The Strujni krug association warns that owners of home charging stations would have to go through complicated procedures and pay hundreds of euros, while air conditioners and tons of gas cylinders are installed without a single piece of paper.
On Wednesday, August 19, 2026, the association Strujni krug, which brings together electric vehicle drivers, sent its comments regarding the draft regulation pertaining to structures and works where a building permit is not required. According to their warning, the new regulation explicitly introduces, for the first time, special conditions, connection requirements, and certificates from public law bodies for the installation of electric vehicle charging equipment.
Namely, a homeowner who wants to mount a charger for their car on the garage wall would have to obtain a main project, special conditions, connection requirements, and certificates from public law bodies. In addition, they would have to report the start of construction, provide a GML record of the coordinates of boundary points, and secure professional supervision, as stated in the association's press release reported by 24sata.
The association warns that this change will bring concrete financial consequences for citizens. "This change will mean additional costs for the homeowner who decides to install a wall-mounted home charging station. In addition to an estimated several hundred euros in extra costs, there is also the potential for months of waiting for approval to install the charger," the press release states.
On the other hand, the association emphasizes that the same draft regulation allows the installation of heating, cooling, or air conditioning systems up to 30 kW of power without a building permit or main project. Also, pallets with liquefied petroleum gas cylinders with a total mass of up to 4000 kilograms can be installed without any permits.
The president of the Strujni krug association, Hrvoje Prpić, sharply criticized the proposed rules. "The state has decided that a box on the garage wall is a serious construction undertaking, but four tons of gas cylinders is not. We are not asking for anything to be done without control or expertise; we are simply asking that a car charger be treated at least as leniently as an air conditioner that has more power and that the same regulation allows without a single piece of paper," said Prpić.
The association suggests that alternating current (AC) charging equipment up to 22 kW, which is typical for home use, could be installed without a building permit or main project, provided it is connected to an existing and tested installation. More powerful chargers and direct current (DC) equipment would still be subject to stricter rules.
The public consultation on the draft regulation on the e-Savjetovanje portal is open until September 3, 2026. Prpić calls on all electric vehicle owners to participate and leave comments on Article 9 of the draft regulation.
"This is the cheapest and fastest way to change something. Complaints and administrative disputes last for years, but now we have the opportunity to be heard while the regulation is still being written. If there are enough of us, our comments cannot be silenced," Prpić urged.
The new regulation also drew a reaction from entrepreneur Saša Cvetojević, who posted a sharp critique on social media. "I used to think we live in a country ruled by idiots. I thought they didn't know what they were doing when they wrote laws and regulations that complicate everything and ultimately lead to the opposite of what a 'well-ordered country' should mean. Now I know they do all this on purpose," Cvetojević wrote.
He added that it involves "a zillion permits" for installing a box that, as he puts it, does nothing more than a smarter Schuko plug. "A box that is connected to your electricity on your house in your yard, for which you have already obtained the location permit, building permit, and electro-energy approval, and connection conditions, and all the other idiotic permits that you paid for handsomely, waited for years, and even greased a palm or two," Cvetojević said.
