Is Belgian real estate ready for the new rules for electric vehicles from 2025?
Published on 1st Jul 2024
Obligations are changing for the installation of charging stations and infrastructure in Belgium
Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly popular in Belgium, mostly due to new company car policies, changing consumer behaviours, and tax incentives. This trend is alsoenforced by recent European and national legislation requiring the installation of charging stations and infrastructure along highwayslevels.
Starting in 2026, only carbon-emission-free company cars will be tax deductible. At the same time, the legislation on environmental, social and governance (ESG) and environmental obligations in buildings continues to be strengthened and is now linked, in all three regions, to a requirement to install charging station infrastructure in all types of car parks.
In all three Belgian regions, the initial requirements for car park owners to install a minimum number of charging points will come into force as of January 2025. Real estate owners, managers and developers should therefore be preparing now to install the required charging stations across Belgium, in order to meet their new obligations by the deadline.
Minimum infrastructure requirements
While in all three Belgian regions, minimum requirements for charging stations and infrastructure already exist when applying for a permit, as from 1 January 2025 new requirements will apply to the owners of non-residential buildings.
These requirements apply to all non-residential buildings, regardless of whether they are part of a real estate transaction or not, and regardless of whether they are being renovated or not. They can be summarized as follows:
| Flanders | Brussels | Wallonia |
For car parks with more than 20 spaces:
| For car parks relating to office buildings:
For public car parks or car parks that are not related to a residential or office building:
| For car parks with more than 20 spaces:
|
You can find a full overview of all existing and upcoming obligations with regard to charging stations and infrastructure for both residential and non-residential buildings here [link to environmental obligations tool].
Contractual structure
Any EV project will require the combination of a number of roles and services, including those of the e-mobility service provider (eMSP) and the charging point operator (CPO).
The eMSP offers a charging service to EV drivers by giving them access to a network of charging points around a geographical area and, as part of this and among other things, is mainly responsible for developing a charging mobile app and handling payments.
The CPO's responsibilities include the installation, operation and maintenance of the charging stations. The aforementioned tasks can also be fully or partially assumed by the owner, resulting in different models:
| Charging as a Service (CaaS) | Shared model | Purchase model | Self-management model | |
| Ownership charging stations | CPO | CPO | Owner | Owner |
| Ownership other electrical infrastructure | CPO | Owner | Owner | Owner |
| Maintenance by | CPO | CPO | Owner | Owner |
| Management by | CPO | CPO | CPO | Owner |
| Payments | eMSP | eMSP | eMSP | eMSP |
The ideal contractual structure will depend not only on the preferences of the owner, but should also take into account the financial and tax consequences of choosing one model over another.
Permitting and regulatory issues
In addition to the contractual structure, property owners, managers and developers should also consider the permitting and regulatory aspects of an EV project.
The installation of charging stations and infrastructure on themselves is not subject to environmental and/or urban planning permits in any of the three regions. However, as soon as a voltage cabin has to be installed – usually when DC chargers are installed – an environmental permit is required.
Furthermore, a new charging infrastructure may require the reinforcement of the existing electricity grid connection or the creation of a new one, which must be applied for with the electricity system operator.
From a regulatory point of view, charging stations and infrastructure are in principle exempt from any rules on direct lines and closed distribution systems. Similarly, the sale of electricity at the charging point is in principle exempt from an electricity supply license. However, these exemptions only apply to the most standard projects, whereas if, for example, the project includes on-site renewable energy (e.g. solar panels) additional regulatory requirements may apply.
Our Real Estate Transactional and Energy & Projects teams work together on a daily basis to structure, draft and help implement these projects (timely). If you have queries with regard to the above or regarding other legal obligations with regard to your real estate assets, please feel free to reach out to us.
