Finland’s Act on the Provision of Charging Points and Cable Ducts for Electric Vehicles and on the Provision of Automation and Control Systems in Buildings (733/2020) requires that non-residential buildings with over 20 parking spaces must be equipped with at least one electric vehicle (EV) charging point by December 31, 2024. This law, which came into effect in November 2020, is part of Finland’s implementation of the EU directive on energy efficiency in buildings and supports the country’s target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035. The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) will oversee compliance, starting enforcement in 2025.
We have prepared a short outline of the questions by real estate owners which we have come across in our practice.
Key Requirements:
- Who Must Comply: The law applies to non-residential buildings such as government offices, shopping centers, churches, and office buildings. Affected properties include public and commercial facilities, like municipal buildings, libraries, and daycare centers.
- Exemptions: The law does not apply to residential buildings (where over half of the floor area is used for living), buildings that do not consume energy for heating or cooling, defense-related buildings, or buildings owned and used by micro-enterprises (with fewer than 10 employees and annual revenue under €2 million).
- Charging Point Specifications: Charging points must have a power output exceeding 3.7 kW and be equipped with Type 2 or CCS connectors. Standard slow-charging outlets, such as regular sockets, do not meet the requirements.
- Owner Responsibility: Building owners are responsible for installing and maintaining the charging points. The lessees have not statutory obligations to install the charging points. The lessor and the lessee may naturally agree otherwise amongst themselves, but in relation to the authorities, the duty to ensure compliance would still lie with the lessor.
Other Considerations:
- Unused Buildings: The law does not require installation of charging points for unused buildings. The law does not, however, provide a precise definition of “unused” building which may leave some room for interpretation. But based on other regulations, a building is considered “in use” if it has been approved for use by the building authorities, even if vacant. Whether the authorities will adopt this strict an approach and whether the competent courts would uphold such interpretation, remains yet to be seen.
Potential Sanctions for Non-Compliance:
If a building owner does not comply with the law by installing the required EV charging point by the deadline, Traficom is authorized to take corrective action:
- Notice to Comply: Traficom will issue a notice requiring the building owner to install the charging point within a specified period.
- Fines: If the owner fails to comply within the set timeframe, Traficom may impose fines to enforce the requirement.
- Enforced Installation: Traficom can also arrange for the charging point installation at the owner’s expense if non-compliance persists after the warnings and fines.