EV charging in a Swiss condominium or rented flat: majorities, landlord consent and the coming right to charge

Switzerland has no legal right to charge yet: in a condominium (Stockwerkeigentum / propriété par étages, StWE / PPE), a charging station normally needs a double majority of the co-owners, and a tenant needs the landlord's written consent. An amendment to the Energy Act, put out for consultation by the Federal Council on 19 June 2026, could oblige owners to install basic charging infrastructure on request in future.

If you have moved to Switzerland from the UK, the Netherlands or Germany, this may surprise you: there is no notice-and-deadline procedure to fall back on. This guide explains which majority you need, how to get your landlord's consent, what the reform actually says and where it stands, what a shared garage installation costs and which cantonal subsidies exist. It also covers the employer's side: when an employee with an electric company car lives in a flat, the parking space is often what delays the car. Voltaback, which reimburses home charging for more than 200 client companies, sees this case every week.

Key points

• Condominium: a charging station counts as a "useful" building measure. Unless the regulations say otherwise, you need a majority of co-owners who also hold the larger share of the property (Art. 647d Civil Code).
• Feasibility study: a simple majority is enough to commission it.
• Renting: written landlord consent is required (Art. 260a Code of Obligations).
• Reform: consultation closed on 12 October 2026. Nothing is in force yet.
• Cost: roughly CHF 500.– to CHF 1'500.– per space for the basic installation of a shared garage, according to the federal SwissEnergy guide.

Where the law stands today: no right to charge

As of November 2026, Swiss law gives no individual right to install a charging station. Whether you own or rent, you need permission: from the community of co-owners in a condominium, or from your landlord in a rental.

That means you cannot simply notify and wait. You need to persuade, and that needs a well-prepared request. The good news: most refusals come from uncertainty about the building's available power and about who pays what. A feasibility study answers both.

Why does a wallbox affect the common parts?

Even if your parking space is allocated to you for exclusive use, the cable feeding it starts at the building's main distribution board and runs through the garage. The connection, protective devices, cable routes and sometimes an upgraded building connection are common parts. So the community must decide before any work starts. Source: Swiss Federal Office of Energy (BFE/OFEN) / SwissEnergy, condominium charging guide.

Condominium: which majority does a charging station need?

The Swiss Civil Code (ZGB / CC) sorts building work on common property into three categories, each with its own quorum:

According to the prevailing view, adopted in the guide by the Federal Office of Energy, Swiss eMobility and the property associations, both a single charging station and a smart, expandable charging infrastructure are useful measures. You therefore need the double majority: more than half of the owners by head count, together holding more than half of the ownership shares (value quotas).

The regulations can change the rule

Your condominium's management and use regulations (Reglement / règlement) can set other quorums, or give every owner the right to install a charger under conditions. Read them first: the answer is often there.

A simple majority to start the study

Before voting on the works, the assembly can ask the property manager to assess demand, feasibility and subsidies. That decision needs only a simple majority. If the manager already has the authority and budget, the study can start without a vote. The federal guide includes a model motion. Source: Federal Office of Energy guide for condominium communities.

The steps in practice

1. Survey the owners: who has, or expects within five years, an electric car?
2. Commission the study by simple majority, or through the property manager.
3. Technical assessment by a licensed electrical contractor: connection capacity, load management, cable routing, quote.
4. Motion to the assembly with options, costs and cost allocation key.
5. Vote by double majority, unless the regulations differ.
6. Works: the installer files a connection request and installation notice with the grid operator, then issues a safety certificate (Sicherheitsnachweis / rapport de sécurité).

An installation made without a decision may have to be removed at the installer's own cost. Do not order the wallbox before the vote.

Renting: the landlord's written consent

A tenant who installs a charging station or a dedicated socket is altering the rented property. Article 260a of the Code of Obligations (OR / CO) requires the landlord's written consent. Without it, the landlord can demand that the original condition be restored.

Article 260a CO contains two more rules worth negotiating from the start:

• if the landlord consented, restoration at the end of the lease can be demanded only if this was agreed in writing;
• if the alteration adds considerable value to the property at the end of the lease, the tenant may claim compensation, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Get a written agreement that states who pays, who owns the charger, how electricity is metered and billed, and what happens when you move out. The Federal Office of Energy publishes a separate guide for tenants and landlords. Source: Federal Office of Energy, tenant charging guide and Code of Obligations, Art. 260a.

Renting a flat in a condominium

If you rent a flat that is part of a condominium, you need two approvals: your landlord's, and the community's decision on the common parts. Your landlord, as a co-owner, takes the request to the assembly.

The reform: towards a Swiss right to charge

In June 2025 Parliament adopted motion 23.3936 by National Councillor Jürg Grossen on charging electric cars for tenants and condominium owners. The National Council had approved it in 2024; the Council of States followed in the 2025 summer session. Source: electrive, 12 June 2025.

What the consultation draft proposes

On 19 June 2026 the Federal Council opened a consultation on an amendment to the Energy Act, running until 12 October 2026. According to the official press release:

• owners of residential buildings could be required to install the basic installation for EV charging if tenants or condominium owners ask for it;
• the basic installation covers the supply cable to the parking space, a system that allocates electricity use to each user and, if needed, load management;
• only people who live in the building and whose parking space came with their flat may ask for it, subtenants included;
• the installation must be reasonable (zumutbar) to build;
• in rentals, the cost can generally be passed on through the parking space rent;
• disputes go to the civil courts.

Source: Federal Council press release, 19 June 2026.

The charger itself, at the parking space, is not part of the basic installation described. It remains the user's responsibility.

Where does the reform stand in November 2026?

