Societies Must Clear EV Charger Requests Within 7 Days, Says Registrar Circular

The Registrar of Co-operative Housing Societies has circulated a directive requiring managing committees to issue a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for a member's private electric vehicle charging point within seven days of receiving a complete application, provided the resident has followed the state's safety advisory and standard operating procedure for installation. The move follows a Bombay High Court matter in which a resident was denied permission to install a home EV charger, prompting the court to direct authorities to finalise clear rules on the subject.

Why committees were stalling requests

Many managing committees had been refusing or indefinitely delaying EV charger requests, citing concerns about electrical load, fire risk, or simply the absence of a written procedure to fall back on. Courts have repeatedly held that a society cannot use vague safety concerns to block a member's lawful use of their own parking space, so long as the installation meets applicable technical and safety standards.

What the compliance framework requires

• Societies should allocate at least 20% of parking bays as EV-ready over time, subject to the building's existing electrical load capacity.
• Applications must be assessed against the state's fire and electrical safety advisory — societies can ask for supporting documents but cannot impose conditions beyond the SOP.
• The 2024 Fire Directorate guidelines bar EV charging points inside automated (puzzle) car-parking towers and in enclosed basement parking without adequate ventilation and fire-suppression arrangements.
• New residential buildings are now required to provide a three-pin plug point at every parking slot at the construction stage itself, easing the retrofit burden for future buyers.

What this means for housing societies

• Managing committees should adopt a written EV charger policy now, rather than deciding each request ad hoc — this avoids disputes and keeps the society within the seven-day window.
• A blanket refusal to permit EV chargers, without a documented safety objection tied to the SOP, is likely to be set aside if challenged before the Registrar or in court.
• Societies with automated or basement parking should get their electrical consultant to confirm which bays qualify before advertising EV-charging availability to members.
• Committees can still recover reasonable costs — metering, wiring modifications, or common-area electrical upgrades — from the applicant, but cannot use cost recovery as a backdoor way to deny the NOC.

Members seeking an EV charging point should apply in writing with details of the vehicle, charger specification, and proposed parking bay, and cite this seven-day timeline if a committee delays a response beyond that period.