Can My Tenant Install an EV Charger? A NZ Landlord's Guide

An EV charger is not a minor change under New Zealand tenancy law, and a tenant's request to install one needs your ordinary consent, not the 21-day minor-change fast track. That is the plain implication of Tenancy Services' own test, applied honestly to what a charger install actually involves. Here is the reasoning, and what to do about the request.

Is an EV charger a "minor change" under NZ tenancy law?

Since 11 February 2021, tenants in New Zealand have had a right to make "minor changes" to a rental, and a landlord cannot unreasonably decline a genuine one. Tenancy Services sets out the test: a change is more likely to be minor if it has a low risk of damage, can easily be reversed so the property returns to substantially the same condition, does not affect health and safety, does not compromise structural integrity, weathertightness or character, does not affect anyone else's enjoyment or use of the property, does not need regulatory consent, and does not breach any other regulatory rule.

Their own list of examples is instructive: curtains replacing corded blinds, baby gates and cord tensioners, visual fire alarms, shelf and picture brackets, small garden changes, and connecting a dishwasher or washing machine "where the plumbing already exists." Every one of those is something reversible with hand tools, using infrastructure that is already there. None of them needs a licensed tradesperson.

A typical home EV charger does not fit that pattern, and it fails the test on two separate limbs, not just one. Installing one is prescribed electrical work that only an EWRB-registered electrician can legally do. It usually means running a new dedicated circuit from the switchboard, sometimes upgrading the switchboard itself, and the electrician is required to issue a Certificate of Compliance confirming the work is safe. That is a real compliance step under the Electricity Act 1992 and the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, so it fails "doesn't require regulatory consent" outright. It also fails "doesn't affect health and safety": a high-current dedicated circuit installed or altered by anyone other than a registered electrician is a genuine shock and fire risk, which is precisely why the law does not let a tenant do this work themselves. And it is not something that can be "easily reversed" the way the test requires: taking a charger and its dedicated circuit back out at the end of a tenancy is itself a job for an electrician, not a Saturday-afternoon task.

Tenancy Services has not published anything naming EV chargers specifically, so this is our reading of their own published test applied to what a charger install actually involves, not a quoted official ruling. But two independent failures against a test built around low risk, easy reversal and no regulatory consent is a clear result, not a close call: a typical EV charger install is not a minor change. It is an ordinary alteration, which means it needs the landlord's ordinary consent, in full, not the minor-change process a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse.

So what process actually applies?

Treat it as a standard request to alter the property, the same as a tenant asking to build a deck or repaint a wall a different colour. That means:

• There is no statutory 21-day clock forcing a response, and no rule that you cannot unreasonably decline it. You can say no, or say yes with conditions.
• In practice, responding promptly and in writing is still the right move. A tenant who feels ignored escalates faster than one who gets a clear, timely answer either way.
• You can attach conditions to a "yes": which electrician, what happens to the charger at the end of the tenancy, who pays, and what documentation you want to see (the Certificate of Compliance, at minimum).

Get the request and your response in writing regardless of which regime applies. If a dispute ever reaches the Tenancy Tribunal, "I said yes, on these conditions, on this date" is a much stronger position than a memory of a conversation.

Who pays, and who owns the charger?

Unlike a genuine minor change, where the Act's default is that the tenant pays for the change and for reinstatement unless the landlord agrees otherwise, there is no equivalent default here. It is a negotiation, and in practice it usually goes one of a few ways:

• The tenant proposes and pays for the whole install, since they are the one who benefits day to day.
• The landlord co-funds some or all of it, because a working EV charger is a genuine improvement to the property that outlasts the tenancy and can be a selling point for the next listing.
• The cost is split, with the tenant covering the charger unit and the landlord covering any switchboard upgrade that benefits the property regardless of who lives there next.

None of that is set by law. What you should settle before work starts is who owns the charger (does it stay as a fixture, or does the tenant remove it when they leave), and whether removal and reinstatement of the switchboard is required at the end of the tenancy or the charger simply stays for the next tenant. Write the answer down.

What has to happen electrically, and does it need council building consent?

The electrical work needs a registered electrician and a Certificate of Compliance, as above. There is no way around that part, and asking to see the electrician's registration and the CoC once the work is done is reasonable, not distrustful.

Standard council building consent is usually a separate question from the electrical work, and for most straightforward home charger installs it is not required, because it is electrical work rather than building work. That changes if the install involves structural changes, such as a new carport, canopy or trenching across a driveway. At that point it may trip building consent requirements in its own right, and that is worth confirming with the electrician or an installer before agreeing to anything. EECA's home charging guidance is a useful practical starting point on charger types and installation standards, separate from the legal question of consent.

If the property is a unit title (apartment or townhouse), there is another hurdle

For a unit-titled property, getting the landlord's consent is not necessarily the end of it. Under the Unit Titles Act 2010, additions or alterations that touch common property, including shared driveways, carparks or the building's electrical infrastructure, generally need the body corporate's consent as well, separately from whatever the landlord decides. An EV charger that draws from a shared switchboard or runs cabling through common areas is exactly the kind of change that can trigger this. If your rental is in a body corporate, tell the tenant up front that landlord consent alone will not be enough, and that the body corporate's process is a real extra step, not a formality.

What to put in writing before you agree

A short list covers most of it:

• Confirmation the work will be done by a registered electrician, with a Certificate of Compliance provided on completion
• Who pays for the install, and for any switchboard upgrade
• Whether the charger stays with the property or the tenant removes it at the end of the tenancy, and who pays for removal and reinstatement if it goes
• Body corporate consent, if the property is unit-titled
• A note to your insurer, since a material change like a new dedicated high-current circuit is worth mentioning to your landlord insurance provider

Where RentManager fits

If you agree to a charger, I'd tick "EV charger" under the property's amenities so it shows up automatically the next time you generate a listing ad for the property. It is a real amenity that RentManager's listing pack already picks up. The written consent, the conditions you agreed to and the electrician's Certificate of Compliance can all be stored as documents against the tenancy, so the terms you actually agreed to are on file rather than in an old email thread by the time the tenancy changes hands.

Need a registered electrician in the first place? The electrician directory lists them by region. If the tenant's request turns out to be a genuine minor change instead (most requests are not electrical), the process is different again. See minor changes a tenant can make to a rental for the 21-day rule and what does qualify. You can see how the amenity and document storage work together in the live demo.

Frequently asked questions

Can a tenant install an EV charger without asking?
No. An EV charger install is not a minor change under NZ tenancy law: it needs a registered electrician and a Certificate of Compliance, which fails the minor-change test on both the regulatory-consent and health-and-safety limbs. It needs the landlord's ordinary consent, not a fast-tracked approval the landlord cannot refuse.

Can a landlord refuse an EV charger request?
Yes. Because it is an ordinary alteration rather than a minor change, a landlord can decline outright or agree with conditions, such as who does the work and who pays.

Does installing an EV charger need council building consent?
Usually not for the electrical work itself, but it always needs a registered electrician and a Certificate of Compliance. Building consent can come into play if the install involves structural work such as a new carport or trenching, so check with the installer.

Who pays for an EV charger in a rental?
There is no statutory default. It is agreed between landlord and tenant, commonly with the tenant covering the charger and installation and the landlord considering a contribution where it improves the property long term.

Does an apartment or unit-titled property need extra approval?
Often yes. Installing a charger that touches common property or shared electrical infrastructure typically needs the body corporate's consent under the Unit Titles Act 2010, in addition to the landlord's.