If your builder will not allow an EV charger while it still runs the building, no law we can cite makes it say yes, and the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 never mentions electric vehicles. What the Act does say tells you who to deal with: the promoter is responsible for the project's essential services until the association of allottees takes over maintenance, and must enable that association's formation. So the sequence is a written request to the promoter asking for reasons, your own DISCOM application, pressure for the association to form, and an EV takeover file at handover. None of this is legal advice.
Who decides before the association exists
Section 11(4)(d) of the Act makes the promoter "responsible for providing and maintaining the essential services, on reasonable charges, till the taking over of the maintenance of the project by the association of the allottees" (Act No. 16 of 2016, Gazette of India, 26 March 2016, MahaRERA's gazette copy; last verified 15 October 2026). So take any answer from the site office up to the promoter.
The Act neither defines "essential services" nor mentions EV charging, so do not argue that charging is one the builder must provide. Section 2(n)(v) counts "installations of central services such as electricity" as common areas, so a cable route through the meter room or risers likely crosses them.
Section 14(2)(ii) bars the promoter from making "any other alterations or additions in the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications of the buildings or the common areas" without "the previous written consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees, other than the promoter, who have agreed to take apartments in such building". It addresses the promoter's own changes; whether it reaches a resident's charger it does not say, so ask your state RERA authority or an advocate. If consent is needed, its Explanation counts an allottee once however many flats it booked: suppose 170 allottees in your building besides the promoter (use your count), then 170 × 2 ÷ 3 = 113.3, so 114 written consents.
Asking the promoter in writing: what changes
Build the letter from how to request EV-charger permission. With the promoter as addressee, add this:
- Address the promoter, not only the site office. Use the name and address in your agreement; copy the facility manager.
- Ask for reasons in writing, and a name. Who decided, on what ground, and what would change it. If the ground is section 14(2)(ii), ask which plan or specification would change.
- Ask who signs for the DISCOM. If your DISCOM wants a no-objection, ask the promoter to confirm it will sign while no association exists, or say who will.
- Ask for the electrical drawings for your route. Section 19(5) entitles an allottee, after possession, "to have the necessary documents and plans, including that of common areas". It does not name electrical drawings, so ask.
Attach an electrician's assessment: the route, cable size, protective devices and earthing must be specified and certified by a licensed electrician (what an electrician checks). Send it by a method that records delivery.
The DISCOM application you can make yourself, and what it does not settle
The Ministry of Power's Guidelines for Installation and Operation of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure-2024, dated 17 September 2024 (beeindia.gov.in; last verified 15 October 2026), say in clause 16(1): "Resident Welfare Association, Group Housing Society, an owner of a flat, house in an Association, any other consumer within a GHS, can request for a separate metered connection from Distribution Licensee with a dedicated EV charging tariff." Clause 16(5) says residents "can install private EV charging stations in their designated parking spaces", on "the resident's existing meter or a separate sub-meter".
Clause 16(1) names flat owners and other consumers, not only associations; choose the connection with own meter, sub-meter or common meter. What the clauses do not do:
- give a right to run cable through common areas (section 2(n)(v));
- settle whether they bind a promoter or society; the covering letter goes to central ministries and state chief secretaries.
Haryana only: the Town and Country Planning Department's 05.06.2026 "Amendment in Haryana Building Code-2017 [Chapter 6]" (tcpharyana.gov.in; last verified 15 October 2026) says an allottee's charger in an existing building's "allocated parking space" "may be allowed", certified by "the Fire Department as well as concerned DISCOM". "May" is not a right, and it does not say whether a newly completed project is "existing".
Pushing for the association to be formed
An association can adopt a policy and take the handover, so press for one. Section 11(4)(e) requires the promoter to "enable the formation of an association or society or co-operative society ... under the laws applicable". Its three-month proviso applies only "in the absence of local laws"; where your state has a co-operative societies or apartment ownership law, the association forms under it, so check its procedure. Section 19(9) also requires every allottee to "participate towards the formation of an association".
- Ask the promoter in writing which law the association forms under, and by when; ask the registering authority under that law for the steps.
- Draft an EV policy for the first general body meeting with the clause-by-clause walkthrough.
If the promoter does not move, see the section 31(1) complaint below; whether a delay breaches section 11(4)(e) is for the Authority. A refusal after the association exists follows the society-refusal route.
