FAQ for Property Owners: "What Charging Infrastructure Does My Parking Space Need?"

The Building Electromobility Infrastructure Act, or GEIG for short, regulates, among other things, how many charging points must be available at parking spaces of buildings. The GEIG implements a requirement from the EU Building Directive for the construction of charging and cabling infrastructure for electromobility. According to the federal government, the law pursues two goals: to speed up the expansion of the cabling and charging infrastructure for electromobility in buildings and to maintain the affordability of construction and housing.

For property owners, it is often not easy to keep track of the complex Building Electromobility Infrastructure Act. For this reason, the full-service provider for charging infrastructure, Zeitstrom, which specializes in real estate, has summarized the central statements of the GEIG in an illustrative graphic and a FAQ.

Which buildings are affected by the GEIG?

The regulatory content of the GEIG applies to residential buildings as well as non-residential buildings.

What regulations apply to the construction of new residential buildings?

In the future, for new residential buildings with more than five parking spaces, each parking space must be equipped with protective pipes for electrical cables.

What regulations apply to the construction of new non-residential buildings?

For new non-residential buildings with more than six parking spaces, every third parking space must be equipped with protective pipes for electrical cables. Additionally, at least one charging point must be installed.

Does the GEIG also apply to existing properties?

Yes. For major renovations of existing residential buildings with more than ten parking spaces, all parking spaces must be equipped with protective pipes for electrical cables in the future. For major renovations of existing non-residential buildings with more than ten parking spaces, every fifth parking space must be equipped with protective pipes for electrical cables, and at least one charging point must also be installed.

Will there be further changes?

After January 1, 2025, every non-residential building with more than 20 parking spaces must be equipped with at least one charging point.

Are there any exceptions?

Yes. The law does not apply to buildings owned and mainly used by small and medium-sized enterprises. Existing buildings are also exempt if the costs for the charging and wiring infrastructure exceed 7% of the total costs of a major renovation. Additionally, a district solution has been created, allowing charging point obligations for non-residential buildings to be fulfilled at one or more bundled locations.

What subsidies exist for the construction of charging infrastructure?

There are various funding programs for the establishment of publicly accessible, non-public, and commercially used charging infrastructure for electric vehicles at both the federal and state levels. The funding landscape in Germany is very dynamic, often includes limited application periods, and is generally subject to regular changes. Therefore, it is essential to carefully examine what subsidies are available and to what extent at the beginning of a project.

What alternative investment models are there?

When developing charging infrastructure at properties, there is the option to collaborate with an external, long-term investor such as Zeitstrom. As a full-service provider, Zeitstrom offers location partners with its investment model and Charging-Infrastructure-as-a-Service (CIaaS) planning security and an enhancement of their properties without their own resource deployment.

What does Charging-Infrastructure-as-a-Service (CIaaS) mean?

Charging-Infrastructure-as-a-Service (CIaaS) is an all-inclusive package for property owners and property managers: Planning, installation, operation, billing, and long-term security of the charging stations as well as the incurred investments are taken over by Zeitstrom. This enables commercial property owners to plan a renovation or new construction project without using their own funds for the necessary charging infrastructure. Zeitstrom acts as the operator of the charging infrastructure.

Four steps to free charging infrastructure

For location partners who have decided on an investment with Zeitstrom, the process for establishing charging infrastructure at their own property proceeds as follows:

First, an expert team develops a comprehensive offer that includes the investment for the property's (or properties') charging infrastructure. All location-specific peculiarities are taken into account. Individual solutions are sought that are completely tailored to the existing property (or properties) and the wishes of the property owners.

Then, Zeitstrom moves into the planning of the project and takes full responsibility for the charging infrastructure. Once planning is complete, the company takes care of the entire installation of the charging infrastructure and puts it into operation.

Finally, the operational and service phase follows: Zeitstrom ensures long-term trouble-free use, taking over the operation and securing of the charging infrastructure and guaranteeing the necessary service in the event of any disruptions. Optionally, location partners always have the possibility of a gradual scaling of the charging infrastructure.