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LOL. Well there’s plenty of that going on everywhere. People don’t even know what facts are any longer.
I wonder how much more expensive my STR insurance will be if I tell the insurance company that I allow EVs?
Does AirCover have exceptions for EV accepting hosts?
Do cities that have inspections prior to licensing allow EV charging?
I wouldn’t think you gain anything by not telling them. It’s either included, excluded, or available with a rider. Telling them at least prompts them(but ask, in writing) to tell you if it’s excluded or you need a rider. Proper insurance looks at your listing.
No, as far as I can tell. See here.
I did notice:
So, if there’s a fire because, say, there was faulty wiring in your house that was connected to the EV charger, arguably that wasn’t caused by the guest. [Though if an ‘improper’ extension cord was used and that was partly causative, who knows?]
This exclusion caught my eye:
So, as just one example, if the battery ignites due to faulty design, construction or material – take the recall of the batteries on the Chevy bolts – it sounds like this would be an exclusion. The Host’s recourse would be the guest and the Host’s own insurer.
Depends.
If you need to install a new electrical circuit I think you need a permit (and usually then an inspection) almost everywhere (U.S.).
If you have the circuit already and just are installing the EV charger, you need a permit in MA and I happened to run across that it was required in WA. So, homeowners will need to check.
By the way, I ran into this 2000 MA State guidance document information:
And, in MA, for Level 1 the same document above says the power cord must be grounded and on a GFI circuit, specifically “on a 15 or 20 amp, single-pole circuit breaker at the beginning of the circuit”, and be controlled by a single wall switch. It says that cords and cables “should not interfere with foot traffic”. It’s not clear to me from this document whether any extension cord would be acceptable because it talks about the charging equipment “from the premises wiring to the electric vehicle” . . . “be permanently connected and fastened in place, and grounded”.
I didn’t check whether the guidance in the document has been updated and how much is current MA law.
I relate this to suggest that there might be local requirements that are not intuitive to the layperson, and violating them might surface, with uncertain consequences, in the event of an accident and claim. Would a violation be a faulty material or ‘design’ that excludes coverage under Air Cover? Under your own insurance policy? I don’t know.
So my takeaway is it’s not by any stretch a ‘no brainer’ for a Host to simply approve, without research, a guest using an extension cord to power their EV. The Host might be taking on an uninsured liability and regardless, might be taking the chance of an accident or injury.
We had a gas powered vehicle spontaneously combust. We were at a hockey game with the kids one afternoon when someone came running in, “there’s a car on fire in the parking lot!” Lucky us.
Toyota had a recall for fires in gas powered vehicles. I think it was in 2020. Huyundai and Kia currently have recalls for spontaneous fires (but I think that might be hybrid models so not sure which part is the issue).
Almost daily, auto manufacturers, appliance manufacturers, even companies that sell food have recalls due to issues that are health hazards - sometimes danger to the owners of these items.
Crock pots that will spontaneously combust, cars that lose steering or brakes, etc - it is a long list.
Singling out ‘EVs’ as a danger and not reconciling yourself to the fact that danger exists with any manufactured product tends to make me ask two questions: where are the stats, and what broadcast channel do you watch…
Within the context of this thread topic: charging EVs at your STR, the article you posted does not address the fire risks associated with charging your EV (especially with unapproved extension cords) vs the fire risks of parking a gas powered vehicle at the STR… which is really what we are talking about here. A parked gas powered car poses zero risk of catching fire, unless it is doused with gas and a lit match is thrown onto it, or someone rigs it with a bomb and sets it off with their cell phone. Zero risk of a gas powered vehicle spontaneously combusting on its own without some type of vandalism or a wildfire blowing through the neighborhood. So charging an EV does in fact have a higher risk of catching fire than a gas powered vehicle.
I have a friend who ran into their own home, not an Airbnb, but it happens often enough. The front of my Airbnb is right by their side of the driveway. It’s only 10 feet from the edge of the concrete pad to the front of my house. if someone comes in drunk, or has a malfunction and smashes the front of my house, I’m going to be in a world of hurt… I think it’s time to consider a fence across that part of the yard. That will also keep the neighbor’s nuisance dog pack out of my yard.
Stats are also misleading. The article says ICE vehicles are 10 times more likely to catch fire than EVs… and yet what they don’t mention is that EVs comprise only 2% of the vehicles on the road.
Is it? Who is we? If we is all of us then you are incorrect. It seems to me that this conversation is not just you and the OP. You’ve decided it’s a thread about EV vs gasoline vehicles. Some of us think it’s a thread about seeing terrifying video clips and then irrationally assigning a risk to that and as a consequence taking an action: No charging of electric or hybrid vehicles. Such vehicles must be parked in the street. If someone is risk averse to a car posing a danger to their home then all vehicles should be parked in the street. Of course vehicles parked in the street have different risk factors attached. If we go down that tangent then we get pretty far from the OP’s points. Nevertheless, like anywhere else on the internet, topic policing is rarely effective here.
I’m not sure about in Australia but here in the US, insurance companies, auto companies and the authorities are all on the same side. Authorities place the interests of big business like car makers and insurance companies ahead of the interests of individual business owners like an Airbnb host. But you are right to focus on what insurance is doing because if these cars really pose a serious risk then the insurance industry will give you the tell since that’s the whole basis of their business.
As @Spark pointed out – a distinction I had missed – is that one of the triggers for an EV to combust is the charging process itself.
