EV adoption is surging. Sales were up nearly 11% year-over-year in Q1, and close to 30% of U.S. drivers are considering an EV or hybrid for their next vehicle. As adoption increases, expectations around charging are changing. Access to at-home charging is no longer a nice-to-have amenity for multifamily properties, it’s a need-to-have. And that’s creating a dual opportunity cost when it's missing: for EV-driving residents who have to rely on public charging, and for multifamily properties quietly losing existing residents and failing to attract new ones who are opting to live at properties with on-site charging.

Charging at home is by far the preferred way to charge an EV. Access to public charging is important for long-distance travel, but it doesn’t deliver on convenience for day-to-day charging needs. Public charging (especially DC Fast) is more expensive per kWh, but the real hidden cost of relying on out-of-home charging is one’s time. Time spent traveling to and from charging stations, queuing up, and waiting while the car charges adds up. If a resident has to leave their building multiple times a week just to charge, the value of EV ownership starts to erode. It’s like asking them to drive 20 minutes just to access Wi-Fi. That’s just not realistic.

Thirty-two percent of residents say they’re interested in or won’t rent without EV charging. It’s already becoming a deciding factor for lease renewals and new residents. If a resident is choosing between two comparable properties, and one offers charging while the other doesn’t, the choice is simple. And it’s only going to become more urgent for property owners. As a wave of more affordable EVs enters the market in 2026, residents will increasingly choose properties that offer at-home charging.

Despite this, many property owners are still hesitant. Some view charging as a niche amenity. Others balk at the expense or don’t have the team to handle installation and maintenance. But doing nothing isn’t free. The cost of waiting is real—slower lease-ups, increased turnover, and less competitive edge.

That’s where 3V Infrastructure comes in. We make it easy for multifamily property owners to offer EV charging across their portfolios, by eliminating the cost and the operational burden. We invest in, install, and operate the infrastructure, expanding charging as needed based on utilization and demand. Property owners get a competitive, future-proof amenity at no cost and even participate in the upside when revenue scales.

EV charging is quickly becoming as essential an amenity as laundry. As EV adoption accelerates, the soft costs of not offering charging—like a poor EV ownership experience, missed lease renewals, and diminished appeal to new tenants—are increasingly obvious. At 3V, we eliminate the hard costs of deploying EV charging by covering all capital and operational expenses. That means property owners can avoid the pitfalls of falling behind. Today, EV charging is a competitive advantage. Soon, it will be the cost of doing business.