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EV Charger Building Regulations UK: When Part S Applies, the 7kW Spec and Home Installs

EV charger building regulations in England come from Part S, which since 15 June 2022 has required charge points in new homes with parking, in buildings converted into homes and in some major renovations. It does not make you fit a charger when you renovate an existing house, and adding one yourself is ordinary electrical work. Here is when Part S applies, the technical spec, the exemptions and the separate smart charging rules.

What Part S covers

Approved Document S, Infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles, was published in December 2021 and took effect on 15 June 2022. It applies in England only. It sets five requirements:

An "associated parking space" is one within the building's site boundary that is available to its occupants or visitors. If a building has no associated parking, Part S does not apply.

Do I need a charger to comply when I renovate my house?

Almost certainly not. For a house, Part S bites only when you build a new home or convert a building into homes. The renovation requirement, S3, applies only to residential buildings that will have more than 10 associated parking spaces, which in practice means blocks of flats and larger developments. A family house with a driveway does not meet that threshold, however big the project.

"Major renovation" also has a specific meaning: renovation of more than 25% of the surface area of the building envelope, measured against the whole building. Even where S3 applies, the work is only required if all the charge points and cable routes can be fed from the existing incoming supply and their cost does not exceed 7% of the total cost of the major renovation.

New homes and conversions

If you are building a new house with a drive or garage space, or converting a barn, office or shop into a home with parking, plan for a charge point from the start. Building control will expect it on the drawings. Our guides to building notice vs full plans and building regulations for renovations explain how the approval route works.

There are two important exceptions for new homes:

• Connection cost cap. If the cost of upgrading the grid connection averages more than £3,600 per charge point, the full requirement falls away and cable routes are needed instead. The cap covers the connection cost only, not the charge point or the building work.
• Covered parking. Where all the associated spaces are covered, for example in an undercroft or basement car park, charge points are not required, but cable routes still are.

The technical spec for a Part S charge point

Paragraph 6.2 of Approved Document S says each charge point should:

1. be designed and installed to BS EN 61851;
2. have a minimum nominal rated output of 7kW;
3. have a universal socket (untethered), although a tethered charger may be acceptable in exceptional cases, such as a self-build where the car is already known;
4. have a light or display showing the charging status;
5. be at least a Mode 3 system on a dedicated circuit;
6. meet BS 7671 (the wiring regulations) and the IET Code of Practice for electric vehicle charging equipment installation.

A cable route means a safe, unobstructed route for future cables, such as ducting from the consumer unit or distribution board to the parking space, so a charger can be added later without digging up the drive.

Adding a charger to an existing home

If you simply want a charger on the front of your house, Part S is not the rule to follow. The work is electrical installation in a dwelling, covered by Part P; a new dedicated circuit is notifiable, so use an installer registered with a competent person scheme who can self-certify it. Our guide to Part P electrical regulations explains what that means and what certificates to keep.

Before you buy, check:

• Supply capacity. An electrician will check whether your main fuse and consumer unit can take a 7kW load alongside an electric shower, oven and heat pump. Our heat pump regulations guide covers the other big load many London homes are adding.
• Listed buildings and conservation areas. Fixing a charger to a listed facade or a front wall in a conservation area may need consent; see our conservation area renovation guide.
• Flats. Leaseholders usually need the freeholder's permission to run cables through common parts; our licence to alter guide covers the process.

Smart charging rules

Separately from Part S, the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 came into force on 30 June 2022, with their security requirements following on 30 December 2022. They apply to charge points sold in Great Britain for private domestic or workplace use, not to public or rapid chargers. Each one must be able to respond to signals to change when and how fast it charges, have a measuring system, come with pre-set off-peak default charging hours that the owner can accept, remove or change, and include a randomised delay so that thousands of cars do not all start charging at the same second. The rules are enforced by the Office for Product Safety and Standards and fall on the seller, not the installer.

Designing it in

A charger is now part of the front of the house, so treat it as a design decision: where the cable will hang, whether the unit sits beside the door or on a garden wall, and how the duct reaches it without cutting through a new path. On a renovation we would plan the duct and a spare way in the consumer unit even if the car comes later, at a fraction of the cost of retrofitting. Talk to us if you are planning a project.

Sources: Approved Document S, 2021 edition (requirements S1 to S5, regulations 44D to 44H, paragraph 6.2 and definitions); GOV.UK, Approved Document S FAQs; OPSS, Regulations: electric vehicle smart charge points; Planning Portal. Checked 9 November 2026.

More guides on design and the regulations on the Vertigo Interiors homepage.