Stellos Research · Regulation · Electromobility

EV Charging Obligations for Parking Garages: What Owners Must Do by 2027

In Germany, a charging-point obligation for existing non-residential buildings with more than 20 parking spots has been in force since 1 January 2025, and many owners still do not meet it. From 2027, the EU tightens the requirements considerably. Switzerland has no federal installation duty, but a growing number of cantons require new buildings to be structurally prepared for charging. Here is the current state of play for owners of office and commercial garages, plus the calculation that turns a compliance chore into a source of income.

Stellos runs live parking optimization in Switzerland and Germany for property owners, investors and corporates. Stellos Parking Platform · in use at Google, Swisscom, Implenia, Wincasa, CWS and Sony. This article is guidance, not legal advice.

1. Germany: what GEIG already requires today

The German Building Electromobility Infrastructure Act (GEIG) has been in force since March 2021 and works with thresholds based on the number of parking spots:

The existing-building rule is the one most often overlooked in practice: it does not target new construction but every existing office garage with more than 20 parking spots, and it already applies. Owners who have not complied are not facing a future topic; they are behind on a live obligation.

2. From 2027: the EPBD tightening

The revised EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD, Directive 2024/1275) must be transposed into German law by the end of May 2026; an amendment to GEIG has been announced for this. For non-residential buildings with more than 20 parking spots, the requirement on the table from 1 January 2027 is: one charging point per 10 parking spots, or alternatively pre-cabling for at least half of the spots. For a 100-spot garage that means today's single mandatory charging point becomes ten, or 50 pre-cabled spots. Anyone doing work on their garage in 2026 is better off building to the 2027 target than building twice.

3. Switzerland: preparation duty instead of installation duty

There is no Switzerland-wide obligation to install charging stations. Regulation runs through cantonal energy laws: several cantons, including Bern, Lucerne, Neuchatel, Schaffhausen and Zurich, require new buildings to provide the structural groundwork for later charging stations, typically empty conduits or pre-cabling. The technical bulletin SIA 2060 has established itself as the reference standard, distinguishing four build-out levels from bare conduit runs to fully operational charging infrastructure; execution is governed by the low-voltage installation standard (NIN). On top of that comes the registration duty: wallboxes must be reported to the grid operator.

In practice this means Swiss owners feel the pressure less from the law than from the market. Tenants actively ask for charging spots, and a garage without a charging option loses arguments at every re-letting.

4. From compliance chore to income source

The interesting calculation starts after compliance. A charging spot is that rare product for which users voluntarily pay a premium and commit contractually: the charging subscription (parking spot plus charging capacity at a fixed price, electricity billed by consumption) is contracted income, exactly the kind of revenue an appraiser capitalizes into the property value. How that rule works is explained in our article How Appraisers Value Parking Income.

That flips the logic: the conduit infrastructure that GEIG and the cantons require anyway is the groundwork for a subscription product with a premium. Owners who merely tick the minimum-compliance box in 2026 pay for the construction and leave the income on the table.

5. Owner checklist

• Germany, existing building over 20 spots: Is the mandatory charging point installed, as required since 1 Jan 2025? If not: catch up before the GEIG amendment makes it more expensive.
• Every planned renovation: size it for the 2027 target (1 per 10, or 50% pre-cabling), not for today's minimum.
• Swiss new builds: agree the cantonal requirements and the SIA 2060 build-out level early with the electrical planner and grid operator; register wallboxes.
• Run the economics: model charging subscriptions as contracted income, not as a pass-through utility cost.
• Sort out operations: billing, load management and tariffs belong in the parking management setup, not in a spreadsheet side-world.