EV Charger Grants: Most New Build Owners Can't Claim

No — if you own a house with its own driveway or other private off-street parking, you cannot get the UK government EV chargepoint grant. Owner-occupiers of houses lost eligibility in April 2022, when the old Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme ended for them, and they are still excluded in 2026.

That applies to detached, semi-detached and terraced houses and bungalows — which covers most new build buyers. The only exception for a house is one converted into separate flats, where you live in one of them.

If this is you, budget for the full cost of the charger and installation. Our installation cost guide shows what new build owners actually pay.

Usually not: GOV.UK excludes homes where there must by law be a chargepoint or charging infrastructure, and in England most new build flats with parking built since Part S of the Building Regulations took effect on 15 June 2022 fall into that category — but a new build flat can still qualify where Part S did not apply to its parking.

The logic is simple. The grant pays towards chargepoints the law does not already require. If the developer was legally required to provide a chargepoint, or cable routes for one, the grant is not there to pay for it again.

What Part S requires. For a new residential building in England with associated parking — parking within the building's site boundary for residents or visitors — Approved Document S says:

• The number of spaces with access to a chargepoint must be at least the number of spaces or the number of dwellings, whichever is lower. GOV.UK's Part S guidance says a block of flats with a communal car park should be considered as the building.
• Spaces in a covered car park, such as an underground or undercroft car park, get cable routes rather than chargepoints.
• Where the extra grid connection cost would average more than £3,600 per chargepoint, the developer installs as many chargepoints as fit under that cap and cable routes for the rest.
• Where there are more than 10 spaces and more spaces than dwellings, every space without a chargepoint gets cable routes.

Where a new build flat can still qualify:

• It was built under the earlier rules. Part S does not apply where the building notice, initial notice or full plans went to building control before 15 June 2022 and work started before 15 June 2023. Some flats completed after 2022 were built this way.
• Your space is not associated parking. Part S only covers parking within the building's site boundary. A private, clearly defined space you have the legal right to use elsewhere — for example in a car park on separate land across a public road — is outside it.
• It is not in England. Part S applies to England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own building rules, so the answer there depends on what those rules required.

If your space was only required to have cable routes, because it is in a covered car park or because of the £3,600 cap, it is likely to be excluded too: GOV.UK's exclusion covers charging infrastructure, not just chargepoints.

Check by confirming which building regulations your building was built under and whether your parking space was required to have a chargepoint or cable routes, and then apply online to OZEV, which decides eligibility based on the evidence you provide.

1. Ask your developer or managing agent whether Part S applied to the building, and whether your space was required to have a chargepoint or cable routes. For a resale flat, your solicitor can raise this with the seller or managing agent.
2. Ask your local authority building control (or the private building control body that signed off the building) when the building notice or full plans were submitted and when work started.
3. Check the space itself. A chargepoint or an installed cable route at your space is a strong sign the law required one.
4. Apply online before any installation. You cannot apply for a property that is still being built or that you are moving out of, so off-plan buyers must wait until they live there.

In 2026, the UK government EV chargepoint grant is available to renters and flat owners with private off-street parking, to residential landlords, and to households with only on-street parking that install a cross-pavement charging solution — as long as the law did not already require a chargepoint or charging infrastructure at the property.

• Renters and flat owners (including shared ownership flats) whose home has its own private, clearly defined off-street parking space that you own or have the legal right to use. New build flats are covered only in the cases set out above.
• Households with on-street parking only who install a permanent cross-pavement solution, such as a charging gully, with permission from the local highways authority. You are not eligible for this grant if you have private access to a driveway, garage or residential car park.
• Residential landlords, including private landlords and social housing providers, installing chargepoints for tenants.

You must own, lease or have ordered a vehicle on the OZEV-approved electric vehicle list. The schemes cover England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The EV chargepoint grant is worth up to £500 per socket from 1 April 2026, up from £350.

For renters and flat owners it covers 75% of the cost of buying and installing the socket, up to that £500 maximum — so on a £900 installation you would get £500 off and pay £400. The on-street parking and landlord grants are also up to £500 per socket.

Businesses have a separate Workplace Charging Scheme, which also rose to up to £500 per socket on 1 April 2026.

The current EV chargepoint grant schemes are funded until 31 March 2027.

The government describes this as a final-year extension, so if you are eligible, don't assume the grant will still exist after that date.

You apply online to OZEV before the charger is installed, and once approved, your OZEV-approved installer deducts the grant from your invoice and claims it back — so you only pay the balance.

1. Get a quote from an OZEV-approved installer. Only approved installers can claim the grant.
2. For on-street parking, get consent from your local highways authority for the cross-pavement solution. For a flat, get any permissions you need from the freeholder.
3. Apply online through GOV.UK before installation, with details of your property and vehicle. You cannot claim for a charger that is already installed.
4. Once approved, the installer fits the charger, takes the grant off your invoice and claims it from OZEV.

New build owners who can't claim the grant can't reduce the installation cost with government money, but they can cut running costs with a smart charger and an EV time-of-use tariff — and if the home was built under Part S, a chargepoint or cable route may already be in place.

Intelligent Octopus Go, for example, charged 8p per kWh between 11:30pm and 5:30am when we checked in September 2026, for compatible cars and chargers. Check whether your local council runs its own scheme, and get at least three quotes — prices vary widely between installers.