Three states added a right-to-charge law in 2026. Maine's took effect January 1, and Vermont's and Tennessee's followed on July 1. Even so, the list is short: as of October 2026, 19 states have a statute in force that limits an association's power to say no to an EV charger. That is a much smaller group than the "right to charge in all 50 states" framing you will find on some vendor sites, and the gap between "there is a law" and "the law protects you" is exactly where most homeowners get confused.
If you own a home or a unit and your association is dragging its feet on a charger, the first question is not "is there a law," it is "does the law where I live cover my situation, and what does it still let the board require." This guide works through both, state by state, using the same statute research behind this site's individual state guides.
What a right-to-charge law actually does
A right-to-charge statute voids the part of an HOA's or condo association's governing documents (the covenants, bylaws, or declaration) that would otherwise let the board prohibit or unreasonably restrict an EV charging station. It does not hand you a free charger, and in almost every state it does not remove the board from the process.
In nearly every state with a statute, the homeowner still:
- Pays for everything. Equipment, installation, the electrician, the electricity, and usually removal or restoration if the unit is sold or the charger comes out. Some states, Maine and New Jersey among them, also let the association pass along its own legal and engineering review costs.
- Uses a licensed contractor. Boards can require the installer be licensed and, in some states, insured.
- Meets reasonable architectural standards. A board can regulate paint color, conduit routing, and placement, as long as the standard is not so strict it functions as a ban.
- Carries liability insurance. Most statutes let the board require a certificate of insurance, and some, Virginia among them, let it require the association be named as an insured, which some carriers will not write. California dropped its additional-insured requirement on January 1, 2026.
What changes state to state is who is covered (owners only, or renters too), how fast the board has to respond, and how much room the board keeps to say no on narrower grounds. That is the part worth checking against your actual state.
The 19 states with a right-to-charge law in force
This table pulls from this site's state-by-state legal research, checked against each statute's official text in October 2026. "Covers" means who the statute actually protects, not just who the headline mentions.
| State | Statute | Covers | Notable condition |
|---|
| California | Cal. Civ. Code §§ 4745, 4745.1; § 1947.6 (renters) | HOA, condo, renters | SB 770 (Jan. 1, 2026) dropped the requirement that owners name the HOA as an additional insured; SB 1267 (Jan. 1, 2027) makes owners and installers answer for damage from common-area chargers (what changes) |
| Colorado | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-33.3-106.8; § 38-12-601 (renters) | HOA, condo, renters | Association may require the owner to register the charger within 30 days |
| Connecticut | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-261g; § 47a-13b (renters) | HOA, condo, renters | Does not apply to an association that imposes reasonable restrictions on charging stations, or that already has charging stations equal to 15% or more of its units; the renter rule does not apply once 10% or more of designated parking spaces have charging |
| Florida | Fla. Stat. § 718.113(8) | Condo only | Electricity must be separately metered; no HOA or rental coverage |
| Hawaii | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 196-7.5 | Multi-family and townhouse owners | Does not reach detached single-family homes; association cannot charge a fee just for allowing the installation |
| Illinois | 765 ILCS 1085 | HOA, condo, renters | Association request is deemed approved if not denied in writing within 60 days |
| Maine | 33 M.R.S. § 576-A | Condo and other common interest communities | Effective Jan. 1, 2026; written acknowledgment within 30 days, deemed approved if not denied within 60; owner pays the association's attorney and engineering fees |
| Maryland | Md. Real Prop. Code §§ 11-111.4, 11B-111.8 | HOA, condo | 60-day deemed approval |
| Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws c. 183A § 10A (St. 2024 c. 239) | HOA, condo, co-op | 60-day deemed approval; no placement fee beyond the association's usual processing fee |
| Michigan | MCL 559.301 et seq. (2024 PA 68) | HOA | Since April 2025, voids HOA rules that prohibit charging equipment or require approval for it, except in common areas; whether it reaches condo associations is unsettled |
| New Jersey | N.J.S.A. 45:22A-48.4 | HOA, condo | 60-day deemed approval; board may deny if it reasonably concludes the charger is a life-safety risk |
