Who pays for the electricity of a charging station in a homeowners' association?

Charge consumption separately, share fixed costs

In most cases with a charging point in a homeowners' association, the person charging the car pays for the electricity they consume, while the fixed costs of the charging infrastructure — such as the connection, the cabinet and maintenance — are shared among the owners according to the arrangements decided by the general meeting of owners. This distinction between consumption and fixed costs appears in virtually every arrangement that a homeowners' association chooses for charging points: whoever drives and charges pays for the kWh; whoever is co-owner contributes to the infrastructure itself, even if they do not own an electric car.

How that consumption is precisely measured and allocated depends on the technical setup chosen by the homeowners' association. With a shared connection and multiple charging points, consumption is usually measured separately per charging point, so that the bill can be split according to who actually charged. With a charging point on its own connection belonging to one owner, billing often simply runs through that person's own energy contract. Which variant applies and what arrangements go with it are normally laid down in the decision of the general meeting of owners on charging infrastructure.

What RVO and ACM describe on this subject

RVO describes on its pages about electric driving and charging infrastructure the technical variants by which a homeowners' association can install charging points, including solutions with a shared connection and submetering per charging point, and explains why that choice is decisive for how consumption can later be allocated. In addition, it is relevant that a homeowners' association supplying electricity to an individual member faces, according to the information of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets on energy and supply, the rules that apply to supplying electricity within one building or complex; this affects the way the homeowners' association may pass on actual consumption to the charging point user.