Rules for building charge points

Germany and Austria: differences in the legal framework

Germany and Austria have a great deal in common, yet in many respects the two countries could hardly be more different. Where legislation is concerned that is almost surprising, since both are bound by EU rules. In the legal framework around building charge points in buildings there are some considerable differences, and this article looks at them.

In Directive (EU) 2018/844, buildings — and the innovation and technology inside them — play an important part in decarbonising the economy, the transport sector included. They are described there as a lever for developing the infrastructure needed for intelligent charging of electric vehicles. When setting requirements for building charge points, member states are to take account of the various conditions that prevail. They do so in very different ways. In Germany the Building Electromobility Infrastructure Act (Gebäude-Elektromobilitätsinfrastruktur-Gesetz, GEIG) came into force on 18 March 2021. In Austria implementation came through federal and provincial legislation, because building regulation is a matter for the provinces.

Germany's Building Electromobility Infrastructure Act

Following EU Directive 2018/844, the GEIG prescribes the installation of charge points very concretely, in terms of the type of building and the number and extent of the charge points. Subject to some exceptions, the following rules apply.

Requirements for charge points in new buildings

For buildings yet to be erected:

• In residential buildings with more than five parking spaces, every space has to be fitted with the cabling infrastructure for electric mobility.
• In non-residential buildings with more than six parking spaces, at least every third space has to be fitted with cabling infrastructure and at least one charge point has to be installed.

Requirements for charge points in existing buildings

For existing buildings, the following has to be taken into account during a major renovation:

• In residential buildings with more than ten parking spaces inside or adjoining the building, every space has to be fitted with cabling infrastructure for electric mobility.
• In non-residential buildings with more than ten parking spaces inside or adjoining the building, at least every fifth space has to be fitted with cabling infrastructure and one charge point has to be installed.
• In non-residential buildings with more than 20 parking spaces, a charge point has to be installed inside or adjoining the building after 1 January 2025.

Existing buildings are particularly interesting here, because in practice these rules mean that hospitals, shopping centres, museums and similar buildings with public parking spaces will have to offer charging infrastructure.

To make implementation easier for municipalities, a comprehensive funding programme called “Ladeinfrastruktur vor Ort” began in April 2021. It made EUR 300 million available for charge points at swimming pools, sports grounds, supermarkets, restaurants and other places.

Austria: the building codes of the provinces

In Austria, Directive 2018/844 is reflected in the building codes, which are a matter for the provinces. Below is an overview of the provincial legal gazettes through which the building codes were amended, ordered by the date on which the amendments were published. The titles are given in the original German.

With these regulations the applicable provincial laws were brought in line with the requirements of the EU directive.

Lower Austria as a front-runner in electric mobility

One province stands out here: Lower Austria. Active early as a front-runner in electric mobility and in supporting it, the Lower Austrian building code had already been adapted to future requirements in 2014. It addressed the type of building, the number of charge points, provisions for later retrofitting and even the charging power of the infrastructure in considerable detail. The requirements of the EU directive were therefore already met, and no further adaptation was necessary.

On the whole, the obligation to install charging infrastructure and to retrofit existing buildings is viewed positively in Austria too, although weaknesses are still pointed out — by Wien Energie, for instance. One important point in that position is to extend the obligation to residential buildings as well, because in urban areas in particular, private individuals in rented flats lack the opportunity to charge — which in the end prevents the decision in favour of an electric car. For owner-occupied property the picture is different.

The amendment to the condominium act and the “right to plug”

The EU amendment sets the course for a further mandatory build-out of charging infrastructure in property development. In the private sphere, and in cities in particular, installing infrastructure — or retrofitting it — still met obstacles. In Austria the justice minister Alma Zádic and the climate minister Leonore Gewessler put an end to that with the “right to plug”. It was implemented in the amendment to the Condominium Act (Wohnungseigentumsgesetz, WEG), in section 16, with effect from 1 January 2022.

Until then the consent of more than half of the apartment owners in the building had to be obtained. Now, for certain charge points, consent is deemed to have been given once the other owners have been duly informed of the planned change and have not objected within two months. This “deemed consent” is intended to make installing individual charge points easier.

In short

Electric mobility has long since stopped being the private pleasure of a few front-runners. It has been recognised at European level as an effective contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and anchored in law. As the number of electric cars grows, building the infrastructure they need is the first priority — for companies, institutions, municipalities and private individuals alike. And the more charge points are built, the more it matters to steer the charging deliberately in order to avoid peak loads.