# Virginia HOA EV Charging Rights (2026)

> Under Code of Virginia 55.1-1823.1, a Virginia HOA cannot prohibit a lot owner from installing an electric vehicle charging station for personal use on property the owner owns, unless the recorded declaration provides otherwise. For condominiums, the same protection covers a charger within the unit or a limited common element parking space appurtenant to the unit, and the association can deny it only if installation is not technically feasible or reasonably practicable because of safety risks, structural issues, or engineering conditions. The HOA can set reasonable restrictions on the number, size, place, and manner of the installation, can require the owner to carry insurance and indemnify the association, and can prohibit chargers on common areas.

_Source: https://hoanotes.com/hoa/virginia/ev-charging/ | Last reviewed 2026-06-03_

## What the law protects

On property you own, a charger for your personal use is protected unless the declaration itself bans it. The HOA can shape the install with reasonable rules on number, size, and placement, and can ask you to carry insurance and cover the association if something goes wrong.

Condos get a narrower version. The protection reaches a charger inside the unit or in a limited common element parking space tied to the unit, and the association can say no only when the install is not technically feasible or reasonably practicable due to genuine safety, structural, or engineering problems. A blanket denial that does not point to one of those reasons does not meet the statute. Common areas are different: the HOA can restrict or prohibit chargers there.

## What to check in the disclosure packet

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

- Whether the recorded declaration bans EV chargers, since only the declaration can prohibit one outright.
- For a condo, whether your parking space is a limited common element tied to the unit or general common area.
- Any insurance or indemnification the HOA requires for a charger.
- Whether the home already has a charger and whether it was approved.

## Why this matters to your offer

If charging at home is part of why you are buying, the parking arrangement and the declaration decide whether you have the right. A condo denial has to rest on a real engineering or safety reason, not just board preference.

An HOA Notes brief checks the declaration and the parking designation, flags an EV rule that overreaches, and cites the page behind each finding.

## What the statute says

**Virginia Code section 55.1-1823.1** (EV charging station rights). An association cannot prohibit a lot owner from installing an electric vehicle charging station for personal use on property the owner individually owns; for condominiums, the association may deny approval only if installation is not technically feasible or reasonably practicable due to safety risks, structural issues, or engineering conditions. For HOAs, the association may impose reasonable restrictions on number, size, place, and manner of placement on owner-controlled areas, prohibit installations on common areas, and require the owner to indemnify the association and carry insurance naming the association as an additional insured.

## Virginia HOA EV charging: common questions

### Can a Virginia HOA ban EV charging stations?

Not on property you own, unless the recorded declaration provides otherwise. Code of Virginia 55.1-1823.1 protects a charger for your personal use on owned property.

### Can a condo association deny my EV charger?

Only if installation is not technically feasible or reasonably practicable because of safety risks, structural issues, or engineering conditions.

### What can the HOA still require?

Reasonable restrictions on the number, size, place, and manner of the install, plus insurance and indemnification. It can also prohibit chargers on common areas.

## Sources (verified 2026-06-03)

1. Code of Virginia section 55.1-1823.1 (electric vehicle charging stations permitted), Virginia General Assembly. Verified 2026-06-03. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter18/section55.1-1823.1/
2. Electric vehicle charging station policies for associations (Virginia), Alternative Fuels Data Center, US Department of Energy. Verified 2026-06-03. https://afdc.energy.gov/laws/12407
3. Virginia right-to-charge law: EV charging at condo and HOA, Plug-In Sites. Verified 2026-06-03. https://pluginsites.org/virginia-right-to-charge-law-ev-charging-at-condo-hoa/

HOA Notes is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.