Warm Homes: Local Grant Explained
A guide to the Warm Homes: Local Grant, covering who qualifies, how to apply, and what to do if you don't.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant pays for home energy upgrades outright for lower-income households in England. Your council organises the work and covers the cost, and you contribute nothing. Here's who qualifies, how to apply, and what to do if it isn't the right fit for you.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant is applied for directly on GOV.UK. We send eligible homeowners to the official route on purpose, because there's no reason to go anywhere else first.
Apply on GOV.UKWhat is the Warm Homes: Local Grant?
It's a government-funded scheme that pays for home energy upgrades such as insulation, an air source heat pump, solar panels, and smart heating controls, for eligible households in England. Unlike previous grant schemes that ran through energy suppliers, this one is administered by your local council, which checks eligibility, arranges a home survey, and organises the work.
You will not need to pay for it. The council pays for the improvements it agrees with you. This isn't a discount or a loan. The one exception is landlords, who may be asked to contribute towards some measures on a rented property.
The scheme runs until March 2028, giving councils several years to work through applications.
Where it fits: the Warm Homes Plan
The Warm Homes: Local Grant is one part of the Warm Homes Plan, the government's £15 billion programme to upgrade up to 5 million homes by 2030. The same plan funds the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and a new set of low- and zero-interest consumer loans. In short: the Local Grant is the route for lower-income households, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is the route for everyone else.
ECO4 is closing
ECO4, the energy-supplier scheme many households used for funded insulation and heating upgrades, ends on 31 December 2026, and no successor supplier obligation is replacing it. For lower-income households in England, the Warm Homes: Local Grant is the main route from that point on.
Who is it for?
To qualify, your home must:
- Be in England
- Be privately owned, either by you as an owner-occupier, or by your landlord
- Have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D, E, F or G
Your household income must usually be £36,000 a year or less. You may still qualify above that threshold if you live in a certain postcode area, or if someone in your household receives a qualifying benefit. Your council can confirm whether your postcode is one of them.
All heating fuel types are eligible, whether your home is on or off the gas grid.
How it works
- You apply at gov.uk/apply-warm-homes-local-grant.
- Your local council usually contacts you within 10 working days to gather more information and arrange a home survey.
- The survey works out which upgrades your property needs.
- The council allocates the work to an installer it has already procured, one holding TrustMark certification plus either PAS 2030 or MCS accreditation.
- The council organises and pays for the work you've agreed.
You don't select your own installer under this scheme, which is the main practical difference from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme below.
What's covered
- Home insulation (loft, cavity wall, solid wall, or underfloor)
- Air source heat pumps
- Solar panels
- Smart heating controls
The exact package for your home depends on what the survey recommends, and not every household receives every measure.
If you don't qualify
Income or location rules out plenty of homeowners who still want a heat pump. If that's you, two routes are worth knowing about:
- The Boiler Upgrade Scheme. £7,500 towards a heat pump for most eligible homeowners regardless of income. The £9,000 uplift is limited to qualifying off-gas-grid oil or LPG replacements with air-to-water or ground-source heat pumps. Claimed through any MCS-certified installer you choose yourself. Read our guide to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
- Installer finance.Many installers listed on this directory offer their own finance plans to spread the cost of a heat pump. Look for “Finance available” on a listing.
For every route side by side, including the separate schemes covering Scotland and Wales, see our overview of UK heat pump grants.
Find an installer
Check the certification and procurement rules of the scheme you use. A directory listing does not establish a firm's current status or its eligibility for council work.
Compare installer listings near you →
Frequently asked questions
Is the Warm Homes: Local Grant the same as ECO4?
No. ECO4 is a supplier obligation scheme that ends on 31 December 2026, and there is no successor supplier obligation to replace it. The Warm Homes: Local Grant is a separate, council-run scheme funded directly by government and available in England until March 2028. If you don't qualify for it, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is the main alternative route to a grant for a heat pump.
How much is the Warm Homes: Local Grant worth?
There isn't a fixed cash figure, because it isn't paid to you. Your local council organises the upgrades your home's survey recommends and pays for them, so you will not need to pay for the work. The package might include insulation, an air source heat pump, solar panels or smart heating controls, depending on what your property needs and what your council has procured. Landlords may be asked to contribute towards some measures.
What if I don't qualify for the Warm Homes: Local Grant?
You may still be eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in England or Wales. Its standard grant for an eligible air-to-water or ground-source heat pump is £7,500; the £9,000 uplift requires an eligible off-gas-grid oil or LPG replacement with one of those technologies from 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027. An MCS-certified, BUS-registered installer applies on your behalf. Check the current rules and any finance offer directly.
Who installs the work under the Warm Homes: Local Grant?
Your local council allocates the work to installers it has already procured. Those installers must hold TrustMark certification plus either PAS 2030 or MCS accreditation. You don't choose your own installer under this scheme, which is the main difference from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, where you can pick any MCS-certified installer yourself.
How long does it take to hear back?
After you apply on GOV.UK, your local council will usually contact you within 10 working days to gather more information and arrange a home survey. The scheme runs until March 2028, so councils have time to work through applications, but demand is high in many areas and budgets are allocated locally.