I own a townhouse in the Steele Creek area that I've been renting out for about six years now — bought it as a bank foreclosure back when I was doing more flip work, redid the kitchen and both bathrooms myself, and decided to hold onto it instead of flipping it once I ran the numbers as a rental. Same tenant has been in it for two and a half years now, always pays on time, takes care of the place, never a hassle.
Last week she asked if she could put in a charger for a new EV in the one-car garage. My first reaction was sure, why not, but then I actually sat with it and realized I don't know the real answer here. I got my own F-150 Lightning last year and had an electrician run a dedicated circuit at my house, so I've watched that job start to finish, but that was my house, my panel, my call. This is different — it's a rental, there's a tenant involved, and North Carolina isn't a state I've ever heard mentioned in the same breath as tenant EV rights the way California or Colorado sometimes come up.
So a few actual questions. Am I on the hook to pay for any of this, or can I have her cover the install and the electricity herself? If I say yes, what am I actually allowed to require — licensed electrician, permit, that kind of thing? And does it matter that this is a townhouse and not a standalone house — is there an HOA angle I need to worry about on top of whatever the lease says? Genuinely don't know where to start.