The association's EV takeover file: what to collect and why
Section 17(2) makes the promoter, "After obtaining the occupancy certificate and handing over physical possession", hand over "the necessary documents and plans, including common areas" to the association "as per the local laws". Only "in the absence of any local law" does its proviso set "thirty days after obtaining the occupancy certificate". It names no EV document; this is the file we suggest:
| Item to collect | Why it matters for EV charging | Who holds it now | Statutory hook, if any |
|---|---|---|---|
| As-built electrical single-line and riser drawings | Cable routes and spare ways on each board | Promoter or its consultant | Possibly sections 17(2), 19(5): "necessary documents and plans" |
| Sanctioned and contracted load of each connection, with bills | Headroom before any load enhancement | Promoter; DISCOM bills | None; practical |
| Transformer or substation capacity and ownership | Whether more load is possible, and who applies | Promoter; DISCOM | Unclear; section 2(w) lists them as external development works |
| Parking allotment plan | Which slots a circuit can reach, and whose they are | Promoter | The agreements for sale |
| Builder-installed chargers: make, warranty, test records | Who repairs them, and who owns them | Promoter | The agreements, if they mention them |
| Operator agreements the promoter signed | Term, pricing, exclusivity, exit | Promoter | None in the Act |
| Possession date of each flat | Starts that flat's five-year clock | Each allottee | Section 14(3) |
| EV commitments in each agreement or specification | What is owed, flat by flat | Each allottee | Sections 13(2), 14(3) |
An owner's own charger papers are a separate file (the paperwork to keep). Have a licensed electrician read the drawings and capacity figures before anyone promises a charger.
If an EV promise in the agreement isn't delivered
Section 13(2) requires the agreement to set out the development "along with specifications", so compare its exact words on any EV point, conduit or load with what was delivered.
Section 14(3): a defect in "any other obligations of the promoter as per the agreement for sale" brought to its notice "within a period of five years by the allottee from the date of handing over possession" must be rectified "without further charge, within thirty days", failing which the allottees are "entitled to receive appropriate compensation". Whether a point never installed is such a defect is unsettled; section 18(3) separately makes a promoter who fails its obligations under the agreement for sale liable to pay compensation. Run your own dates:
- Suppose possession was handed over on 20 November 2025; use your date. Five years runs to 20 November 2030, but write now.
- Suppose the promoter receives your notice on 3 December 2026: 3 December + 30 days = 2 January 2027. The section does not fix the day the thirty days start, so keep proof of receipt.
If nothing is fixed, section 31(1) lets "any aggrieved person" complain to "the Authority or the adjudicating officer, as the case may be" of a "violation or contravention" of the Act, its rules or regulations; its Explanation includes "the association of allottees". We found no RERA order on EV charging; that does not mean none exists. See an advocate first.
Common questions
Can the builder's maintenance team refuse my EV charger before the society is formed?
No document we can cite settles it. Section 11(4)(d) of the RERA Act leaves essential services with the promoter until the association takes over, so ask the promoter for reasons in writing; section 11(4)(e) has it enable the association's formation, and after takeover you ask the association. On documents said to force a yes, see what is actually settled.
Can I apply to the DISCOM for a separate EV meter without the builder's signature?
Clause 16(1) of the Ministry of Power's 2024 charging guidelines lets "any other consumer within a GHS" request a separate metered connection. Whether it needs a no-objection is your DISCOM's rule, so ask it in writing. The application gives no right to run cable through common areas.
What should our new association ask the builder to hand over for EV charging?
Ask in writing for as-built electrical drawings, load and transformer details, the parking allotment plan, charger records and operator agreements. Section 17(2) covers "necessary documents and plans" without naming them.
The agreement promised EV points and they were never installed. What are my options?
Write to the promoter within five years of possession, quoting the agreement's exact words. Whether a missing point is a defect under section 14(3) or an unmet obligation under section 18(3) is for an advocate; if it is not put right, you or the association may file a section 31(1) complaint. We predict no outcome.
Do operator contracts the builder signed for society chargers bind the new association?
We cannot say; it turns on the contract and your state's law. Get a copy before takeover, read its term, assignment and exit clauses, and use the ownership, exit and make-good checklist in the operator deal check.