An Illinois condo owner was at their wits' end with a homeowners association that was dragging its feet over allowing them to install an electric vehicle charger.
"I have an EV, and an assigned parking spot to me," they explained in a post on the r/HOA subreddit. "I've been trying since summer of last year to request that I get an EV charger installed in my spot."
According to the original poster, they had done everything possible to make the process as painless as possible for their HOA. "It will be paid out of my pocket, I'll be using building electricity, but I offered to measure and pay a premium on that to the building to be fair," they said.
Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for HOAs to resist EV charging, along with a host of other money-saving and environmentally friendly choices. Some have even tried to ban EVs altogether. That costs homeowners money and slows the move to clean energy.
According to the original poster, their problem isn't even their entire HOA. "Everyone is on board except one person, who keeps saying it's not fair because if they allow for me they have to allow for everyone," they said. "He also kept blaming me that I chose to buy an EV knowing I don't have a charger."
They were tired of waiting and tired of fighting. "Is there any action I can take? Any green group I can snitch to which can get board in trouble?"
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One option in situations like this one is to change the HOA from the inside out. Most have processes for updating their rules.
In some cases, however, it's unnecessary. Laws in some states protect homeowners' rights to install EV chargers and other eco-friendly updates, regardless of what their HOA says.
"Board is required to permit you to install an EV charger at your own expense. State law," said one commenter.
"Thanks," the original poster replied to an elaborate reply. "This is what I needed."
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