So, for a Host where the EV is charging at their property, there is a risk of combustion that a regular internal-combustion engine doesn’t face while being simply parked there.
You’re right to point out that the risk is low (especially with a Level 2 charger) but it’s a substantially greater risk combustion than for a regular non-EV car, especially if the guest is using an improper extension cord (including using an extension cord when the manufacturer says not to use one – something the Host would not normally know).
The OP, Pam, started this with a concern about allowing EVs to charge their vehicles at her STR. There is a risk to allowing that, as it turns out. Subsequently, other commenters wanted to dilute the EV risk by saying ICE vehicles pose a greater risk of fire, and I responded that they have less of a risk when they are parked and not running. All on point with the conversation.
This is why I suggested that hosts invest in a proper extension cord if they are going to have guests charging EVs. Better still is not to use an extension cord at all if possible. An outdoor GFI plug that guests can park close enough to so as not to need an extension cord, if the host doesn’t provide a level 2 charger, would be the safest option.
I agree that it’s better that the Host invest in a proper extension cord as listed above (the Camco cord).
BUT, by providing the extension cord it seems implicit to the guest that it’s OK to use an extension cord. But it might not be OK per the manufacturer’s instructions, which the Host will not know.
ALSO, looking at that 2010 MA document (which is ‘informational’ and perhaps not law or current law) there were additional requirements (or just ‘guidance’ in Massachusetts) like having a switch, and this requirement that I don’t understand:
Also, it ‘seemed’ [unsure about this]
And they also said that it should not 'interfere with foot traffic".
So, all of a sudden, it seemed more complicated!
I did write code compliance in MA and asked them about this. They wrote back this morning that they didn’t know and that I should contact the vehicle’s manufacturer for instructions. 
The percentage of EV vehicles on the road is irrelevant to the percentage of EV vehicles out there that caught fire compared to gas-powered. 10% more likely is 10% more likely whether the base number is 1000 vehicles or 100,000.
Well, I don’t know if this is being proposed by those responding to the OP, though @Pam1 did suggest that, as it is the Host’s right to do so.
@LakeLife is pointing out that there is some risk to an EV charging that doesn’t apply to an internal combustion engine. @Spark made that point early on. I really had been poking a little fun at the concern of the OP but as I read about this, I came around to there being some risk but I focused on how the EV was charged on the rationale that if the charging is done in a safe and lawful manner that the risk, though non-zero (thinking of Oppenheimer), was acceptable.
Level 1 charging introduces unknowns because the Host won’t know what the manufacturer of the EV says about extension cords, and that if they do say extension cords are OK the Host will want to know what the local municipal requirements are, if any, including trip/fall risks, and craft rules accordingly.
One takeaway for many Hosts might be to prohibit Level 1 charging, or if they’re going to permit it, to develop some procedure for Level 1 charging in accord with any local codes.
If they decide to provide an extension cord, I would think a rule along these lines might be appropriate:
"If you want to charge your electrical vehicle from a household plug, please let me know and I can provide an extension cord. However, it’s your responsibility to: 1) make sure to follow your vehicle’s manufacturer’s instructions on whether it is safe to use any extension cord and whether the provided cord is appropriate, and 2) to place the cord in such a way as to avoid trips and falls.
[If I were to permit Level 1 charging I would consider getting a sign that the guest could put over the cord that would warn about the cord.]
Tripping over an extension cord is not a hazard specific to EV charging. Hosts can do everything to make sure their properties are safe, but can’t ensure guests don’t do something unsafe.
I’ve read of hosts finding out their guests brought electric heaters or other appliances, brought and used their own extension cords, strung extension cords from their campers to the house, blown breakers, etc. As they say, you can’t fix stupid.
But if the Host permits Level 1 charging (worse if the Host charges additionally) and knows that the cord will need to be placed in a walkway – and so a trip hazard – the Host might be deemed responsible.
Maybe I’ve seen too many episodes of The Practice and saw and heard Bobby Donnell’s withering disdain as he cross examined witnesses.
So, you knew that the guest HAD to put that cord across the walkway, that there was NO WAY for the guest to avoid that -- that walkway where four other guests, guests paying YOU, would walk -- and you did not provide duct tape, you did not provide signage, you did not provide ANYTHING, and now an eight-year old boy lives as a paraplegic for the rest of his life because you did NOTHING -- and you blame your paying GUEST?? Is that your story?
Oh my goodness… this EV discussion… we just had some lovely guests stay with their week-old EV Cadillac. We allowed them to use our 110 plug (slow upload for them). That’s not the story. They could not find a working charging station in our area. They went to five! None was working, so they decided to come home (to us) and hunker down. They ended up staying here the full three days, plugged in so that they could have enough energy to get home.
It was disappointing bc they weren’t able to enjoy the sights, but we enjoyed their company. They were fun. We ended up becoming friends (our Airbnb is an apartment in our home).
Hopefully the problem of charging stations is fixed!! (North Carolina)
Which is why I won’t be buying one for a long time.
What a great story. I’ve become friends with some guests as well and it certainly makes the “job” so much more rewarding.
Plus, I believe many EV’s require a proprietary charging hook up so if you’re not providing that, you don’t need to worry they’re going to charge at your place. However, I see from other posts that a work-around is possible, so if it makes you feel better just make it clear in the listing (pre-booking) that you don’t allow charging. Given EV’s are becoming the standard, to forbid them to even park in front of the accoms is unnecessarily restrictive.
I think the biggest concern of EV fires is how long it takes to extinguish them & how much water they use putting them out…
