A bill introduced on 9 October 2025 aims to ensure that all residents, regardless of whether they live in rented, owner-occupied or cooperative housing, can charge electric vehicles close to their homes. The bill has now been adopted and entered into force on 1 January 2026. The amendment introduces measures such as removing the requirement for landlord or owners’ association consent when installing charging stations in multi-unit residential buildings. Based on the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the amendment aims to strengthen Denmark’s green transition.
In April 2024, the European Union took another step towards a greener and more energy-efficient Europe by adopting a revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The directive aims to reduce energy consumption and emissions from buildings across the European Union and requires member states to promote sustainable mobility.
Among other things, the directive stipulates that member states must remove barriers to the installation of charging stations in residential buildings with parking spaces. This includes the removal of the requirement for consent from landlords or co-owners for the installation of private charging stations for personal use.
Against this background, an amendment has been introduced that grants tenants with the right to use a parking space under their residential lease agreement, or owners of owner-occupied flats with a right to use a parking space, the opportunity to install a charging station. This right applies regardless of whether the lease grants the tenant or the owners’ association grants the owner an exclusive right to a specific parking space or a general right to park.
If tenants and owners have an exclusive right to use a particular parking space, the charging station can be installed there. Where tenants and owners only have general access to communal parking areas, charging stations may be placed in locations designated by landlords or homeowners’ associations. The charging station must not be linked to a private payment solution as it must be accessible – both physically and in terms of payment – to other tenants, residents and users of the property. Installing the charging station does not give the tenant exclusive use of the parking space.
Any resident wishing to install an electric charging station must cover all associated costs, including installation, maintenance, use, re-establishment and any costs arising from increased electrical capacity. The landlord or association may require the resident to provide security for re-establishment, etc. Furthermore, both the installation and re-establishment must be carried out by an authorised electrician.
Landlords and owners’ associations may only refuse installation in limited circumstances:
Although both the Social Housing Rent Act and the Rent Act previously contained provisions allowing tenants to carry out “customary installations” in leased premises, it was unclear whether the installation of an electric charging station fell within this category. The High Court of Western Denmark confirmed this unclarity in case TBB 2024.799 V, ruling that the installation of a charging station did not constitute a “customary installation”. This conclusion was later upheld by the Supreme Court in its judgment of August 2025.
This legal ambiguity has now been resolved. Through amendments to the Social Housing Rent Act, the Rent Act, the Danish Act on Cooperative Housing Societies and the Danish Act on Owner-Occupied Flats, tenants, members of cooperative housing societies, and owners of owner-occupied flats are now expressly granted the right to install electric charging stations in parking areas adjacent to their properties. This amendment establishes a clear and uniform legal basis, thereby contributing to the overall objective of supporting the green transition.
The amendment entered into force on 1 January 2026. The amendment will affect numerous landlords and owners’ associations, who will now need to consider requests for the installation of electric charging stations.
The specialists in Gorrissen Federspiel’s Real Estate group remain available to provide guidance and support.