| New York | N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 339-ll (condos); § 343 (HOAs) | HOA, condo | 60-day deemed approval; an HOA may still bar chargers on property it or its members own in common |
| North Dakota | N.D. Cent. Code § 47-04.1-16 | Condo only | 60-day deemed approval; no HOA or rental coverage |
| Oregon | Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 94.762, 100.627; § 90.462 (renters) | HOA, condo, renters | Board or landlord must approve a completed application within 60 days; owner must disclose the charger to prospective buyers |
| Tennessee | Public Chapter 914 of 2026 (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 66, Ch. 27) | HOA, condo | Effective July 1, 2026, for association actions and for declarations entered into, renewed, or amended on or after that date; reasonable limits on number, size, and placement allowed; owner indemnifies the association |
| Utah | Utah Code §§ 57-8-8.2, 57-8a-802 | HOA, condo | Owner must disclose the charger to prospective buyers; no rental coverage |
| Vermont | 27A V.S.A. § 3-125 (Act 168 of 2026) | HOA, condo | Effective July 1, 2026; deemed approved if not denied in writing within 90 days; communities created before 2011 are covered only if they have 12 or more units |
| Virginia | Va. Code §§ 55.1-1962.1 (condos), 55.1-1823.1 (HOAs), 55.1-2139.1 (co-ops) | HOA, condo | Applies only where the governing documents do not provide otherwise |
| Washington | Wash. Rev. Code § 64.90.513 | HOA, condo | 60-day deemed approval; where approval is required, owner must register the charger within 30 days |
D.C. has a law that is not yet in force. D.C. Law 25-262 (D.C. Code §§ 6-1451.03c and 6-1451.03d) would give condo and HOA owners and tenants a right to charge, but the D.C. Code marks both sections "Not Funded": they apply only once the law's cost is included in an approved budget. Until then, a D.C. association's governing documents control. Pennsylvania has no statute, despite appearing on some lists; a right-to-charge bill has been in committee since April 2025.
Some vendor and aggregator pages frame right-to-charge protection as close to a nationwide guarantee; the actual statutory picture is narrower and far more state-specific than that framing suggests. In the other 31 states, EV charging is left to the association's own governing documents.
Three tiers, and which one you're actually in
The table above sorts into three real tiers, and the tier matters more than the fact that "your state has a law."
Coverage that includes renters: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, and Oregon extend a right to tenants installing at their own expense, not just owners. This is a short list; see EV Charging for Renters for the renter-specific version of this whole question, including what these laws do not cover.
Owner coverage across HOAs and condos, no renter protection: Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington cover both single-family HOAs and condo associations, but only for owners installing in their own space. Virginia's law is weaker than most, because it gives way wherever the community's governing documents say otherwise.
Narrower coverage: Florida and North Dakota protect condo unit owners only. Hawaii covers owners in multi-family buildings and townhouses but not detached homes. Michigan covers single-family HOAs, and whether it reaches condo associations is unsettled. If your living situation falls outside these, your association's governing documents control.
Know which tier you are in before you assume a state headline applies to your actual living situation.
The deemed-approval clock
Eleven states put a deadline on the board with the same fallback: if the board does not deny your application in writing in time, it is deemed approved. In California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, and Washington the window is 60 days; Vermont allows 90. Most of these pause the clock while the board waits on a reasonable request for more information, and Connecticut and Maine also require a written acknowledgment within 30 days. Oregon sets a 60-day deadline to approve a completed application but does not say what happens if the board misses it.
If your board is stalling and you are in one of these states, put your request in writing and start the clock; that written date is what makes the deadline, and the deemed-approval fallback, enforceable.
What a board can still say no to, even with a law on the books
A right-to-charge statute removes the flat "no." It does not remove every "no."
- Placement in a shared or common area. Statutes generally protect a designated or exclusive-use space; if your parking is unassigned or genuinely shared, most of these laws simply do not reach your situation, HOA or no HOA. Virginia, New York, and Michigan, for example, let an HOA restrict or bar chargers in common areas.
