DC law gives renters with electric cars 'right to charge'

WASHINGTON — DC Council passed a bill Tuesday that would mandate the city to match the number of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations with the growing number of registered electric cars in the District and to make having a charging station a right that all renters and condo unit owners have.

Ward 6 Councilman Charles Allen said that he expects the bill would add thousands of new chargers within the next few years. 

"We need people to go electric -- and fast," Councilman Allen said Tuesday. "This bill sends a clear signal that coming soon, there are going to be a lot of chargers available in places where people live, work and shop."

The bill would order the D.C. government to do a count of registered electric cars. Then, the legislature would have to provide funding for ports that represent five percent of the total number of registered electric vehicles. 

As of 2023, there were about 8,100 electric cars registered in D.C., which increased by 37% from 2022. The current number of charging stations, 1,057, meets the five percent quota in Allen's bill, but would now need to keep up with an anticipated increase in electric vehicles. 

The bill would also mandate any new or substantially renovated commercial buildings with parking lots to build their own EV charging stations, starting in 2027. According to the law, renters and condo unit owners now have a "right to charge," meaning that any tenant can petition that their building's parking garage or lot includes a charging station and building owners must comply.   

For landlords and real estate owners, the bill establishes an Electric Vehicle Charging Incentive Program to create vouchers for building owners who want or need to install a charging station, these benefits would be administered by the Department of Energy and Environment. 

The study found that 60 of the city's 1,057 were offline or unavailable. The 1,057 public EV ports were installed across 317 different locations throughout the district.