EV Charging Leases: What Landowners and Businesses Must Know Before Signing
Learn what landowners and businesses must know before signing an EV Charging Lease, including key risks, long-term implications and when to take legal advice.
The rapid expansion of electric vehicle infrastructure has led to a growing number of commercial landowners being approached by EV charging operators. Retail parks, supermarkets, hotels, leisure destinations, mixed-use developments and publicly owned sites are all attractive locations, particularly where there is existing parking and regular footfall.
These proposals are often presented as simple, low-risk arrangements that deliver income and support sustainability objectives. In practice, however, an EV charging lease is often not a standard commercial lease. Treating it as one can expose landowners and businesses to legal and commercial risks that only become apparent years later.
This article explains how EV charging leases in England and Wales typically work, why they need careful scrutiny, and what landowners and asset managers should consider before agreeing terms.
If you have already been approached by an EV charging operator or are reviewing draft heads of terms, taking early legal advice can help clarify what is really being granted and whether it aligns with your wider plans for the site. JLN can advise commercial landowners and asset managers at this early stage, before positions harden and options narrow.
Why Are EV Charging Leases Not Standard Commercial Leases?
A different commercial and legal balance
A typical commercial lease involves a tenant occupying space to run a business, with the landlord retaining overall control of the site. An EV charging lease is different. It is primarily about installing and operating infrastructure that the operator expects to rely on for many years.
To protect their investment operators usually ask for an agreement spanning a number of years, broad rights over the land and limited ability for the landowner to interfere. This is why their documents often feel one-sided. They are designed to prioritise operational certainty rather than landowner flexibility.
Although the charging equipment itself may only take up a few parking bays, the legal rights granted often extend much further. These rights can include permission to run cables under the site, install substations and access surrounding land for maintenance. Once granted, these rights can affect how the wider site is used, developed or sold.
Long durations with limited exit options
Many EV charging leases run for 20 to 40 years depending on the operator and commercial model. That length of term is not unusual for infrastructure projects, but it is long by normal commercial property standards.
Break clauses, which are contractual rights to bring a lease to an end early, are uncommon in EV charging leases. Where they do exist, they are often tightly restricted or linked to very specific redevelopment scenarios. In practical terms, this means that once the lease is granted, the landowner may have very limited ability to bring it to an end, even if circumstances change.
For landowners thinking in terms of asset value, this lack of flexibility is often the key issue.
Who Should Be Particularly Cautious?
Commercial landowners with redevelopment or reconfiguration plansIf there is any realistic chance that a site may be redeveloped, extended or reconfigured in the future, EV charging infrastructure can become an obstacle. Even where the documents allow the equipment to be moved, relocation is often expensive, technically complex and dependent on available grid capacity.
In some cases, the operator or its funder must also consent. This can reduce the landowner’s ability to act quickly or commercially when an opportunity arises.
Asset managers and investors
Asset managers need to consider how a long-term infrastructure arrangement will be viewed by buyers and lenders. What looks like a small income stream today can complicate a future sale, trigger lender concerns or reduce flexibility at exit.
Local authorities and public-sector bodies
Public bodies face additional layers of scrutiny. EV charging leases must align not only with commercial objectives but also with statutory duties, procurement rules and public accountability. Poorly structured arrangements can attract challenge or criticism later.
What EV Charging Operators Commonly Ask For
Operators often present their documents as standard and time-sensitive, particularly where grid capacity or funding deadlines are involved. Understanding what these requests mean in practice is critical.
- Exclusive possession or extended occupation rights: Operators often ask for rights that give them exclusive use of certain parking bays and equipment areas. Even if the document is described as a “licence”, the law looks at what actually happens on the ground. If the operator has exclusive possession of land for a fixed period, it is likely to be treated as a lease, with all the legal consequences that follow.
For landowners, this matters because it can limit control over parking, site management and future changes.
- Easements and access rights across the site: An easement is a legal right to use someone else’s land for a specific purpose, such as running cables or accessing equipment. In EV charging leases, easements are often granted for cabling routes, substations and maintenance access.
These rights usually bind future owners of the land. This means that even if you sell the site, the rights remain in place and can affect development potential and value.
- Restrictions on relocation or removal: Many leases limit the landowner’s ability to require equipment to be moved or removed. In practice, this can give the operator or its funder significant influence over future development plans unless the lease is carefully drafted.