- Safety or engineering problems. Virginia's condo statute allows denial where installation is not technically feasible or reasonably practicable because of safety risks, structural issues, or engineering conditions. This is a real exception, not a loophole for a board that would rather not deal with it.
- Life-safety issues. New Jersey allows denial if the association reasonably concludes the charger is a life-safety risk, the same idea under a different label.
- Reasonable architectural conditions. Conduit routing, paint-matching, and placement rules are generally allowed as long as they do not functionally block the install or add unreasonable cost.
- Registration and process requirements. Colorado lets an association require the owner to register the charger within 30 days, Washington requires registration within 30 days where the association can require approval, and Hawaii has a similar 30-day registration rule. These are conditions you are expected to meet, so build them into your installation plan.
If your state has no right-to-charge law
Most of the country, 31 states and, for now, D.C., has no statute in force. In those places your association's governing documents are the entire legal picture, and the board can restrict or refuse a charger the same way it would restrict a shed or a satellite dish.
A few things worth knowing if you are in this position:
- A general property statute is not a substitute. North Carolina's solar-access law, for example, protects solar collectors from HOA restriction but does not extend to EV charging equipment, a mix-up that shows up regularly in online advice. Read what a statute actually covers before you cite it to your board.
- Legislation is moving, but a bill is not a law. Nevada's 2025 right-to-charge bill died, and Pennsylvania's has sat in committee since April 2025. Track your state's session if this matters to you, but do not plan around a bill that has not passed.
- A structured, paid-for request still works in practice, even without a statute behind it. Put the request in writing, offer to cover installation, insurance, and electricity, and propose a licensed contractor. Many boards say yes to a well-documented ask regardless of what the law requires, because the alternative is explaining a refusal to other residents who want the same thing.
- A plug-in charger is a smaller ask than a hardwired one. A portable Level 2 unit on a dedicated outlet is easier for a board to approve than permanent conduit and a hardwired unit, and it travels with you if you move. See our hardwired vs. plug-in comparison for the tradeoffs, and what a typical installation actually involves for what a licensed electrician will need from the board either way.
If you rent instead of own
Owning and renting are different legal questions even in states with a right-to-charge law. Of the 19 states listed above, only California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, and Oregon give tenants a right to install; the rest apply to unit or lot owners only. D.C.'s law would add tenants once it is funded. If you rent, your landlord's approval and your lease terms matter more than any HOA statute, and the incentive and cost picture is different too. The full renter-specific breakdown, including what Level 1 and shared building chargers can cover when a landlord says no, is in EV Charging for Renters: Options, Rights, and Real Limits.
The bottom line
A right-to-charge law is real leverage where it exists, but it is in force in only 19 states, it usually covers owners and not renters, and it rarely removes the board's authority over cost, contractor licensing, and reasonable placement. Check your tier before you rely on a headline: coverage that includes renters, owner coverage across HOAs and condos, or narrower coverage. If your state has no statute, a well-documented, fully self-funded request still succeeds often enough to be worth trying before you assume the answer is no. Either way, start with your own governing documents and your state's page for the current statute and its conditions, since program details and legislative sessions both move during the year.
Last factually verified: October 4, 2026, against the official statute text for each of the 19 states listed and for D.C. (state legislature and code sites, including the D.C. Code's "Not Funded" notation for D.C. Law 25-262), cross-checked against this site's state-by-state right-to-charge research. Individual statute details change; verify the current text of your state's statute before relying on it for a specific installation.
Corrections (October 4, 2026): This article previously said 16 states plus D.C. had a right-to-charge statute. It listed Pennsylvania, which has no such statute, and presented D.C.'s law as in force, though it is unfunded and not yet in effect. It left out New York, Michigan, Vermont, and Tennessee, and said New York had only pending bills. It also cited outdated or incorrect section numbers for Connecticut, Maine, North Dakota, Virginia, and Washington, and listed Massachusetts and Maine as condo-only. It described Oregon as owner-only and Virginia's technical-infeasibility exception as covering HOAs, and said Maine bars placement fees. Each of these is corrected above.
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