Chargers must be installed in non-residential buildings

Jacek Wilczewski

The owners and managers of non-residential buildings (e.g. office buildings, industrial facilities, warehouses, hotels) are required to install by 31 December 2024 EV charging points and channels (trays) for electric cables and wiring so as to have a charging point for at least 1 in 5 parking places. This applies to buildings and associated car parks with more than 20 parking places. The car park location itself is not decisive, what matters is that it is associated with a given building based on legal title and being used for the building’s purposes.

The duty applies also to smaller car parks with more than 10 places, where you must install charging points if you are refurbishing or renovating your non-residential building.

How may we help?

We will be pleased to help you determine if this new duty applies to you at all. One of the things to be checked is the size of your business. There is an exemption for small and medium-sized enterprises as defined in Polish law. Our analysis can save you significant project expenses. Naturally, you can always install the chargers even without being required to, if only for environmental reasons.

If you turn out to fall within the new duty, we can verify if subsidies are available for your project or conduct an audit of your implemented solutions to see if they are compliant. As is often the case, the law here is not clear, for example:

• How to define or count parking places in such situations as parking lots shared by several sites or with non-standard spot sizes?
• Where to site charging points if you have several car parks?
• What is the minimum required charger power rating?
• What approvals are to be obtained and where to register your charger (Technical Supervision Authority UDT, EIPA)?
• If the car park is owned or leased by building owner’s affiliate company, does this count in defining scope of the owner’s duty?
• Should a parking spot with charger and cables be specifically designated and dedicated only to EVs?
• What are the penalties if I do not comply right on 1 Jan 2025?
• How to check SME status under Polish law where there are several affiliates?

Contact

if you are interested in this topic, please contact our expert directly (for contact details, see below).