---
title: "Car park physically adjacent to a building"
description: "Car park physically adjacent to a building (EPBD IV): parking for a building's residents, visitors or workers on its property or in its direct vicinity."
canonical: "https://gencompl.ai/glossary/car-park-physically-adjacent-to-a-building"
language: "en-US"
type: "Glossary term"
published: "2026-10-14T18:27:33.699Z"
modified: "2026-10-14T19:01:15.354Z"
---

# Car park physically adjacent to a building

A car park which is intended for the use of residents, visitors or workers of a building and which is located within the property area of the building or is in the direct vicinity of the building.

**What does "Car park physically adjacent to a building" mean under EPBD IV?**

Defined in: [EPBD IV](https://gencompl.ai/regulations/epbd) (32024L1275)

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> A car park which is intended for the use of residents, visitors or workers of a building and which is located within the property area of the building or is in the direct vicinity of the building

## Defined in / by

- [EPBD IV (32024L1275)](https://gencompl.ai/regulations/epbd), Article 2, point (65)

Last updated: 14 October 2026.

## Use and location together

The definition joins two tests. The car park must be intended for the residents, visitors or workers of a building, and it must be located within the property area of the building or in its direct vicinity. A public car park across the street that serves the whole neighbourhood fails the first test; a staff car park on the company's own site passes both.

The term decides when the car park counts with the building. Article 14(1) applies the recharging, pre-cabling and bicycle parking rules for new non-residential buildings and major renovations where the car park is located inside the building, or where it is physically adjacent to the building and, for major renovations, the renovation measures include the car park or its electrical infrastructure. Article 14(2) and (4) contain the same structure for existing non-residential buildings and for residential buildings. Article 10(3)(e) uses the term for solar: new roofed car parks physically adjacent to buildings need suitable solar installations by 31 December 2029.

For an owner, the term answers a practical question: whether the parking spaces on the site are counted when deciding if a building has more than five or more than 20 spaces. Spaces in an adjacent car park intended for the building's users are counted; spaces elsewhere are not.

The Directive does not define direct vicinity in distance.

> **What we could not establish**
>
> "Direct vicinity" has no distance attached, so a car park a short walk away may or may not be adjacent. National rules or guidance decide. This entry fixes the term. It does not decide whether the term catches your institution; counsel decides that.

## Questions and answers

### Does a car park across the road count as physically adjacent?

Only if it is intended for the use of residents, visitors or workers of the building and is in the direct vicinity of the building. EPBD IV does not give a distance for direct vicinity.

### Why does adjacency matter for recharging points?

Article 14 applies its recharging duties to car parks inside the building or physically adjacent to it, so adjacent spaces count towards the five-space and 20-space thresholds.

## Sources

- [Directive (EU) 2024/1275 on the energy performance of buildings (recast)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1275/oj/eng) (EUR-Lex · 8 May 2024)

## Related content

### Regulation

- [Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD IV)](https://gencompl.ai/regulations/epbd): EPBD IV is Directive (EU) 2024/1275, the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The Netherlands put its first tranche into force on 29 May 2026 (Stb. 2026, 103), with duties staged to 2033: recharging points in existing car parks from 1 January 2027, solar and lighting control from 1 January 2028. Energy label D by 2030 is still a proposal.