EV Charging Stations in Residential Blocks: Passive Income That Demands Years of Patience
Building managers install shared EV charging points in residential car parks and earn a revenue share without daily involvement.
The business model involves installing AC charging stations (7 kW wallboxes) in a residential block's car park and making them available to residents. The building manager โ or an external investor โ covers purchase and installation costs, sets a pricing model (subscription or pay-per-kWh), and shares a portion of revenue with leaseholders or the residents' management company. The core problem is that real utilisation in a residential block is significantly lower than in commercial locations, so payback takes years. An alternative is the CaaS (Charging-as-a-Service) model, where an operator installs the station for free in exchange for a revenue share โ the manager bears no upfront costs but receives a smaller cut of income. Suitable for building managers or investors with sufficient financial reserves and the patience to wait for genuine traction.
EV owners living in blocks of flats face a persistent problem: charging at home is simply not an option. Public rapid chargers are often far away, and running extension cables from windows is impractical and dangerous. Meanwhile, building managers sit on car parks that generate no commercial return whatsoever.
๐EV adoption is growing steadily in the UK
The share of EVs in new car sales is rising year on year across the UK. EV owners living in flats represent the most underserved segment โ they have nowhere to charge at home and are willing to pay for a convenient solution.
