A commentary by a Victoria condo owner.
Condo owners who have water and heat provided by electricity, and no intention of adding an electric vehicle (EV) charging station are required to provide an electrical planning report (EPR) to see if their home can handle an electric water heater, a heat pump and EV charging stations. Failure to do so by the end of 2026 in the capital region means you will be unable to sell your home.
Like other recent restrictions imposed by the NDP government on property owners, this only applies to strata properties — not freehold houses, not rental apartment buildings.
There are no exceptions, even for stratas that are rental-forward on transit corridors, or in areas of the province where ownership of electrical vehicles is almost too small to record.
The briefing note that recommended this new law acknowledges that strata owners have lower household incomes than single-family homeowners, and are under other cost pressures (inflation, rising insurance costs and increased contributions to contingency reserve funds) but nevertheless mandates an EPR for the estimated 16,000 strata corporations in B.C. larger than five units.
The estimate for an EPR where I live is $5,750 — or $410 per unit. An EPR must be part of sales documents, so if this unexpected cost can’t be covered by the depreciation fund, or owners fail to pass a special levy to pay for it, a unit is essentially unsalable.
The report will “assist” in planning for EV charging infrastructure and other upgrades, such as conversion to heat pumps. The heat pump argument is a red herring as they are so impractical for apartments and condominiums that B.C. Hydro doesn’t provide a rebate as it does for other housing types, including manufactured homes.
This makes sense — an apartment-size heat pump could cost more than $8,000 plus installation to save 20 to 40 per cent on a power bill. In my condo, this would be a maximum of, at most, $250 a year for a payback on investment in 32 years.
The reason strata owners are being forced to pay for a report many don’t want, don’t need, and probably can’t afford, is to pump up the number of EV charging stations. Ownership of electric vehicles is around 10 per cent, but in six years the government wants that figure at 30 per cent, whether people can afford it or not.
By lowering the approval threshold for EV chargers, and overriding bylaws allocating parking stalls, the government weakened the authority of strata owners to decide whether or not to permit EV chargers.
By forcing strata property owners to pay thousands for electrical planning reports whether they are needed or not, the government is forcing only strata owners to pay the price of its lofty goals.
If the policy was warranted, it would apply to every housing option. It doesn’t, so it isn’t.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
