British Gas and Zaptec have launched a communal electric vehicle (EV) charging tariff pilot in what they believe is a UK first.
The initiative is designed to make EV charging less costly for property developers, landlords and residents in flats and other shared living spaces.
Subject to business energy rates, the pair say that communal charging has to date, remained more expensive than individual home charging.
They claim this tariff is the first of its kind to address long-standing concerns about the wide disparity between public and private charging rates.
Matt Wood, director of British Gas Business, explained: "For years, the lack of fair and accessible charging options has been a barrier to EV adoption for those without private off-road parking.
"This is an important project, championing lower costs for both landlords and residents. British Gas are proud to be leading this change with Zaptec."
Those taking part in the pilot can expect to benefit from lower costs, with British Gas saying residents should see the cost of charging drop by more than 50% on both the average day and night rates.
While commercial charging rates are bespoke to each property, it is expected that daytime charging rates will come in at around 22p/kWh with overnight rates approximately 15p/kWh.
The scheme should also see landlords benefit from reduced shared infrastructure costs - dropping from around £400 to £40 per month.
Michael Braybrook, managing director UK at Zaptec, said: "Until now, residents in flats and shared buildings have been stuck on the sidelines of the EV transition.
"This partnership finally changes that. It gives a long-overlooked segment of the market access to fairly priced, high-quality charging that simply hasn't existed before.
"Partnering with British Gas allows us to deliver a complete, scalable solution that makes communal charging both practical and affordable and that's a major step forward for EV accessibility in the UK."
The 12-month pilot is designed to explore residents' use of their communal chargers, allowing next stage roll-out to be tailored more closely to customer needs.
Jade Edwards, head of insights at Zapmap, welcomed the move. "Our analysis of annual driving costs shows that the ability to charge at home, rather than relying wholly on public charging, can make a dramatic difference to the cost of driving electric and in turn encourage more people to make the switch," she said.
"Giving people fair access to home charging, regardless of their living arrangements, together with measures to address the high cost of public charging, will be critical to ensuring that EV adoption continues at pace."