reasonable restrictions including architectural standards, installation requirements, safety compliance, and electrical system compatibility; it may require prior written approval for installations in or affecting common elements; it may require use of a licensed and insured electrical contractor; it may require the owner to provide proof of liability insurance naming the association as additional insured within 14 days of installation.

When you read the disclosure packet, watch for no electric vehicle charging equipment or outlets in any parking space or garage, no modifications to electrical systems without board approval -- used to deny all EV applications, and blanket denial of EV charger applications. HOA Notes flags each of these against the statute and tells you which restrictions are actually enforceable.