Do you live in an apartment building and drive — or plan to drive — an electric car? Here is everything you need to know: what is legal, when the residents' assembly has a say, what it costs and how the installation works. No marketing, with figures you can check yourself.
Translated from Serbian. Prices, quotes from company websites and data are given in English for convenience; where the exact wording matters, the Serbian original applies.
Short answer: charging in an apartment building is legal and does not require a licence. You need a dedicated circuit with protection, a MID-certified meter and — when the cable runs through the common areas of the building — a decision of the residents' assembly.
At public chargers in Serbia a kilowatt-hour costs 70–91 RSD. At home, on the low (night) tariff, the same kilowatt-hour with all fees comes to about 4–7 RSD — a difference of ten times or more.
Converted into a monthly bill: for 1.500 km a month, with an average consumption of 16 kWh per 100 km, the car needs about 240 kWh. At home that is 1.000–1.700 RSD a month; at public chargers 17.000–22.000 RSD. That is why a complete installation typically pays for itself within 3–9 months — you can work out your own figure with the savings calculator.
And a practical detail that is easy to forget: the car charges at night, while you sleep. In the morning it is full — no detour to a charger and no queueing.
The simplest case: the installation is yours and the electricity goes through your meter, so in most cases the residents' assembly does not need to be consulted at all. It usually takes less than 7 days from your request to the first charge.
When the supply cable has to pass through the common areas of the building, you need a decision of the residents' assembly (skupština) — as a rule, by a simple majority. Realistically the procedure takes 4–10 weeks — not because of the work (which takes one day), but because of scheduling the meeting and the vote. The whole procedure, with ready-made documents and answers to the neighbours' questions, is described in a separate guide: assembly consent step by step.
The owner's written consent is enough — you get a template from the contractor or from the guide for rented garages; allow 1–2 weeks. The key question, “how can I pay the owner fairly for the electricity?”, is solved by a MID-certified meter: every month the owner receives a statement with the charger's exact consumption and the amount at the price on their own electricity bill. And if you move — the kit is taken down and moves with you.
Three things worth knowing before you talk to the building manager or the neighbours:
Blanket bans in the house rules along the lines of “charging electric vehicles is prohibited in this building” can be legally challenged — especially when you put the paperwork on the table: a technical specification, certified metering and a test certificate.
Why not “an ordinary socket plus an extension cord”? Because a Schuko socket is not made for hours of continuous load: during longer charging at 16 A the contacts and the cable heat up, and in an old installation the temperature can rise to a dangerous level. A dedicated circuit with protection solves this once and for all.
These are the prices of our offer (Evolako), with VAT; they cover the circuit, protection, meter, installation, test certificate and paperwork — the full package details are on evolako.rs. How they compare with other companies' offers and with “bare” chargers from classified ads — see the guides Wallbox price in Serbia and How much a charger costs in Serbia.
Answer 3 questions and find out which kit suits your situation and how much you save — an instant recommendation, no obligation.
Yes — under the 2024 garage regulations charging is regulated, not prohibited, provided there is a dedicated installation. A serious installation means a dedicated circuit, RCD protection (type A + DC) and a test certificate from an authorised contractor.
You do — and exactly as much as you have used. A MID-certified meter measures every kWh, and billing is at the price on the actual EPS bill, with no markup. The building and the neighbours pay nothing — and this is visible on paper every month.
If there is power in the garage — usually less than 7 days. With the consent of the owner of a rented garage, 1–2 weeks, and with an assembly decision, 4–10 weeks. The installation itself takes one working day.
Assemblies refuse when nobody answers two questions: who pays for the electricity and who is liable if something goes wrong. With the paperwork — MID metering, a test certificate, a technical specification and a draft decision — it is a different conversation. We describe the whole procedure in the assembly guide.
Three questions and half a minute — see which kit suits your garage and how much you save. Or go back to all the guides.
BlokVolt is an independent guide to electric cars in Serbia: companies, prices, procedures, regulations and figures — all with a source and a check date. The site is run by the team behind Evolako, which installs chargers itself; in comparisons it is marked as “our offer” and shown in the same columns as every other company.