The Ministry of Construction has issued Circular No. 31/2026/TT-BXD on Amending 01:2026 QCVN 04:2021/BXD - National technical regulations on apartment buildings, supplementing regulations related to parking spaces, electric vehicle charging areas and battery exchange areas for both newly built and existing apartment buildings. The Circular takes effect from December 15, 2026.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Dinh Quoc Dan - Deputy Director of the Institute of Construction Science and Technology (Ministry of Construction) said that for existing apartment buildings, the arrangement of electric vehicle charging areas is carried out in a flexible direction, based on spatial conditions and the actual capacity of the electrical and fire prevention and fighting (PCCC) systems of each building.
However, to ensure safety, investors and apartment building management boards must review and assess the current status and meet core technical requirements according to regulations.
Accordingly, first of all, it is necessary to optimize the location of arrangement and isolate the charging area. Standards prioritize arranging outdoor charging areas, on the ground or in the basement 1. In case placed in deeper basements, it is mandatory to apply additional technology and technical solutions and be approved by competent authorities.
In terms of space, the charging area must be separated from other functional areas; and clearly separate the electric car charging area and the electric motorbike charging area. The associated partitions and technical solutions must fully comply with the specific requirements of the standard to limit risks when incidents occur.
In addition, Circular 31 requires existing apartment buildings to upgrade specialized fire prevention and fighting systems in the electric vehicle charging area. Fire prevention and fighting infrastructure must be equipped with automatic fire alarm and fire fighting systems and camera surveillance to transmit live images to the on-duty room with continuous 24/24 hour monitoring.
At the same time, ventilation and smoke aspiration systems must meet technical requirements; it is mandatory to install equipment to measure and warn about the concentration of toxic gases generated from battery burning such as carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrofluoric acid (HF).
In addition to fire prevention and fighting requirements, the regulation also supplements electrical safety requirements. Specifically, the power supply system for the charging station must be designed to be completely separate from the electrical system serving common living of the building. The power supply for the charging station must be interconnected to automatically disconnect when the fire alarm system issues a signal; and at the same time, it is necessary to arrange manual emergency power outage devices in an easily accessible and easy-to-operate location. The installation of charging devices in the basement must also control the nominal capacity to limit the risk of internal power grid overload and heat incidents.
According to Mr. Dinh Quoc Dan, in the process of implementation, if difficulties and obstacles arise, units can send opinions to the Ministry of Construction or the Institute of Construction Science and Technology for guidance and timely answers.
According to regulations, apartment buildings have a 6-month transition period from the date Circular 31 takes effect to review and adjust infrastructure to meet new standards. The Department of Housing and Real Estate Market Management, specialized management agencies and the Institute of Construction Science and Technology will also coordinate to organize dissemination and guidance on application, and at the same time inspect and supervise the implementation of Amending 01:2026 QCVN 04:2021/BXD, to ensure unified and effective implementation of issues of social concern.
