Landlord approval letter template — what conditions can I set as the property owner?
I own a six-unit building in South Portland that I've managed myself since I bought it in 2019 — small enough that I still handle maintenance requests and lease renewals directly instead of going through a management company. One of my tenants in unit 3, been there four years, asked last week if she could put in a Level 2 charger on the wall outside her assigned parking spot. She's offering to pay for the whole thing — electrician, permit, the works — she just wants my sign-off since it's my building.
My gut reaction was just to say sure, go ahead, since Maine doesn't have any tenant right-to-charge law on the books the way California or a few other states do — I looked it up after she asked and we're not on that list. So technically I could say no outright if I wanted to, which means I figured I could just say yes informally and not worry about it much either way.
But the more I think about it the more that feels like the wrong instinct. If something's not permitted and there's ever an electrical fire in that unit, I don't think "well, I verbally said it was fine" holds up with my insurance company. And I've got five other tenants in that building I'm responsible for too.
I want to put something in writing — not a full lease amendment, just an approval letter she can keep, spelling out what I'm requiring before I sign off. Has anyone actually drafted one of these? What conditions are actually reasonable/enforceable for a landlord to put in there, versus me just making the process harder than it needs to be?
Filed under: Renters, Apartments & HOA Charging
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12 answers
12 ANSWERS
@gravelfox88August 24, 2026
The right-to-charge question and your building code obligations are two separate things. Whether or not Maine has a statute forcing your hand, any new 240V circuit still needs a permit and inspection under your local code — that part isn't optional and doesn't depend on tenant-rights law at all. I've had landlords assume "no law means no rules," and that's the gap that gets them in trouble. If there's ever a fire in that unit and the wiring wasn't permitted, your insurance company has a very easy reason to deny the claim regardless of what you verbally agreed to.
Add proof of insurance to that list. The code requires the EVSE be on its own dedicated branch circuit regardless of who's paying for it, so that part gets handled at inspection either way. What doesn't get handled automatically is whether your tenant carries a renter's policy with liability coverage, or whether you're relying entirely on your own landlord policy. Get that in writing before you sign off, not after.
@duskravenAugust 30, 2026
Figure out who's actually funding this before the letter gets written, since it changes your own tax position. If you end up paying for it yourself instead of her, that's a depreciable capital improvement on a 27.5-year residential schedule, and the federal 30C credit — 30% up to $1,000 — follows whoever actually paid, not the property owner automatically. The conditions you'd want to attach shift depending which way that goes.
No statute doesn't mean no requirements apply, it just means they come from your building code and insurance instead of a tenant-rights law forcing your hand. A handful of states do have one on the books now, California's the strongest and even there the landlord isn't paying for anything, just can't say no if you cover install, electricity, and insurance. California's law if you want the actual language, Colorado and Florida have their own versions of the same idea. What you're drafting isn't unusual, it's close to what the law would want anyway even without a statute forcing it.
Genuine question from the renter side of this: if a landlord has zero legal obligation either way, what stops "reasonable conditions" from quietly becoming enough hoops that it's a functional no without ever actually saying no? Not accusing OP of that, just curious how a tenant would even tell the difference from the outside.
@graycoilAugust 25, 2026
I own a rental upstate and had a tenant ask for the same thing two years ago. What I put in the letter, roughly: licensed electrician with a copy of their license/insurance attached, permit pulled before any work starts, final inspection sign-off before it gets energized, proof of the tenant's own liability coverage, and a line on what happens to the equipment and the wiring when they move out. Took about 20 minutes to write once I had the categories straight. Didn't need a lawyer for it, just needed to know what to ask for.
This is the structure I needed. One piece I hadn't thought through at all: if she's here another three years and then leaves, does the charger itself go with her, does it stay for the next tenant, or do I make her pull the wiring back out? No idea what's actually normal there.
Depends whether it's hardwired or plugged into a receptacle. If it's hardwired directly to a junction box, that's a fixture — it stays, same as a ceiling fan would. If it's a NEMA receptacle install and she's using a portable or wall-mount unit that just plugs in, the charger itself usually leaves with her since it's not actually attached to your building, but the receptacle and circuit stay. State explicitly in the letter which category yours is — I've seen landlords and tenants disagree on this exact point at move-out when it was never written down.
@rustlanternAugust 25, 2026
Ran rough numbers on the depreciation angle mentioned above — 27.5-year schedule on a $2,000 install is about $73/year written off. That's not nothing but it's not much either for one unit. The 30C credit upfront is the bigger piece if you're the one paying. Might be worth figuring out if you'd actually fund this yourself before assuming it's obviously the better move financially, versus just letting her pay and keeping your conditions simple.
The credit is the real number here, the depreciation is basically rounding error at that scale. Only makes sense to fund it yourself if you're thinking about doing this building-wide eventually and want to own the infrastructure. For one unit, letting the tenant pay and keeping your involvement to approving conditions is probably simpler.
@misty_waffleAugust 24, 2026
Wish my landlord had done something like this. Got a verbal yes three years ago and I've genuinely never been sure if my setup is actually sanctioned or if I just got lucky nobody asked. A letter would have settled that in five minutes.
@saltmarsh99August 24, 2026
Landing on this: licensed electrician with proof of license, permit pulled and inspected before it's energized, proof of her own liability coverage, and a written line on equipment ownership and what happens at move-out based on whether it ends up hardwired or on a receptacle. Still deciding whether I fund it myself given the credit math above, but leaning toward letting her pay and keeping it simple like a couple people suggested. Appreciate the actual structure here instead of me just guessing at what's reasonable to ask for.
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