I am moving house - What should I do with my EV charging point?

As more charge point installations take place the likelihood increases that owners will move house and a decision will have to be made on what happens with the EV charger.

Is it being left behind and priced into the sale of the house? Do you want to take it with you or uninstall the charging unit? Read on to find out all the details you need to know.

Leaving your charge point at the property and having another one installed at your new address

Part of the legal conveyancing process of selling and moving house involves creating an "inventory" of fixtures and fittings on what you will be leaving behind. A solicitor or conveyancer is usually involved and signing off on an agreed inventory is needed before exchanging contracts before a sale.

The chances are if you're selling your home it's likely the question of what is happening with the Electric car charger will come up in conversations with prospective buyers.

There is no legal obligation for a homeowner to leave any fixtures or fittings behind, so you're quite within your rights to take whatever you would like with you, whether that's the home charger, light fittings or even your cooker.

However, it's usually advised by conveyancers to create a formal inventory on the record to clarify what will be left behind as part of the sale and what will be taken.

This leaves no doubt as to what is happening with the home charging point. Are the new owners getting the fully working home charger? Are they getting the cabling for the home EV charger, but not the EV charger itself? Be specific in the inventory that is sent to the new buyer so there is total clarity before a sale. This can include a written summary and images.

If you're including the home charger as part of the sale you could also produce paperwork from the installation to prove that an accredited installer has installed it.

One study in 2021 by Rivervale Leasing compared 1,000 house prices across 50 UK areas and found that homes with an electric vehicle charge point installed sell for 13% more than the local average.

As the inclusion of the electric vehicle charging point can impact the sale price of the house, it's worth having clear conversations early with prospective buyers of your home about what's going to happen with the EV charger.

Read Smart Home Charge's full guide on whether a charging point will add value to your house for more information.

Taking your EV charging point with you to your new property

While the cabling that enables the EV charging point will be left behind, it's possible to take the charging unit with you if you're moving to a new home.

Smart Home Charge can help assist with this process by sending a chargepoint installer to safely uninstall the charger and make safe any cabling that is left where the charger was located.

Customers can then book an installation at their new home and will only be charged for the installation cost as they already own the charging unit.

Once the charging point is uninstalled customers will need to re-do a site survey to make sure their new house and its power supply are suitable before an installer can go ahead with installing the EV charging point. This also helps us calculate how much cabling we need for your cable run route.

It's possible to do an Online Site Survey using your phone or computer, all from the comfort of your own home and without the need for an engineer to visit.

Are you buying or renting your new property?

If you own the property and the chargepoint is off-street then it is unlikely you will need to obtain permission for the chargepoint installation to take place. There are rare circumstances where you might need to seek planning permission, such as if you're moving to a listed building.

However, if you are renting a home you will have to obtain permission from the landlord or owner of the property.

If you moved to a flat or apartment you might still be able to reinstall a charger as long as the property comes with dedicated off street parking, but the owner of the land the parking space is on would still have to be asked before proceeding.

Do I need to inform my DNO?

The DNO (Dedicated Network Operator) manages power distribution and electricity supply in its assigned region.

By law, the DNO should be informed about any home chargers being installed. This is because home chargers use a lot of power and having one installed without the DNO making sure it's safe to do so could unbalance the grid in your area.

But do you need to inform the DNO if you're uninstalling a charging point? No, because you are not adding demand to the electricity supply. You will however need to inform the DNO in the area of your new charging point before the installation takes place.

What happens to all the wiring and materials when a charge point is uninstalled?

All the wiring will stay where it is and will be replaced with a black adaptable box to keep everything safe, secure and contained.

Are there any circumstances where a charge point can't be uninstalled?

If the charging unit itself was damaged this would be the only situation where it couldn't be used for a new installation, although a home charge point being damaged in this way has never happened in Smart Home Charges' experience.

Even if the charging unit was damaged a Smart Home Charge installer would still be able uninstall and make everything safe and secure.

Does your new property have off-street parking?

We recommend that you have off-street parking on your property, however, it is not a requirement. If you don't have off-street parking, you will want to consider the availability of the parking spot in front of the house and the distance between the vehicle and the charger as you will need to make sure that the cable trails rather than dangles above the ground when charging.

Think carefully about where you are going to re-install your charging point

Similar to when you were choosing your charging point's current spot, we advise that you think carefully about its new spot at your new property.

If you would like more help with choosing a new spot for your charger, be sure to check out our choosing a charge point location guide.