Nearly half of Hendon ward’s households rent privately: 47.2% at the 2021 Census, against 32.7% across Barnet borough as a whole. Another way to read the same numbers is that for most Hendon households, a home charger is not a decision they can make alone. A landlord, a freeholder, a managing agent or all three may need to say yes before anyone looks at a wall.
This guide sets out who has to agree, what each grant pays depending on who you are, and how the picture changes between an NW4 house, a Colindale block and a flat with no bay at all. For what the work involves once consent is in place, see our page on getting an EV charger fitted in Hendon.
The people who may need to say yes
For a tenant, the first yes is the landlord’s, because the charger is a fixed addition to the property and its circuit. In a block of flats, the second yes is usually the freeholder’s or managing agent’s, because the car park, the risers and any cable route outside your front door belong to the building. A flat owner-occupier skips the landlord but not the freeholder: the lease normally decides whether you can run a cable through common parts. In Hendon ward, 44.6% of households live in purpose-built flats, so that second conversation is common.
What each grant pays, by who you are
The government’s chargepoint grants are aimed at exactly the households that make up much of Hendon ward, where 47.2% rent privately. Renters and people who own and live in a flat can get 75% of the cost of a chargepoint, up to £500 per socket, if they have private off-street or allocated parking. Residential landlords can claim up to £500 per socket, for up to 200 sockets a year. Households with on-street parking only can get up to £500 towards a chargepoint with an approved cross-pavement solution, subject to the council’s rules. All three run until 31 March 2027.
Hendon ward’s owners, 42.6% of households, are in a different position if they own a house: owner-occupiers of houses get nothing, because the scheme that covered them closed in April 2022, and a home charger installation is standard-rated for VAT at 20%. Every claim must be made through an OZEV-authorised installer; tell us your situation at the quote stage. Our guide to who qualifies for the EV chargepoint grant covers the paperwork for each route.
The parking test comes first
Every flat and renter grant depends on a space that is private or allocated to your home. In Hendon ward, purpose-built flats outnumber semis by more than two to one (44.6% against 20.4% of households), so the bay matters more often than the drive. In a block with numbered bays, the bay in your lease or tenancy is the starting point. Where bays are first come, first served, there is no single space to wire to, and the freeholder may prefer to plan shared chargers rather than approve one resident’s. In that case, ask whether the building has a plan before you ask for a quote.
Colindale’s blocks
Further north, flats are the norm: 74.5% of Colindale South households and 64.9% in Colindale North live in purpose-built flats. In these newer blocks, the questions are practical ones for the managing agent. Which supply would the charger use? Can a cable run from your flat’s consumer unit, or does it need a separate metered supply in the car park? Who pays for the electricity, and who maintains the unit? A landlord who owns several flats in one block can claim up to £500 per socket for each, which can make it simpler for the landlord and freeholder to agree a scheme for several bays at once.
Owners of NW4 houses
The households who can decide for themselves are mostly in Hendon’s semis, 20.4% of households, and detached houses, 12.8%. On a house with a driveway, the charger normally goes on the wall beside the parking space, and EnSmart’s SmartBee-M, the charger we fit, is IP65-rated for outdoor wall mounting. No grant applies, so budget for the full cost and ask for the charger, circuit, cable route and any load management as separate lines on the quote. If the roof is yours too, our page on solar panels in Hendon covers what it could add.
When there is no bay at all
Terraces are only 6.8% of Hendon ward households (Census 2021), but flats without parking are common. Barnet’s electric vehicles page says it is not permitted to run cables from a home charge point across the footway, even with a cable cover, and that the council is watching cross-pavement trials before setting out its position in a forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy. Until then, the on-street grant has no Barnet route. Barnet says it has over 2,000 charge points across the borough and invites residents who can only park on the street to email its EV charging team asking for one near their home, though it cannot guarantee one will be installed.
What to put in front of your landlord or freeholder
A short written request saves time, whether it goes to a Colindale managing agent or an NW4 landlord. Say which bay or space the charger would serve, where your meter and consumer unit are, and that the charger would be wired from your own supply. Ask whether the lease or tenancy allows the work and whether the building has rules on cable routes and fixings. If the answer is yes in principle, a survey can then give the landlord or freeholder a specific route and specification to approve. The same consent questions come up for a battery; our guide on where a home battery goes in a Hendon flat or house covers that side.
On the network, the Hendon town centre is in UK Power Networks’ Eastern Power Networks licence area, about 1.4 km from the London Power Networks boundary, so check your postcode with UKPN’s postcode checker; the installer notifies UK Power Networks of every new chargepoint either way. For speeds, smart charging and the kit itself, our home EV charger guide has the detail.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, TS044 and TS054, Hendon (E05013643), Colindale South (E05013633), Colindale North (E05013632) wards and Barnet (E09000003), via Nomis; GOV.UK, Changes to electric vehicle chargepoint grant schemes from 1 April 2026 (updated 7 July 2026); HMRC, VAT Notice 708/6; London Borough of Barnet, Electric vehicles in Barnet (read 19 October 2026); UK Power Networks Open Data licence boundaries (December 2024) and NESO GIS boundaries for GB DNO licence areas (May 2024); EnSmart SmartBee-M specification as listed by its UK distributor.