Charging Ahead: What Commercial Landlords Should Know About Licensing Parking Stalls for EV Charging

Canada’s electric vehicle ("EV") market continues to evolve rapidly. With the federal government replacing its 100% surtax on Chinese EV imports with a quota system that permits up to 49,000 Chinese-made EVs annually at a 6.1% tariff beginning in March 2026 [1], demand for convenient charging infrastructure is likely to increase. As EV adoption grows, commercial parking lots are well positioned to meet that demand. For landlords, underutilized parking stalls can generate additional revenue, attract customers, and help retain tenants.

This post addresses commercial properties held by a single owner. Strata properties, whether commercial or residential, raise distinct issues under the Strata Property Act [2],  because parking areas are often common property that only the strata corporation may license. Similarly, residential rental buildings raise issues under residential tenancy legislation. Those topics are beyond the scope of this article.

1. How EV Charging Arrangements Are Typically Structured

Because charging infrastructure requires a significant upfront capital investment, operators typically seek long terms, often five to ten years or longer, together with renewal options. Although these agreements are often relatively straightforward, they allocate the same categories of risk found in a commercial lease and warrant comparable scrutiny.

2. Key Legal Considerations

(a) Licence or Lease?

From a landlord’s perspective, a licence is generally preferable to a lease. A properly structured licence preserves flexibility by avoiding exclusive possession, allowing the landlord to relocate charging stalls if necessary and reducing complications arising on a future sale, refinancing, or redevelopment.

However, the courts look to substance rather than labels. An agreement described as a “licence” may nonetheless be characterized as a lease if it grants exclusive possession of identified parking stalls for a defined term. Landlords should therefore approach cautiously any request for rights that resemble a leasehold interest, including:

The financing and disposition implications are also important. Leasehold interests may require mortgagee consent and can complicate future transactions. An unregistered licence is generally easier to accommodate in refinancing and sale contexts.

Landlords should also ensure any licence includes termination rights for redevelopment, major renovations, or changes to site configuration, together with reasonable procedures for relocating equipment where feasible.

(b) Existing Tenant Rights

Before dedicating parking stalls to EV charging, landlords should carefully review their existing lease obligations.

Particular attention should be paid to tenants that have:

In some cases, reducing available parking may also create issues under applicable municipal zoning bylaws or minimum parking requirements. A landlord that overlooks these obligations may expose itself to tenant claims or defaults under existing leases.

(c) Exclusivity and Competition Law

Charging operators frequently seek exclusivity rights to protect their investment. Historically, many landlords have viewed these requests as commercially reasonable. However, recent developments under the Competition Act warrant a more cautious approach [3]. 

Following amendments to the Competition Act, agreements involving property controls, including exclusivity clauses in commercial real estate arrangements, are subject to increased scrutiny. The Competition Bureau's June 2025 guidance states that exclusivity provisions are generally justified only in limited circumstances and should be assessed by reference to their duration, geographic scope, and the products and services affected [4]. The Bureau has stated that exclusivity should be tied to legitimate investment needs rather than simply suppressing competition.

Where possible, landlords should favour open-access charging and ensure that any exclusivity rights are narrowly tailored, time-limited, and no broader than reasonably necessary to support the operator’s investment.

(d) Power Supply and Cost Allocation

Electrical capacity is often the most significant operational consideration.

The agreement should clearly address who supplies electricity, whether separate metering will be used, and how utility costs will be allocated. Fast-charging stations may require service upgrades, transformers, or other significant infrastructure improvements. The agreement should expressly allocate responsibility for those costs and address ownership and maintenance obligations.

Where users are charged based on the quantity of electricity delivered, including through pricing models based on kWh consumption, landlords should consider the potential application of Measurement Canada requirements relating to electricity metering and billing. The agreement should expressly allocate responsibility for compliance with all applicable metering, verification, registration, inspection and billing requirements, together with the cost of any future regulatory modifications or upgrades, and should generally require the charging operator to assume those obligations.

Landlords should also consider preserving sufficient electrical capacity for their own future needs and those of their tenants. They should generally avoid giving warranties regarding station availability, charging performance, or network reliability, as these outcomes may fall outside their control.

(e) Liability, Insurance, and Ownership of Equipment

As with most infrastructure agreements, landlords will generally seek to allocate operational risk to the charging operator.

Landlords are generally well advised to ensure the agreement provides that, as between the parties, all charging equipment remains the operator’s personal property (chattels), notwithstanding its attachment to the building or land. The operator should also be responsible for removing all equipment at the end of the term and restoring affected areas, including, where appropriate, underground conduit and related infrastructure.

Key landlord protections typically include:

Because EV charging infrastructure involves high-power electrical equipment, vehicle-impact exposure, and vehicles containing high-energy density batteries, and other potential fire risks, landlords should also consult their own insurers to understand any underwriting or coverage implications before proceeding.

(f) Construction, Permits, and Builders Liens

Installation should generally be treated like any other tenant-improvement project. Landlords should retain approval rights over plans, contractors, and construction schedules, while requiring the operator to obtain all necessary permits and approvals and comply with applicable accessibility requirements, WorkSafeBC obligations, and other legal requirements.

Construction work may create builders lien exposure against the fee simple title. In British Columbia, the Builders Lien Act establishes a statutory lien regime for work and materials supplied to an improvement and requires holdbacks in many construction contexts [5]. Careful drafting of holdback, lien-discharge, and lien-removal obligations can help manage these risks.

Finally, where public funding programs such as ZEVIP [6], CleanBC [7], or similar incentive initiatives support the installation, landlords should confirm that all applicable funding conditions are reflected in the agreement. These may include requirements relating to public access, operating hours, signage, reporting, or maintenance obligations.

3. Conclusion

Licensing parking stalls for EV charging presents a compelling opportunity for commercial landlords. The arrangements can unlock revenue from underutilized parking, create a valuable amenity for tenants and customers, and position a property to meet growing EV infrastructure demand. At the same time, these arrangements raise many of the same real estate, financing, construction, and operational issues that arise in traditional leasing transactions.

The most successful projects are those in which the parties address these issues at the outset. As EV adoption continues to accelerate, landlords who approach charging infrastructure with diligence will be well positioned to capture the opportunity.

^{[1] Global Affairs Canada, “Import of Electric Vehicles from the People’s Republic of China – Serial No. 1168}

^{[2] Strata Property Act, SBC 1998, c 43.}

^{[3] Competition Act, RSC 1985, c C-34.}

^{[4] Competition Bureau Canada, Competitor Property Controls and the Competition Act (4 June 2025), online: Government of Canada.}

^{[5] Builders Lien Act, SBC 1997, c 45.}

^{[6] Natural Resources Canada, Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP), online: Government of Canada}

^{[7] Province of British Columbia, Go Electric BC: Find Rebates, online: Go Electric BC}