The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published a consultation on 21 October 2026 on amending the building regulations for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in England1. It closes at 11:59pm on 16 December 20261.
Part S of the building regulations in England sets out requirements for EV charging infrastructure and applies to all new buildings and those undergoing major renovations1. Part S was introduced in 20212. The EV charge point requirements within it do not apply to enclosed or open-sided car parks, a decision the consultation document says was taken at the time of introduction to allow further research into the fire safety of charge point installations in those locations1. Where parking spaces are in covered car parks, cable routes rather than charge points must currently be installed2.
The consultation seeks views on three proposals1:
| Proposal | Detail |
|---|---|
| Covered car parks | Extending the requirement to install EV charge points to covered car parks, both enclosed and open-sided1 |
| Cost cap | Reviewing the £3,600 cap on installation, considering inflation changes since 20211 |
| Wider changes | Making wider changes to Part S, subject to consultation responses1 |
On the cap, the regulations set a maximum number of charge points that must be installed in buildings, applying until an average cost threshold of £3,600 for the connection cost of each charge point is breached. When the cap is exceeded, cable routes are required for all remaining spaces without a charge point2. The government is considering whether the limit is set at the correct level given inflation and wider cost changes since 2021, and asks whether it should rise annually in line with the Consumer Prices Index2.
The wider changes under consideration include minimum standards for charge points, such as effective load management and protective earth and neutral (PEN) fault protection, changes to Approved Document S on wiring standards and voltage drop, and document simplification, particularly the definitions of "major renovations" and "cable route"2. The consultation also asks about vehicle to everything (V2X) technology, on which the government's stated position is that it is too early to mandate it, while seeking views on what electricity infrastructure new buildings need to allow V2X-capable charge points to be installed over the next 5 to 10 years2. It also considers whether there should be greater flexibility to install tethered charge points under Part S2.
"extending the requirement to install EV charge points to covered car parks, both enclosed and open-sided"
A separate consultation, also published on 21 October 2026 and closing on 16 December 2026, seeks views on introducing an "ability to charge" to streamline landowner permissions for tenants and leaseholders installing an EV charge point in England3. The first consultation also seeks views on measures to improve access to EV charging for tenants and leaseholders1.
Why it matters for households
Part S governs whether a new home, or a building converted or extended in a major renovation, comes with charging provision already in place. The requirements for new build homes determine whether a householder moving into a new property faces the cost of a charge point installation later, or inherits cable routes and infrastructure. Extending the rules to covered car parks would affect flats and apartments with undercroft or decked parking, where residents currently have no Part S charge point requirement and would otherwise depend on the building owner retrofitting.
The £3,600 cap shapes how much provision a developer must fit before switching to cable routes only. Raising it, or indexing it to inflation, would change how many charge points a new building is expected to include, and so how many homes have a ready connection. The consultation's questions on load management and PEN fault protection touch the electrical requirements for a home charge point, and the V2X questions concern whether homes are wired for vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home charging in future. The separate "ability to charge" proposals concern tenants and leaseholders who need a landlord's permission before installing a home charge point.
What happens next
Responses must be received before 11:59pm on 16 December 2026, by online form, email or post to the Charging infrastructure deployment team at the DfT2. The government says it will publish a summary of responses and its response on the consultation homepage, and that the post-implementation review will be published after the consultation has closed2.