The consultation closed on 12 October 2026. Positions differ: property associations such as SVIT Switzerland want the draft withdrawn, while e-mobility associations want a clearer definition of what is reasonable. The Federal Council now evaluates the responses and then sends a dispatch to Parliament.

In practice, nothing changes today: Art. 647d CC and Art. 260a CO still apply. Industry observers do not expect entry into force before about 2028. If a car is delivered in 2027, the route is still an assembly vote or landlord consent.

What about the condominium law revision?

A separate revision of condominium law (motion Caroni 19.3410) is also under way: the Federal Council adopted its dispatch on 13 May 2026. It deals with setting up a condominium before construction and a right to sue for a renewal fund. It does not cover charging or the majorities for building work. Source: Federal Office of Justice, condominium law revision.

Single charger or shared infrastructure?

A condominium has two basic options. Which one fits depends on the number of spaces and the available power.

SIA 2060 expansion levels

The Swiss engineering standard SIA 2060 (technical bulletin) defines expansion levels for parking spaces, from A (nothing prepared) to D (charger installed). Levels C1 (horizontal main line above the spaces) and C2 (wiring to each individual space) make up the basic installation. Level D chargers are then connected as needed.

Source: Federal Office of Energy / SwissEnergy condominium guide.

The guide notes that at this cost per space, a majority is often achievable even when only a minority already drives electric. For choosing the hardware itself, see our article on socket or wallbox at home.

Who pays what in the most common setup

In the variant the guide recommends, the community funds the basic installation as a shared cost, including operation, maintenance and renewal. Each owner pays for their own charger and electricity. Alternatives exist: one or more owners fund the base themselves, or an external contractor builds and runs it for a fee.

What does it cost, and which subsidies exist?

The work must be done by a licensed electrical contractor under the Low-Voltage Installations Ordinance (NIV / OIBT). The contractor files a technical connection request and an installation notice with the grid operator and issues the safety certificate once finished. Detailed prices are in our article on wallbox installation costs in Switzerland.

Orders of magnitude

• Shared basic installation: roughly CHF 500.– to CHF 1'500.– per space.
• Preparing a single space: similar order of magnitude according to the federal guide, more for long cable runs.
• Wallbox: on top, depending on power and features.

All amounts excluding 8.1 % VAT.

Cantonal subsidies (check before ordering)

There is no federal subsidy for private chargers. Programmes are cantonal or municipal and change often:

In Zug, Basel-Stadt and Vaud, ask your municipality and local utility, many run their own schemes. Links: Zurich programme, Geneva programme.

What about a simple socket?

Low-mileage drivers often manage with a dedicated T23 or CEE socket fitted by an electrician. In a condominium it also touches common parts and follows the same majority rules. Compare the options in our article on charging from a Swiss socket.

Employee in a condominium with a company car: who pays, who signs?

The employee makes the request, as owner or tenant. The employer is neither a member of the community nor a party to the lease, so it cannot vote or sign. It can, however, make the process much shorter.

What the employer can do

• Fund the study or the works, paying the contractor directly or reimbursing against invoice.
• Provide a complete file: charging need, target power, metering solution, so the motion reaches the assembly fully documented.
• Offer a solution without a wallbox when the car is parked for many hours: a socket is often enough. See our alternative to a wallbox for employees.
• Help get quotes: Voltaback does not install chargers, but helps compare licensed contractors through its charger installation service.

A wallbox paid by the employer and the salary certificate

If the employer pays for a wallbox that becomes the employee's property, Swiss practice treats it as a taxable benefit to declare on the salary certificate (Lohnausweis / certificat de salaire). If it stays the employer's property and is returned when the employee leaves, it looks more like a work tool, but no official text confirms this: check with the tax administration of your company's seat canton. In a condominium, agree in the assembly decision what happens to the wallbox when the employee leaves.

Electricity: reimburse it, whatever the hardware

The 0.9 % monthly private share for company cars assumes the employer bears all running costs, energy included, except long private trips. An employee who pays their own charging does not reduce their private share: the official salary certificate guidance states that bearing only charging costs is not enough. Source: Federal Tax Administration (ESTV/AFC), salary certificate guidance 2026, margin notes 21 and 23.

In a condominium, the employee often pays a tariff set by the community or the charging operator, which can differ from their household tariff. Actual-cost reimbursement must use that real tariff. Voltaback relies on the home's MID-certified meter, not on a standalone cable meter; where the space is billed by a shared system, that system's tariff is the basis. It works with a socket, a single wallbox or shared infrastructure: home charging reimbursement.

The practical steps for drivers are in our guide to charging a company car at home.

Decisions to take before ordering the car

In a condominium, timelines run in months: one ordinary assembly a year, perhaps an extraordinary one, then the works and the grid operator notice. Ask these questions when the car is ordered, not when it arrives:

1. Where will the car be parked overnight? House, condominium, rented flat, outdoor space or no space at all.
2. What is enough? Depending on daily mileage, a dedicated socket or an 11 kW wallbox.
3. Who files the request? The employee, with a file prepared by the company.
4. What will the company fund? Study, installation, wallbox, and on what terms.
5. Who owns the wallbox? And what happens if the employee leaves or sells the flat.
6. How is electricity reimbursed? The model lump sum of at most CHF 60.– a month, or actual cost under your expense regulations (Spesenreglement / règlement des frais).
7. And in the meantime? Charging at work or on the public network with a charging card, reimbursed the same way.

Obligations for your own company car park depend on cantonal energy and building law: see our article on charging points at the workplace.

A charging-ready space and a fair reimbursement

Whether you own or rent, preparation is what works: a clear technical file, a proportionate solution and a reimbursement rule agreed before the car arrives. The right to charge will make this easier, but not for a few years.

To make sure your employees in flats are reimbursed fairly, whatever their hardware, talk to the Voltaback team.