Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking opens

The Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking opened on 18 March 2024 at 12:01am, according to the grant's page on the government's Find a grant service¹. It provides support towards the purchase and installation of an electric vehicle chargepoint at a residential property where a cross-pavement charging solution, such as a cable channel, is installed at the same time¹. The scheme is administered by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV)¹.

The grant covers 75 per cent of the cost to buy and install a socket, up to a maximum of £500¹. Two other sources describe the same scheme as worth up to £350². The government grant page gives the £500 figure and states that funding is confirmed until 31 March 2027¹. The Electric Vehicle Consumer Code, an installer and consumer body, states the scheme runs until 25 March 2025³. The closing date on the government page is 31 March 2027 at 11:00pm¹.

Eligibility requires the applicant to own or rent the residential property in which they live, to have adequate on-street parking, and to hold permission from the local highways authority for the cross-pavement solution¹. The property must be in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland; properties in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man are not eligible¹. Applicants must not have private and exclusive access to off-street parking such as a driveway, garage or residential car park, and the chargepoint must not already be installed, as the grant cannot be backdated¹. The vehicle must appear on the list of OZEV-approved electric vehicles¹. The grant cannot be given where installation of the chargepoint or infrastructure was a mandatory requirement, and applicants who have already claimed under the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for renters or flat owners, the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme or the Domestic Recharge Scheme for the same residence cannot apply¹.

The government page states that the grant does not confer ownership over, exclusive use of, or reserved access to any on-street parking space outside or near the home, and cannot guarantee a parking space¹. It also states that not all local authorities and devolved administrations currently approve cross-pavement charging installations, and that where they are permitted, applicants should contact their local highways and planning authorities for the permissions required¹. The application must include evidence of local highways authority consent and a declaration that necessary planning permissions will be obtained¹. Installations must use an OZEV approved installer and an eligible chargepoint model¹. If a claim is approved, OZEV pays the grant to the chargepoint installer, who must deduct the grant amount from the invoice before claiming¹. OZEV will select some installations to be audited¹.

"The aim of the scheme is to accelerate the uptake of electric vehicle chargepoints for users with accessible on-street parking."

Zapmap, an independent chargepoint mapping service, reported that the grant would be widened to those who own or rent and have access to adequate street parking, and that drivers will require permission from their council to install a cross-pavement charging solution, with applications made online². It reported that at the end of February 2024 there were 57,290 electric vehicle charging points across the UK, across 32,575 charging locations, a 47 per cent increase in the total number of charging devices since February 2023². It also reported that LEVI funding had helped place almost 150 dedicated EV officers in councils².

Why it matters for households

For a household without a driveway, charging at home has generally meant running a cable across the pavement, which requires council consent and is not permitted everywhere. This grant is the first OZEV household scheme tied specifically to that situation, pairing a chargepoint with a permanent cross-pavement solution rather than a temporary cable cover or mat, which the government page excludes¹. The practical effect is that a home with only on-street parking can, where its council permits the works, charge on its own supply rather than relying on public chargepoints. That matters for energy independence because domestic electricity is generally cheaper per unit than public charging, and because a home chargepoint can later be paired with a home battery or solar to shift when the car is charged. The grant does not create any right to a parking space, so a household may not have constant access to the chargepoint it has funded¹. Households that already claimed under the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme or the grant for renters and flat owners cannot claim again for the same residence¹. Where a household cannot obtain highways authority consent, the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme funds council-installed public chargepoints instead.

What happens next

Funding is confirmed until 31 March 2027, and the government reserves the right to end or change the scheme, aiming to provide four weeks' notice and to honour claims made before any public announcement, subject to the grant criteria¹. The Electric Vehicle Consumer Code states the scheme runs until 25 March 2025³. The government page states that the cross-pavement charging solution market is developing and that a number of local authorities have been establishing or trialling policies for their area¹.

Sources4 cited

1. Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking - GOV-UK Find a grant, find-government-grants.service.gov.uk
2. Grants now available for EV drivers without off-street parking - Zapmap, zapmap.com
3. Grants Guidance Links - Installers - Electric Vehicle Consumer Code, electric-vehicle.org.uk
4. Grants Guidance Links - Consumers - Electric Vehicle Consumer Code, electric-vehicle.org.uk