New Jersey EV Charger Rights in Condos and HOAs: 60-Day Deemed Approval, $100,000 Policy

The statute is P.L.2020, c.108, effective October 19, 2020, and it applies to associations managing common elements and facilities of a planned real estate development whether or not organized under N.J.S.A. 45:22A-43. It reaches condominiums, homeowners associations and cooperative housing corporations, where a shareholder owning the shares appurtenant to a dwelling unit counts as a unit owner. It expressly does not apply to owners of commercial units, space or interest inside an association.

Subsection a. does two things at once. Paragraph (1) bans the association from adopting or enforcing a restriction, covenant, bylaw, rule, regulation, master deed provision or other governing document provision that prohibits or unreasonably restricts installation or use of a charging station in a designated parking space. Paragraph (2) then voids the offending instrument, including a covenant or condition in a deed, contract or security instrument affecting transfer or sale of an interest in the development. Paragraph (3) forces the board's hand on access: notwithstanding any provision about granting exclusive or limited use of a common element, the executive board shall grant that exclusive or limited use where installation requires reasonable access through or across the common elements for utility lines or meters. Paragraph (4) preserves reasonable restrictions, and subsection i. defines a reasonable restriction as one that does not significantly increase the cost of the station or significantly decrease its efficiency or specified performance.

The 60-day clock in subsection c. is the provision most worth knowing. If association approval is required, the application must be processed and approved in the same manner as an application for approval of an architectural modification, and it shall not be willfully avoided or delayed. Approval or denial must be in writing. If the application is not denied in writing within 60 days from the date of receipt, it is deemed approved, unless the delay results from a reasonable request for additional information. Two things stop that clock. If the board reasonably concludes the station is a life-safety risk it may deny under d.(2), and if it reasonably determines that cumulative charging load requires additional infrastructure improvements to supply enough electricity, it may hold the application in abeyance until the upgrades are done.

The cost allocation in subsection d. is entirely on the owner. In exchange for approval the owner must agree in writing to comply with the association's architectural standards, engage a licensed electrician for all electric lines and infrastructure, obtain insurance within 14 days of approval and before installation, pay for the electricity used, and pay reasonable association charges to recover the cost of reviewing and approving the application including engineering and legal fees, which the association may require to be escrowed in advance. Money the owner owes under the section is deemed a special assessment and is collectible the same way delinquent common expenses are. The owner and every successive owner bear the cost of damage to the station, the parking space, common elements, limited common elements or other owners' property arising from installation, maintenance, repair, removal or replacement, plus maintenance and restoration of the area after removal, the electricity, all installation costs, and permit and zoning compliance costs. The owner must also disclose the station and these responsibilities to prospective buyers.

The station must meet State and local health and safety standards and all applicable zoning, land use and other ordinances or land use permits, and subsection i. requires it to be designed in compliance with the State Uniform Construction Code adopted under P.L.1975, c.217, and to provide at a minimum Level 2 charging. Subsections e., f. and g. give the board additional options: it may license a common area parking space to an owner for a defined period at its sole discretion, provided the grant is not fraudulent, unconscionable or self-dealing; it may install common stations for all owners and adopt rules for their use; and it may create a new parking space to accommodate a station, with the owner paying all land use approvals, permits, reviews, easements and construction costs where the space is for that owner's exclusive use.

Insurance is the recurring failure point. (6) the owner and each successive owner must at all times maintain a homeowner's liability coverage policy in the amount of $100,000 and name the association as a certificate holder with the right to receive a notice of cancellation. The association may require more than $100,000 only if its governing documents or rules require all owners to carry a greater amount. If the owner fails to procure or maintain that insurance, the association may buy the policy on the owner's behalf and charge the owner its cost.

The owner must hold the association and other owners harmless from claims, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, arising out of personal injury, death or property damage caused by or contributed to by the installation, removal or use of the station. A. 45:22A-38, which carries a fine of not less than $250 and not more than $50,000 per violation, levied only after an opportunity to be heard and collectible by summary proceeding under the Penalty Enforcement Law if unpaid after 30 days. A. A. 46:8B-14(k).