Newly Built or Renovated Homes Required to Support EV Charging Under New State Law

Newly built and renovated homes will be required to support electric vehicle charging stations in their garages and parking spaces under a new state law in Illinois that kicks in next year.

Senate Bill 40, signed into law by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on June 9 as the Electric Vehicle Charging Act, will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, after being passed by both Houses last month. 

The law applies to newly constructed houses as well as multi-unit residential buildings with parking spaces that are built after that date. 

“A new single-family residence or a small multifamily residence shall have at least one EV-capable parking space for each residential unit that has dedicated parking,” the law says.

In addition, large multifamily residential buildings like a block of apartments or condos that are being renovated by a developer converting it into an association must have “100% of its total parking spaces EV-capable.”

The law also allows for renters to install EV charging equipment in their parking spaces at their own expense.

Read more: How to Maximize Your EV’s Range and Efficiency

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency also announced $12.6 million in grants for public EV charging stations in June. Illinois aims to be “100% clean energy by 2050,” Gov. Pritzker tweeted.

“We’re charging toward an electric future in Illinois! Our state is putting a million electric vehicles on the road by 2030 and that begins by producing the infrastructure needed to support them. Now, let’s keep our foot on the accelerator,” Gov. Pritzker tweeted on June 9. 

On the federal level, a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed in November 2021 set aside $7.5 billion to create 500,000 public EV chargers across the US by 2030, while private companies are working on innovations like a wireless electric road that charges your car as you’re driving it.

If you’re looking into buying an electric car, here are CNET’s picks for the best EVs for 2023, as well as every EV currently available and ranked by how far they can drive between each charge, 12 places that offer EV charging while you go shopping and how to claim the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit and which cars qualify for it.