Insurance Tips
The EV charging divide
How renting or owning is shaping the EV charging experience
Ryan Barham
Last updated: 19/08/2026
Ryan Barham
Last updated: 19/08/2026
If you buy an electric car, you might expect charging to be the hardest part - but 57% of drivers find charging easier than expected. New research from Tempcover, however, has revealed there’s a clear divide in how ownership and rental status shape the running of an EV.
Among those who have a home charger installed, nearly a third (32%) say EV ownership would be genuinely difficult without it. This gap reflects in satisfaction rates, too: 89% of homeowners describe charging as easy, while only 72% of renters say the same.
Renters face more blockages, many of which are out of their hands:
Homeowners face some practical barriers to installing an electric vehicle charger, with cost and the need for electrical upgrades topping the list.
Fire and electrical safety concerns, plus the general complexity of installation, were also common concerns when it came to installing EV home chargers.
As they can’t charge at home as easily, renters tend to rely on the public charging network more, with 18% charging publicly every day compared to just 9% of homeowners. Across all EV drivers, 34% use public charging at least once a week.
There are some pain points with public charging, with 29% struggling to find a charger that’s free. When asked what makes public charging hardest, the following three issues came up:
Charging an EV is usually cheaper than filling a tank, but not always as cheap as people expect going in. Nearly half of all EV drivers (46%) found that home and public charging costs turned out higher than they'd anticipated before making the switch.
Despite facing more hurdles day to day, renters are more optimistic about the UK's charging future than homeowners:
70% of tenants believe the UK will have sufficient charging provision across public networks and residential solutions for flats and shared parking to meet demand by 2030, compared to 59% of homeowners.
Claire Wills-Mckissick
Senior Customer Experience Manager
"Those who rely most on the public charging network are also among the most optimistic about the future - suggesting that regular experience of public infrastructure may be building rather than denting confidence in what's coming. What the data does show is that the experience of EV ownership can look quite different depending on your housing situation. Renters are making it work, but often have to navigate more hurdles to get there - and closing that gap will be key to making the EV transition work for everyone. For those considering the switch to EV ownership, temporary car insurance means you can borrow a friend or family member's EV and find out whether it works for you, without touching their annual policy."
Claire Wills-Mckissick
Senior Customer Experience Manager
If you're weighing up whether an EV would work for you (especially if home charging isn't guaranteed) the biggest factors are how easy is it to charge, and what does it cost on a day-to-day basis?
With temporary electric car insurance, you can get behind the wheel and test it out when you borrow a friends’ EV.
Sometimes, it depends on the landlord or housing provider. Permission, electrical upgrades, and who covers the cost are the main hurdles tenants report, alongside the standard installation costs every EV driver faces.
It can be. Public charging tends to cost more per mile than charging at home, and cost is one of the top three complaints drivers have about the public network, alongside availability and reliability.
Confidence is mixed but leans positive: 59% of homeowners and 70% of renters believe the UK's charging infrastructure will meet demand by 2030.
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