How to Run a Resident EV Survey: Template, How to Analyse Results, and What to Do Next

Before your strata committee approves EV charging infrastructure, before a budget is allocated, before a contractor is engage, there's one question worth answering first:

Does the building actually know what its residents want?

Not what the most vocal residents want. Not what the committee assumes they want based on a handful of emails. What all residents actually want — in terms of current EV ownership, near-term purchase intent, preferred charging arrangements, and willingness to contribute to shared infrastructure costs.

A resident survey answers this question directly. It takes the guesswork out of the planning process, gives the committee a credible basis for its decisions, and, perhaps most usefully, gives strata managers a concrete document to show any committee member who insists "there isn't really demand for this yet."

Here's how to run one properly.

Why the Survey Matters

An owners corporation's job is to make decisions that reflect the collective interests of the building's residents. On EV charging specifically, that's difficult to do without data.

• A committee that approves major infrastructure spending without understanding demand risks overcommitting.

• A committee that holds back without understanding demand risks underdelivering and facing an urgent, expensive retrofit two years later.

The survey closes this information gap. It also creates a paper trail that protects the committee: if a resident later objects to a decision — "nobody asked us" — the survey demonstrates that they were asked.

For strata managers specifically, the survey data is the foundation of a credible proposal. A motion that comes to a general meeting backed by resident results, showing, for example, that 35% of residents already own or are actively considering an EV — is far more likely to pass than one based on a vague assertion that "EV adoption is growing."

When to Run the Survey

The optimal timing is before any formal planning has begun and certainly before any contractor quotes are sought or committee motions are drafted.

Running the survey first means the infrastructure proposal that eventually goes to the general meeting is sized correctly for actual demand, rather than a best guess. It also gives the committee advance notice of how many residents are likely to request connections in the near term, which directly affects the scale of investment that makes sense.

If your building has already received one or two individual resident requests for EV charging, that's your signal. Run the survey before those individual requests start arriving at the general meeting as separate motions. Getting ahead of them with a coordinated, building-wide approach is significantly more efficient and significantly less expensive, than approving installations piecemeal.

The Survey: Questions to Use

Keep the survey short. No more than ten questions, ideally completable in under five minutes. Shorter surveys get higher response rates, and a high response rate is what gives the data credibility at a general meeting.

Distribute it digitally where possible, using a simple platform such as Google Forms or SurveyMonkey. Include a brief covering note explaining why you're asking and what the results will be used for — residents are more likely to complete a survey that feels purposeful.

Here's a practical question set you can copy directly:

COVERING NOTE

[Building Name] Resident EV Survey

The owners corporation is exploring options for EV charging infrastructure in our building. Before we engage any contractors or bring a proposal to a general meeting, we want to understand what our residents actually need. This survey takes less than 5 minutes and your responses are confidential. Results will be summarised and presented to the committee.

Section 1: Your current situation

Q1. Do you currently own an electric vehicle (fully electric or plug-in hybrid)?

• Yes, I own a fully electric vehicle (BEV)

• Yes, I own a plug-in hybrid (PHEV)

• No

Q2. Do you have access to EV charging at home currently?

• Yes — I use a charger in my car space

• Yes — I use a building facility or shared charger

• No — I charge primarily at public or workplace chargers

• No — I don't currently need to charge

Q3. If you currently have no home charging access, how do you manage charging your EV? (Open text field — applicable only if Q1 = yes and Q2 = no)

Section 2: Your future plans

Q4. Are you considering purchasing an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle in the next 12 months?

• Yes, actively planning to buy

• Possibly — I'm researching options

• No

Q5. Are you considering purchasing an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle in the next 2–3 years?

• Yes, likely

• Possibly

• No

Section 3: Your preferences

Q6. If EV charging were available in the building, which option would best suit your situation?

• A charger dedicated to my car space, connected to my own electricity meter

• Access to a shared charging system — I pay per kWh used

• A visitor bay or temporary charging option

• I wouldn't need or use building EV charging

Q7. How important is it to you that the building has EV charging infrastructure available within the next 12 months?

