# Washington HOA and Condo EV Charging Rights (2026)

> Under RCW 64.90.513, a Washington association may not adopt or enforce any rule or governing-document provision that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts an electric vehicle charging station for your personal, noncommercial use within your unit or in a designated parking space, such as a garage, a deeded space, or a limited common element space. If approval is required and the association does not deny your application in writing within 60 days, it is deemed approved, unless the delay comes from a reasonable request for more information. In a community of single-family homes, site condominiums, or a planned development where the units are not immediately adjacent, the association cannot require approval at all unless the charger sits on a common element or draws on a common power supply. Since January 1, 2026 the section also applies to most communities created before July 1, 2018, with one caveat for their older governing documents, covered below. The owner pays for installation and electricity, and the association cannot charge a fee for placing the charger.

_Source: https://hoanotes.com/hoa/washington/ev-charging/ | Last reviewed 2026-10-07_

## What the law protects

The core rule is that an association cannot effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict a charger in your unit or designated parking space. Reasonable restrictions are allowed, and the statute defines them: a restriction is reasonable only if it does not significantly increase the cost of the charger or significantly decrease its efficiency or performance.

Where approval is required, the association handles it like an architectural modification, decides in writing, and cannot willfully avoid or delay the decision. It must approve an install in your unit or designated space if installation is reasonably possible and you agree in writing to the conditions below. There is no separate ground for refusing because the board thinks the install is a bad idea.

A willful violation makes the association liable for your actual damages and a civil penalty of up to $1,000, and a court must award reasonable attorneys' fees and costs to an owner who prevails.

## What the association can require

If approval is required, the association can ask you to agree in writing to:

- Follow its reasonable architectural standards for the charger.
- Hire an electrical contractor familiar with EV infrastructure to assess the existing wiring, identify any upgrades, and do the install.
- Give it, within 14 days after approval, a certificate of insurance naming the association as an additional insured. This does not apply in a single-family, site condominium, or non-adjacent planned community.
- Register the charger within 30 days after installation.
- Pay for the electricity the charger uses and the means of paying for it.

## Who pays, and what changed in 2026

Unless you sign a contract with the association saying otherwise, you pay to install the charger. You and each later owner of a charger serving your unit also pay for its inspection, maintenance, repair, and replacement, for any damage it causes to a unit or the common elements, for its electricity and insurance, and for removal and restoration if you take it out. The association can charge a processing fee only if it charges one for every architectural application, and it cannot charge a fee for placing the charger.

Two recent laws changed the picture. ESSB 5129 (2025 c 119) applied this section to communities created before July 1, 2018 starting January 1, 2026, and exempted detached-home communities from the approval requirement. SHB 2354 (2026 c 96), effective June 11, 2026, made the owner-pays rules mandatory, so the governing documents can no longer shift those costs.

## A caveat for communities created before July 1, 2018

RCW 64.90.365 lists this section among those that apply to older communities, other than plat and miscellaneous communities and nonresidential or mixed-use ones. The same statute also says those sections do not invalidate governing-document provisions that existed on July 1, 2018. How that sentence fits with the rule that an association may not enforce a charger restriction is not settled. If an older community's declaration banned chargers before 2018, have a Washington attorney read it before you count on installing one.

## What to check in the resale certificate and documents

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

- Whether your parking is in the unit, a garage, a deeded space, or a limited common element, which are protected, or general common area, which is not.
- Any charger ban or electrical-work rule, and when it was adopted.
- Whether the seller has a charger. The seller must disclose it, the owner's duties that come with it, and whether it is removable and will be removed.
- Any processing fee for chargers that the association does not charge for other architectural applications.

## Why this matters to your offer

A Washington buyer who drives electric has a real statutory right in most communities, with a 60-day clock and a penalty for a board that stalls on purpose. The open questions are about where you park and how old the community's documents are.

An HOA Notes brief reads the declaration, rules, and resale certificate together, flags an EV restriction that conflicts with RCW 64.90.513, and cites the page behind each finding.

## What the statute says

**Washington Revised Code 64.90.513** (EV charging station rights). An association may not adopt or enforce any provision that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts an electric vehicle charging station for a unit owner's personal noncommercial use within a unit or designated parking space (including a garage, deeded space, or limited common element space). Since January 1, 2026 this applies to most associations formed before July 1, 2018 as well, but under section 64.90.365 it does not invalidate governing-document provisions that existed on July 1, 2018, so an older community's pre-2018 charger ban needs a closer read. An association of single-family homes, site condominiums, or a non-adjacent planned development may not require approval unless the charger is on a common element or uses common power. An application is deemed approved if not denied in writing within 60 days, unless the delay comes from a reasonable request for more information, and the association must approve when installation is reasonably possible and the owner signs the statutory agreements. No placement fee may be charged. A willful violation brings actual damages and a civil penalty of up to $1,000, and a prevailing owner is awarded attorneys' fees and costs. The association may impose reasonable restrictions that do not significantly increase cost or decrease performance, and may require the owner to follow reasonable architectural standards, use an electrical contractor familiar with EV infrastructure, register the charger within 30 days after installation, pay for the electricity, and (except in detached-home communities) provide within 14 days after approval a certificate of insurance naming the association as an additional insured. The owner pays installation costs unless a written contract says otherwise, plus maintenance, damage, insurance, and removal costs; since 2026 the governing documents cannot shift these costs to the association. A processing fee is allowed only if one applies to all architectural applications.

## Washington HOA EV charging: common questions

### Can a Washington HOA ban EV chargers?

Not in your unit or designated parking space. RCW 64.90.513 bars an association from adopting or enforcing a provision that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts a charger there for your personal, noncommercial use. For communities created before July 1, 2018, see the caveat about older governing documents.

### How long does the association have to decide?

60 days. An application not denied in writing within 60 days of receipt is deemed approved, unless the delay comes from a reasonable request for more information.

### Do I need approval in a single-family neighborhood?

No, unless the charger is installed on a common element or connected to a common power supply. The exemption covers single-family homes, site condominiums, and planned developments where units are not immediately adjacent.

### Who pays for an EV charger in a Washington condo?

The owner, unless a written contract with the association says otherwise. Since June 11, 2026, the governing documents cannot shift the ongoing costs of an owner's charger to the association.

## Sources (verified 2026-10-07)

1. RCW 64.90.513 (electric vehicle charging stations), Washington State Legislature. Verified 2026-10-07. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.90.513
2. Session Laws 2025 c 119 (ESSB 5129), applying WUCIOA sections to older communities, Washington State Legislature. Verified 2026-10-07. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5129-S.SL.pdf
3. Session Laws 2026 c 96 (SHB 2354), EV charging cost responsibility, Washington State Legislature. Verified 2026-10-07. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/House/2354-S.SL.pdf
4. Senate Bill 5129 accelerates WUCIOA compliance for all common interest communities, HCMP. Verified 2026-10-07. https://www.hcmp.com/blog/hcmp-client-alert-washington-senate-bill-5129-accelerates-wucioa-compliance-for-all-common-interest-communities-effective-january-1-2026

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