Key Legal Issues to Understand Before Signing
Security of tenure and renewal rights
One of the most important issues is whether the operator will have security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. In simple terms, security of tenure gives a business tenant the right to remain in occupation and apply for a new lease when the term ends. Practically, this could include a right for the operator to renew the lease on similar terms, even if the landowner would prefer to redevelop or change use.
If security of tenure applies, the landowner cannot simply take the land back at the end of the lease. This can seriously affect redevelopment plans. It is often possible to exclude these rights, but only if a strict legal process is followed before the lease is completed. If this is missed, the consequences can last for a long time.
Assignment, funding and step-in rights
Assignment allows the operator to transfer the lease to another company, while step-in rights may allow a funder to take control if the operator defaults. Operators often want the ability to transfer the lease to another company or to use it as security for funding. This means the landowner may end up dealing with a different operator or a funder exercising control if the project runs into difficulty.
Once these rights are granted, the landowner’s ability to influence future arrangements is limited. This is why the original drafting and negotiation stage is so important.
Rent and review structures
Rents under EV charging leases are often modest at the outset and may remain fixed or only increase in line with inflation. Some arrangements involve revenue sharing, which can sound attractive but can be complex and difficult to monitor.
From a landowner’s perspective, the headline rent should not be looked at in isolation. Control, flexibility and lasting impact on the site often matter far more than short-term income.
Planning, Regulatory and Infrastructure Issues
Compliance responsibility
Responsibility for planning permission and ongoing compliance should be clearly allocated. While some EV infrastructure benefits from relaxed planning rules, issues such as substations, signage and lighting can still require consent.
Landowners should ensure that any enforcement risk sits with the operator, not with them.
Building regulations and new developments
For new developments and major refurbishments in England, building regulations now require EV charging provision or cabling routes in many cases. Where an EV hub forms part of a wider scheme, the lease must align with these obligations and clearly set out who is responsible for compliance and cost.
Grid capacity and future flexibility
Grid connections are often the most valuable part of an EV charging project. Once capacity is reserved for charging infrastructure, it may not be available for other uses without significant cost or delay. This can affect future development options in ways that are not always obvious at the outset.
Impact on Future Sales, Funding and Value
Sales and disposals
Buyers and their advisers will look closely at EV charging leases. Longer lease terms, protected tenancies or extensive easements can delay transactions or reduce value if they restrict future options.
Lender scrutiny
Lenders are increasingly cautious about long-term infrastructure arrangements. In some cases, funding may be conditional on changes to the lease, or refused altogether if flexibility is too restricted.
Common Mistakes Landowners Make
- Assuming the documents are non-negotiable
Operators often say their terms are standard. In reality, many key points can be negotiated if raised early. - Moving too quickly
Pressure to secure grid capacity or meet funding deadlines can lead to decisions that create problems later down the line - Underestimating how permanent the arrangement is
EV charging infrastructure is designed to stay in place for decades. Removing or changing it later is rarely simple or cheap.
Practical Steps Before Agreeing Heads of Terms
- Take advice early
Early advice helps identify issues while there is still leverage to address them. - Look at the wider picture
The lease should support your future plans for the site and benefit you financially - Coordinate advice
Legal, planning and technical issues are closely linked in EV charging projects. Co-ordinating your advice early can help you to get the most out of an EV charging lease
How JLN Can Help
EV charging leases can deliver genuine benefits, but they are also often commitments that can remain in place for many years. Taking advice early can protect flexibility, value and future options.
You should consider specialist advice where, for example:
- You are unsure how a proposed lease will affect redevelopment, sale or refinancing of your site.
- Renewal rights, assignment or funder involvement are being proposed and their implications are unclear
- The installation involves substations, cabling routes or public-facing chargers with regulatory obligations.
JLN advises commercial landowners, asset managers, developers and public bodies on EV charging leases across England and Wales. The focus is on early, practical advice that helps clients make informed decisions before positions harden.
We usually offer a no-cost, no-obligation 20-minute introductory call as a starting point or, in some cases, if you would just like some initial advice and guidance, we will instead offer a one-hour fixed fee appointment (charged from £250 plus VAT depending on the complexity of the issues and seniority of the fee earner).
Please email wewillhelp@jonathanlea.net providing us with any relevant information or call us on 01444 708640. Following an initial discussion, we can provide a clear scope of work, a fee estimate, and confirm any information or documentation we would need to review.
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This article is intended for general information only, applies to the law at the time of publication, is not specific to the facts of your case and is not intended to be a replacement for legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before relying on any of the information given. © Jonathan Lea Limited.