One member of a homeowners association recently posted on Reddit when their attempts to help electric vehicle owners in the community resulted in unexpected complications.
The post, titled "EV charging stations in common areas," appeared in the r/HOA subreddit. The Florida homeowner was having difficulty understanding what the HOA was legally allowed to do as far as providing — and controlling — charging stations.
Normally, homeowners in Florida have a legally protected right to install chargers on their own property. The problem was in how this homeowner's HOA defined individual properties versus common areas.
"Each townhome in my community has a front yard, but it's a common area," the Redditor said. "The parking space is also considered a common area. Literally, the only place a homeowner could potentially install one is in the common area, and we don't have garages."
Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the first time an HOA has presented complicated issues for homeowners trying to install EV charging stations. In the past, some HOAs have placed unreasonable restrictions on homeowners, even when the law was not on their side.
This time, the homeowner hoped that the HOA could help. "I'm working on drafting an amendment for our Declarations to address the issue, but I am finding conflicting information," they said. "Since the front yard and parking space are common areas and are HOA-managed … My thought is to prevent homeowners from installing their own but set up HOA-managed charging stations in a few spots to meet the needs of the folks who have EVs."
Commenters thought this idea was likely to be a tough sell. "The first hurdle is getting past the issue of 'material changes to the common elements'; this will require a supermajority of owner votes," one user said. "The [HOA] may be required to 'accommodate' the installation of charging stations, but that's for an owner to do and pay for."
However, another user in a similar situation thought it was the best available option. "Due to the community layout and all parking being in the common areas, installing HOA-owned EVCS and renting those spaces to individual homeowners will likely be the solution for electric vehicles," they said.
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