In today's world where electric vehicle use is rapidly increasing, the development of charging infrastructure is also of great importance. In this context, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has signed an important decision. With the new regulation published in the Official Gazette and entered into force, the amendment made to the Planned Areas Zoning Regulation, it is no longer necessary to obtain a building permit for the installation of chargers in common areas. In this way, it is aimed to spread the electric vehicle charging infrastructure more quickly and easily.
While the number of electric vehicles in Türkiye is increasing day by day, those who wanted to charge their vehicles in their complex or in front of their apartment building were experiencing problems with the site managements due to both not getting permission and the insufficient installed power of the building. In this context, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change took an important step.
Last year, the Ministry sent a letter to governorships to facilitate the processes regarding the installation of chargers. Recently, a new regulation was published in the Official Gazette, which amended the Planned Areas Zoning Regulation. Thanks to the new regulation added to Article 59 of the regulation, the requirement to obtain a building permit to install charging stations in common areas of apartments and sites is no longer required.
Electric Vehicle Charging Station Installation Will Accelerate More
Lawyer Baran Usanmaz, who emphasized that the installation of electric vehicle charging stations in common areas of apartment buildings and sites was previously a very complicated and time-consuming process, said, “The building permit was one of the documents specified in Article 4/4 of the Planned Areas Zoning Regulation. This required that the project prepared in accordance with the regulation for the installation of the chargers be re-submitted to the authorized municipality in the place where the installation will be made and go through an additional approval process.
However, with the amendment to Article 59, this long and costly bureaucratic process has been eliminated. Now, it is sufficient for the project to be approved in accordance with the regulations. In this way, the installation of electric vehicle charging stations will be accelerated and their spread will be facilitated,” he said.
Approval Process for Electric Vehicle Charging Station Installation Made Easy
Attorney Usanmaz, who drew attention to the fact that the approval process of the flat owners for the charging station has also changed with the amendment made to the regulation, continued his words as follows: “Before the amendment of the regulation, it was mandatory to obtain the approval of 4/5 of the flat owners for the establishment of the requested and planned electric vehicle charging areas. However, with the amendment, the approval of one more than half will now be sufficient. The provisions of the Law on Flat Owners No. 634 regulate the procedures and the quorum in which flat owners can hold meetings. If the meeting procedures are carried out in accordance with these provisions and a sufficient number of decisions are made, it is anticipated that no legal problem will arise. Even if a majority is achieved for the decision, flat owners with opposing views may annotate the decision and abstain from signing.”
What are the rights of tenants in the installation of electric vehicle charging stations?
Lawyer Baran Usanmaz, who also touched on the issue of whether tenants can install charging stations, concluded his words by saying, “As clearly stated in the Planned Areas Zoning Regulation and the relevant legislation, the decision to install electric vehicle charging stations in common areas belongs solely to the flat owners. With the changes made, the approval of more than half of the flat owners is required for such an installation. Therefore, tenants cannot make a direct request on this issue, but can bring the issue to the agenda by applying to the flat owners’ board through their landlords.”
