Renting or leasehold in Letchworth: who signs off a charger?

Home Comfort Enterprises editorial team · · 5 min read

Quick answer

  • 30.1% of households in Letchworth's built-up area rented from a social landlord at Census 2021, against 18.7% across North Hertfordshire; 11.6% rented privately or lived without paying rent.
  • Under Letchworth's Scheme of Management, most dwellings need Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation's prior written consent for external alterations, and leaseholders also need consent under their lease; the Foundation says these are separate from planning.
  • The Foundation's charging point guidance (revised December 2022) prefers chargers inside garages, then on a side wall, then on a front wall only with planted screening, and asks that leads are removed from the unit when not in use.
  • The same guidance calls an installation whose cable crosses a public highway illegal, and Hertfordshire County Council says private charging cables cannot be run across public roads, pavements and paths.
  • Renters and people who own and live in a flat can get the OZEV grant: 75% of the purchase and installation cost, up to £500 per socket, with private off-street or allocated parking; landlords can claim up to £500 per socket, up to 200 a year.
  • The county's cross-pavement channel trial covers St Albans postcodes AL1 to AL5, so SG6 is outside it.

A home charger in Letchworth Garden City can need up to three yeses before it needs a quote: a landlord’s, a freeholder’s under the lease, and Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation’s. For the three in ten households who rent from a social landlord, and for leaseholders in the town’s flats, that sequence decides more than the fuse or the cable run.

This guide sets out who signs off what, where the Foundation prefers a charger to go, and which grant fits which household. For the installation in SG6, from the charger we fit to the network paperwork, see our page on EV charger installation in Letchworth Garden City.

Up to three yeses, and a fourth question

The Foundation states that, under the town’s Scheme of Management, most dwellings need its prior written consent for external alterations, and that leaseholders also need consent under their lease. It also states that these requirements are separate from planning permission. A charger on an outside wall is an external alteration. So, depending on how you hold your home, the people to ask are:

  • your landlord, if you rent;
  • your freeholder, under the lease, if you own a leasehold flat or house;
  • the Foundation, for the external change;
  • and, separately, North Herts Council, if the position needs planning permission.

A charger inside a garage changes nothing outside, which is why it is the simplest case on every one of those lists, and it is also the Foundation’s first preference, below.

Social tenants: the landlord comes first

In ONS’s Census 2021 figures for Letchworth’s built-up area, 30.1% of households rented from a social landlord, well above the 18.7% across North Hertfordshire. Across the district, only 6.1% of households rented from the council itself, so most social tenants there rent from another social landlord, such as a housing association (our arithmetic on district figures).

If that is you, start with your landlord’s written agreement, because it owns the building. The landlord, as owner, may then be the one to approach the Foundation. Before you ask, make sure you have a space you control: a drive, a garage or an allocated bay. Without one, a home charger is not possible at present.

Private tenants

A further 11.6% of Letchworth households rented privately or lived without paying rent at Census 2021. Private landlords have a grant of their own: up to £500 per socket, for up to 200 sockets a year, under the OZEV landlord scheme. As a tenant with private off-street or allocated parking, you can instead get 75% of the purchase and installation cost, up to £500 per socket. Settle which of you claims, and what happens to the charger when you leave, before the work is booked. Our guide to who qualifies for the EV chargepoint grant explains both routes. Grant claims must be made through an OZEV-authorised installer; tell us your situation at the quote stage.

Leaseholders

For the 22.3% of households in flats or maisonettes, and for leasehold houses, the lease is a separate consent from the Foundation’s. The freeholder controls the outside walls, the car park and the shared ground a cable would cross, so ask for its consent with a photo of the bay, the proposed position and the cable route from your consumer unit. If you own and live in the flat, the same 75% grant applies, up to £500 per socket.

Where the Foundation wants the unit

The Foundation’s charging point guidance, revised in December 2022, says it supports electric vehicle charging for homes, and that the size of the unit and its position on the building are the most important aesthetic considerations. In order of preference, it suggests:

  1. inside the garage, where possible;
  2. on a side wall of the house or garage;
  3. on the front wall, with planted screening to hide the unit.

It illustrates an unscreened front-wall unit as unacceptable, saying such a proposal could detract from the heritage value of the street scene, and it would prefer that charging leads are removed from the unit when not in use. That last point favours a socketed charger, where the cable comes away entirely; the EnSmart SmartBee-M we fit is published in socketed and tethered forms. The Foundation’s Heritage Advice Service offers to talk proposals through before you apply.

Terraces without parking

Terraced houses were 33.3% of households in Letchworth’s built-up area in 2021. The Foundation’s guidance shows a cable crossing a public highway and calls that installation illegal. Hertfordshire County Council, the highway authority, says the same: private charging cables cannot be run across public roads, pavements and paths. Its cross-pavement channel trial covers St Albans postcodes AL1 to AL5 only, so it does not reach SG6. The county’s LEVI contract for North Hertfordshire, St Albans and Welwyn Hatfield has gone to Zest, and it expects public chargepoints to be installed in phases from early 2027.

Once the yeses are in, the rest is the same as anywhere. The survey checks the main fuse, the consumer unit, the earthing and the cable route; the installer notifies UK Power Networks; and a home charger carries 20% VAT, unlike panels and batteries. Our guide to EV charger installation cost sets out the items a quote should list. If you are thinking about the roof as well, the Foundation’s design principles apply there too: see our page on solar panels in Letchworth Garden City.

Sources: ONS, Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, Census 2021 (tables 5c and 6c), Letchworth; ONS Census 2021 TS054 Tenure, North Hertfordshire (E07000099), via the Nomis API, read 19 October 2026; Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, Solar Panels in Letchworth Garden City: Design Principles (revised May 2026), p.2; Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, Design Principles: Electric Charging Points Guidance in Letchworth Garden City (revised December 2022, https://www.letchworth.com/documents/26/Electric_Charging_Point_Design_Guidance_V6.pdf), read 19 October 2026; Hertfordshire County Council, Electric vehicle charging in Hertfordshire and Electric vehicle cross-pavement charging cable licence, both read 19 October 2026; GOV.UK, Changes to electric vehicle chargepoint grant schemes from 1 April 2026 (updated 7 July 2026); HMRC, VAT Notice 708/6; EnSmart SmartBee-M published specification, as listed by its UK distributor.

Questions this guide answers

I rent from a housing association in Letchworth. Who do I ask first?

Your landlord. In Letchworth's built-up area, 30.1% of households rented from a social landlord at Census 2021, and the landlord owns the wall the charger would go on. Once it agrees in writing, the Heritage Foundation's consent for the external change is the next question, and your landlord may handle that as the property owner. With private off-street or allocated parking, the renter grant can pay 75% of the purchase and installation cost, up to £500 per socket. Grant claims must be made through an OZEV-authorised installer; tell us your situation at the quote stage.

I own a leasehold flat in Letchworth. Is the Foundation's consent enough?

No. The Foundation states that, under the Scheme of Management, leaseholders also need consent under their lease, and that both are separate from planning permission. So a leaseholder needs the freeholder's consent under the lease, the Foundation's prior written consent for an external alteration, and any planning permission the position needs. A charger inside a garage changes the outside least.

Where will the Heritage Foundation accept a charger on my house?

Its December 2022 guidance says charging points should be inside garages if possible; if not, a side wall of the house or garage is preferred; failing that, a front wall with planted screening to hide the unit. It shows an unscreened front-wall unit as unacceptable, and asks that charging leads are removed when not in use. Its Heritage Advice Service gives advice before you apply.

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