By Alvin Wong, CEO of Innovative Green Power Sdn. Bhd.
Do Management Committees Have a Duty to Allow EV Chargers in Strata Buildings?
As electric vehicle (EV) ownership increases in Malaysia, residents in condominiums and strata-titled developments are increasingly asking:
Does the Management Committee (MC) or Joint Management Body (JMB) have a duty to allow EV charger installations?
The correct legal answer is not a simple “yes” or “no”.
It depends on what is being requested and how the MC exercises its powers under the law.
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1. What the Law Does Not Require
Under current Malaysian law, a Management Committee is not legally required to:
• Install EV chargers for residents
• Pay for EV charging infrastructure
• Subsidise EV charging electricity
• Upgrade the building’s electrical capacity solely for EV adoption
There is no provision in the Strata Management Act 2013 that obliges an MC to create new facilities or amenities at its own cost.¹
If a resident expects the MC to provide EV charging as a common facility, the MC is legally entitled to decline.
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2. The Real Legal Question: Facilitation vs Obstruction
However, this is not the real legal issue.
While MCs are not required to provide EV chargers, they must exercise their statutory powers reasonably and in good faith when residents apply to install private EV chargers at their own cost.
Under the Strata Management Act 2013, an MC must:
• Act in good faith
• Exercise discretion reasonably
• Avoid arbitrary or oppressive conduct
• Manage common property for the benefit of parcel proprietors²
In practice, this creates a duty to reasonably consider and facilitate, not a licence to obstruct.
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3. What “Reasonably Facilitate” Means in Practice
Reasonable facilitation does not mean automatic approval.
It means the MC should:
• Properly consider the application
• Assess genuine electrical, fire, and structural risks
• Request relevant technical documents
• Impose conditions that are proportionate and justified
• Provide a decision within a reasonable timeframe
Conversely, the MC should not:
• Impose blanket bans on EV chargers
• Delay decisions indefinitely
• Reject applications without written technical reasons
• Rely on subjective “committee discomfort” rather than evidence
Strata law regulates conduct, not preferences.
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4. Private EV Charging Is Not a Public or Commercial EVCS
A frequent misunderstanding is that private EV charging constitutes a commercial electricity activity.
Under Suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST) guidance, there is a clear distinction:
• Private EV charging (owned and used by an individual for their own vehicle, without public access or resale)
→ No EV Charging System (EVCS) licence required
• Public or commercial EV charging (charging provided to others or the public)
→ EVCS licence required³
Where a resident installs a charger:
• Solely for personal vehicle use
• Without third-party access
• Without profit or resale of electricity
It does not constitute a public EVCS under current licensing criteria.
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5. What MCs Are Entitled to Require
MCs retain legitimate regulatory authority and may lawfully require:
• Compliance with Suruhanjaya Tenaga electrical safety requirements
• Compliance with ESAH 3.1 and residential wiring guidelines⁴
• Use of qualified electrical contractors
• Proper routing through common property
• Fire-safety compliance in line with EVCB fire safety guidelines⁵
• Protection of common property
• An indemnity for damage caused by installation works
• Recovery of actual electricity costs and reasonable administrative expenses
These are lawful controls, provided they are proportionate and transparent.
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6. Electricity Charges: Cost Recovery, Not Profit
Where electricity is supplied from common-area metering, the MC may recover:
• The actual cost of electricity paid to the utility (e.g. TNB), and
• A reasonable administrative charge
However:
• MCs are not licensed electricity retailers under the Electricity Supply Act 1990⁶
• Charges must be cost-reflective
• Excessive mark-ups or double recovery (high per-kWh rate plus large fixed fees) are legally vulnerable
Electricity pricing mechanisms that materially exceed actual cost may be challenged as unreasonable under strata law.
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7. When MC Decisions Become Legally Weak
An MC’s position becomes difficult to defend when it:
• Imposes a blanket prohibition on EV chargers
• Refuses applications without technical justification
• Delays approval indefinitely
• Applies punitive or opaque electricity rates
• Treats EV charging as inherently prohibited rather than regulated
Such conduct risks being characterised as unreasonable or improper exercise of statutory power under the Strata Management Act.
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8. How the Strata Management Tribunal Views These Disputes
When disputes reach the Strata Management Tribunal, the central question is:
Did the Management Committee act reasonably and in good faith in exercising its powers?
Tribunals typically assess:
• Whether safety concerns are evidence-based
• Whether conditions imposed are proportionate
• Whether costs charged are justifiable
• Whether the resident acted responsibly
MC decisions must be supported by facts and documentation, not opinion.
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9. The Correct Way to Frame the MC’s Duty
A legally accurate statement is:
“The Management Committee is not required to provide EV charging facilities, but it is required under strata law to reasonably consider and facilitate a resident’s compliant request to install private EV charging, and not to unreasonably obstruct it.”
This framing aligns with:
• The Strata Management Act 2013
• Electricity regulation
• Suruhanjaya Tenaga licensing guidance
• Tribunal practice
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10. Why This Matters
EV adoption will continue to grow.
How strata buildings respond today affects:
• Property relevance and value
• Resident satisfaction
• Legal exposure for MCs
• Long-term infrastructure planning
Reasonable facilitation benefits both residents and management.
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Final Thought
EV charging in strata buildings is not about forcing management to spend money.
It is about balancing safety, legality, and residents’ lawful use of their homes.
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Footnotes / Legal References
1. Strata Management Act 2013 (Act 757) – No provision imposing obligation on MC/JMB to create new facilities.
2. Strata Management Act 2013, Parts IV & V – Duties of MC/JMB to act in good faith and manage common property reasonably.
3. Suruhanjaya Tenaga, Guide on Electric Vehicle Charging System (EVCS) (2023) – Distinction between private EVCS and public EVCS licensing.
4. Electricity Supply Application Handbook (ESAH) 3.1 (2022) and ST Guidelines for Electrical Wiring in Residential Buildings – Electrical compliance requirements.
5. PLANMalaysia – Garis Panduan Perancangan Petak Pengecasan Kenderaan Elektrik (EVCB) (2023) and Bomba Fire Safety Guidelines for EVCB.
6. Electricity Supply Act 1990 (Act 447) – Licensing of electricity supply and distribution.
Safe and Reliable EV Charging Systems, one at a time.
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