CF Neighbours threatening to complain to council over EV charger ‘hire’

[FootballMumm]

We live close to the head office of a big corporate company - thousands of employees attend across the week.

Our house is a couple of streets away, and we’ve got an EV charger. We have made this available for ‘rent’, and it’s at a far more affordable cost than the chargers at the head office. Therefore, we’ve built up over time through word of mouth etc and we usually average about 3 people using it a day.

This has been for about 3 months with no issues at all.

Yesterday, our neighbour knocked and said they are uncomfortable with the ‘comings and going’s’ and not knowing who these people are, and feel it’s cheapening the street . I pointed out they work more or less over the road in corporate roles.

They then said that they have found some of the behaviour ‘unacceptable’. I asked for examples to which they gave two:

-A man smoking whilst waiting for his charge to finish
-A woman on the phone making an ‘extreme’ sexual remark. On pressing what this was, it was basically a fouler version of ‘I’ve had a crap day and want to have sex tonight’.

I said that usually, people leave their cars and then go into work before returning either on break, lunch or at the end of the day. But said I’d keep an eye out for any untoward behaviour.

I thought this would placate them, but they said that if we don’t stop it this week then they will speak to the council to register a ‘formal complaint’.

I don’t intend to stop, and am aware we are acting perfectly legally. Is it me, or they are batshit?!

EV chargers fall under permitted development - planning permission is only required if they are on street so what would be the point of applying for a CLEUD?

But she doesn’t make an income from it. She gets a deduction on her bill.

If you're charging people to use your private chargers then you're running a business and rules apply.

You've just invented that in your head. The OP doesnt mention anything about bill deduction. She says she rents it. Co sharing companies advertise "the money you can make"

I haven’t invented it in my head, it’s how the scheme works.

Again, the scheme hasnt been named. There are many host apps and many of them work by profit

That is really cool

Unless you shared a driveway with her I can't see why it's any of her business who you have at your house, why or for how long.
I am also surprised at the amount on this thread who would have a problem with who is at a neighbours house and why (although it IS mumsnet where everyone is outraged about everything normally for shock value and wouldn't be like this in real life). I know I don't sit there at the front window looking through for gossip.
It's no one's business who is there and why on your own property. People need to get a life and allow others to do theirs.

I say tell the neighbours to mind their business and carry on doing you. If it's legal the council will tell them the same.

Fine. I can’t be arsed to argue. I’ve got to pop up to number 12 to remind Brian to tell HMRC about the tomato plants he’s selling on his front drive for 20p and to make sure that Brenda at number 16 has a business licence to sell her chicken eggs.

Some posters have compared the EV service to people who rentout their drives. The difference is that people who rent drives usually do so for a minimum of half a day. They park the car and then leave to do their business. So they are not hanging around waiting for it to charge. People parking a car and leaving are far less likely to be identified as "customers" by whinging neighbours because they could easily be friends or relatives who have some arrangement with the owner. There is a difference betwen an "invisible" business and one which is visible to nosy tittle-tattles.

There is a difference betwen an "invisible" business and one which is visible to nosy tittle-tattles

There is a difference between an "invisible" business and one which causes a disturbance to the neighbours.

I know I don't because I asked.

My business does not change the structure of the property, doesn't generate extra traffic in any significant way, doesn't require planning permission, doesn't change the use of my property from a dwelling to something else. I am a freelance artist, i have a home office.

In my local area, even small businesses like home hair dressers, dog grooming etc where someones converted the garage into a salon and is having customers at the house, doesn't require a change of use as its such a small portion of the property and customers are one at a time. Ditto my osteopath who lives round the corner.

The OP's situation isn't even a business, she doesn't earn money, she gets a small deduction from her electricity bill. Again, it hasn't required significant alteration to the property, isn't generating disrupting or significant extra traffic (three a day on a one in, one out basis), doesn't alter the property from a dwelling to a business premises... no licence/certificate required.

I can't speak for the OP I don't know where she lives but here, our local authority is actively encouraging those with ev chargers and drive space to do this, it reduces the strain on the chargers they need to provide and maintain. Important in a small town with limited parking.

May well do but if money changes hands its a business and that comes under different rules.

The OP's situation isn't even a business, she doesn't earn money, she gets a small deduction from her electricity bill

Where did OP say that? I looked up 3 schemes and none of them operate that way-the owner of the charger is paid direct by the user.

But she has confirmed it’s all above board, so….

She has not confirmed that the scheme operates by giving her reduced electricity bills, although several posters have invented that scenario, rather than being paid direct. If she makes money on it, it's taxable. If anything what she has said looks more likely that she is being paid.

It being "all above board" doesn't stop it being an irritation for the neighbours - the 2 aren't mutually exclusive. Although if it is "all above board" surely the OP will be happy to ask her customers to be considerate of her neighbours?

You are not obliged to get a certificate of lawful use and your local authority does not need to issue one for you to legally operate a business. A certificate of lawful use is an optional document usually obtained when selling a property or trying to expand, when a business has grown to the extent the building is no longer primarily a dwelling, etc.

OP would be a fool to get involved in applying for a certificate of lawful use given the scenario she has described.

Only if it exceeds the £1000 a year trading allowance, which it may not do.

In any case the OP has said that she is paid by a credit in her electricity bill so may not legally be income.

It could well fall into the same category as use of a discount code, the money you get when you switch your bank account or something like Quidco cashback.

Not everything counts as income for tax purposes even if it has the same effect on your household budget. Clearly there's a need to increase availability of electric charging points and one way is to encourage additional use of existing facilities like the OPs.

So if she routinely leaves her driveway empty because she is out at work in the daytime it makes sense to offer her charging point to people who work locally and either undercut commercial rates, which are often ridiculously expensive or to increase capacity.

HMRC don't want the additional workload of thousands of people reporting relatively small amounts of revenue, which may also be off putting to people thinking of joining a community charging scheme so one way so they must have decided that bill credit, which the OP has explained, does not count as taxable income.

All these people saying "I wouldn't like it if my neighbour was doing it", well, they don't get any say in the matter.
As long as you're abiding by the law, which it sounds as though you are, and it's your own property (not the neighbour's) then you can do pretty much whatever you please Permitting anyone you choose to come onto your property and use your electricity, which you, and ultimately they, are paying for, is definitely not the neighbour's business, and I'd be telling them this in no uncertain terms!

Then I don't see the issue if legally the OP is not doing anything wrong then why dooes it matter if the OP is reported?

If I were your neighbour I'd contact the company and ask them to install more chargers on site!
Hope you don't need help from these neighbours anytime in the future.

I don't think you are being unreasonable but I think you should:

• put on the detailed Ts&Cs of what you offer that you reserve the right to refuse service to anyone with a history of causing a nuisance to your neighbours through any kind of undesirable behaviour including having loud phone conversations, or smoking or littering while loitering. Be clear that what you expect is for them to park, pluf in and leave immediately when they arrive, and to just unplug, get in the car and drive away at the end, with no opportunity to do anything untoward.
• be sweet and kind to your neighbours, assuring then that although you know their complaint to the council will get nowhere because you are doing everything legally and by the book, nevertheless you take their wellbeing seriously and they are welcome to give you the numberplate of any user who they observe behaving antisocially and you will do everything you can to minimise the bother that they experience.

Cant believe people get themselves wound up about this.

The neighbours are irritated because they ABU, three cars a day is not an irritation.

Its nothing! It’s three cars. Not even noticeable IMO!

It doesn't matter if OP is "reported", which is probably why OP hasn't asked about anything to do with being reported, just whether she's unreasonable to think her neighbours are batshit.