CAA Habitation recommendedHome › Guides › EV chargers
EV chargers in apartment buildings
Écorecharge pays half of an apartment building’s electrical upgrade, up to $120,000. Oversizing the panel is eligible by name.
In short
50% of eligible expenses, up to $120,000 per building.
- Oversizing the panel is explicitly covered.
- At least 50% of residents’ spaces must be made ready.
- Visitor spaces don’t count toward that threshold.
- Calculated before taxes. Expenses eligible since March 17, 2026.
Jump to a section6
What the program pays
For a single-family house, no current program pays for electrical panel work, except RénoRégion for low-income households in the regions. For an apartment building, it’s exactly the opposite — and few owners know it.
The figures below were checked on the program’s official page on September 11, 2026.
Écorecharge’s “electrical infrastructure upgrade” stream has been in force since March 17, 2026.
The program reimburses half of eligible expenses, with a cap of $120,000 per building — whether the project is done all at once or in two stages. The calculation is made on expenses before taxes: taxes aren’t eligible.
| Stream | Amount | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| Building electrical infrastructure | 50%, max $120,000 | The building’s owner |
| Individual charger in the parking | Up to $5,000 | The resident who owns an electric vehicle |
| Home charger, single-family house | $600 | The owner-occupant |
The conditions
The central condition fits in one sentence: the work must make at least 50% of the parking spaces reserved for residents ready to receive a charger, at minimum at the “ready for future connection” stage.
Three details that change the calculation:
- Visitor spaces don’t count toward the 50% threshold. Only residents’ spaces do.
- A space receives the rebate only once under this stream. If it was made “ready for connection,” it can’t receive a second rebate to be completed later.
- If chargers were already funded by Roulez vert, those spaces count toward the threshold but aren’t eligible again.
The same invoice can’t be submitted to two programs. You must provide an annotated plan showing the spaces covered by the current project and by any earlier project.
Eligible work
This is where the program gets interesting for a building owner, because the list goes well beyond the chargers themselves:
- Oversizing the electrical panel to allow the breakers to be connected
- Conduits and junction boxes installed in anticipation of supplying the parking
- Cable routing between the building and the spaces
- The breakers needed to supply the chargers
- An energy management system
- Professional fees for the infrastructure’s plans and specifications
What isn’t eligible: landscaping of the parking and sidewalks — except restoring what was damaged during the work — taxes, and the applicant’s administrative costs.
Doing the project in two phases
For a project that eventually covers 100% of residents’ spaces, expenses can be submitted in two phases, provided the first covers at least 50% of the spaces.
It’s useful when cash flow doesn’t allow it all at once, or when tenant demand is still uncertain. The $120,000 cap stays the same for the building, whatever the number of phases.
At the stage of asking for prices?
We look, we price it, and the price is written down before anything begins.
Send my quote requestThe process
In order, and the first point is the most important:
- Have the building’s electrical capacity assessed. That’s what determines the scope — and therefore the cost — of the upgrade.
- Have the infrastructure’s plans and specifications drawn up. These fees are eligible.
- Have the work done by an electrical contractor holding the appropriate licence.
- File the application with the invoices and the annotated plan of the spaces.
Expenses must have been incurred before the application is filed, and while the program is in force.
If your building’s service and panel have to be redone anyway, and you’re planning chargers in the medium term, doing both in the same project can get half of electrical work paid that you’d have covered alone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum number of units?
The program’s official page doesn’t publish a minimum number of units. The published criterion is about parking spaces: at least 50% of those reserved for residents. It’s a question to confirm directly with the program for your building.
Do visitor spaces count?
No. They’re explicitly excluded from the calculation of the 50% threshold. Only spaces reserved for residents count.
What if chargers are already installed?
Spaces already equipped with earlier funding count toward the 50% threshold, but they can’t receive a second rebate. You must provide an annotated plan that distinguishes the earlier project’s spaces from the current project’s.
Are taxes eligible?
No. The rebate is calculated on expenses before taxes.
Can it be combined with Roulez vert?
The same invoice can’t be submitted to both programs. And oversizing expenses already approved under Roulez vert don’t count toward establishing a space’s eligibility under this stream.
Who files the application?
The building’s owner, or the condo syndicate depending on the structure. The application is made after the work, with the invoices. Our role is to give you invoicing detailed enough that each eligible item can be identified.
Are plans and specifications needed?
For an infrastructure project, yes, and that’s good news: the professional fees to draw them up are part of the eligible expenses.
A building to prepare for charging?
We assess the capacity, price the upgrade and invoice item by item — so your Écorecharge application goes in complete the first time.
4.9 from 469 Google reviews · RBQ licence 5815-0137-01 · CMEQ members · Free detailed quote
Get a quote: EV charger
Sources
The figures and requirements cited in this guide come from the official pages below, consulted on September 11, 2026. Programs change: check the page’s update date before committing to any expense.