• Very important — it directly affects my purchasing or living decisions

• Somewhat important

• Not important currently

Q8. Would you be willing to contribute to the cost of shared EV charging infrastructure through a special levy or connection fee?

• Yes, I would contribute

• Possibly — depends on the amount

• No

Section 4: Any questions or comments

Q9. Do you have any specific concerns or questions about EV charging in our building? (Open text field)

Q10. Is there anything else you'd like the committee to know? (Open text field)

How to Distribute the Survey

Email is the primary distribution channel for most strata buildings. Send it from the strata manager's account, addressed to all lot owners and, where contact details are available — tenants. Include a brief explanation and a clear deadline, typically two weeks from the date of distribution.

For buildings with lower digital engagement, include a physical version posted to each lot with a reply-by date alongside the digital one. Response rate matters more than channel.

Follow up with a single reminder email at the one-week mark for non-responders. As a rule of thumb:

• 40–50% or above gives you statistically credible data for a building of typical strata size.

• Below 30%, note the caveat when presenting results.

How to Analyse the Results

Once the survey closes, compile the results before presenting them to the committee. Here's how to interpret the key numbers:

Current EV ownership rate (Q1). This is your baseline. Even at 5–10%, it likely means multiple residents currently have no reliable home charging option. Frame it as the number of households, not a percentage — "seven residents already own an EV but have no way to charge at home" is more concrete than "9% of respondents."

Near-term purchase intent (Q4 + Q5). Add the definite and possible responses together — this is your demand projection. A building where 15% of respondents are actively planning an EV purchase in the next 12 months, and a further 25% are considering one within three years, is a building where EV charging will become an active issue within two to three years regardless of what the committee decides today.

Preferred charging arrangement (Q6). This tells you what type of infrastructure to prioritise:

• If the majority prefer individual connections, a shared backbone with individual connection points is likely the optimal model.

• If a significant proportion prefer shared access, a common-property charging system with kWh billing may be more appropriate.

Willingness to contribute (Q8). The data point most useful for financial planning. If 40% of respondents indicate willingness to contribute, that informs both the funding model and the case for a special levy.

Open text responses (Q9 + Q10). Read these carefully. They often surface specific concerns — fire safety, insurance, fairness, parking access — that are worth addressing directly in the proposal, rather than discovering them for the first time at the general meeting.

What to Do Next: Three Scenarios

Scenario A — High demand (25%+ current ownership or near-term intent). The building needs to move quickly. Commission a building energy assessment immediately and bring a proposal to the next general meeting. The survey data is your mandate. The risk of waiting is that residents with current need start making individual requests — more expensive and administratively complex to manage than a coordinated building-wide approach.

Scenario B — Moderate demand (10–25% ownership or intent). Plan now, install in stages. Commission the assessment and develop an infrastructure plan, but consider a phased approach — install backbone infrastructure and a small initial number of charging points, with a defined process for residents to connect as demand grows. Bring this plan to the AGM and establish the by-law framework so individual requests can be handled systematically when they arrive.

Scenario C — Low current demand (under 10%). Don't wait. Even at low current demand, the trajectory is clear. Use the survey results to establish a by-law framework and understand your building's electrical capacity, so that when demand arrives — and it will — the committee responds with a plan rather than scrambling to create one under pressure.

In all three scenarios, the recommended next action is the same: commission a professional building energy assessment. The survey tells you what residents need. The assessment tells you what the building can deliver. Together, they give the committee everything it needs to make a sound, well-informed decision.

Talk to VeCharge

VeCharge works with strata managers and owners corporations across Sydney, from the initial planning stage through to installation and ongoing management. If you'd like guidance on running a resident survey or commissioning a building assessment, get in touch at info@vecharge.com or call 1300 315 688. You can find more on our approach to apartment buildings on our strata EV charging page.