The Warm Homes:Local Grant: who qualifies and how to apply

What is the Warm Homes: Local Grant?

It is England's main fully funded home upgrade scheme for lower-income households, paid for by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and delivered by local councils. Funding allocations were announced on 11 March 2025, and the delivery window runs from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2028. In Greater Manchester and the West Midlands the money goes through the combined authority.

It replaced two earlier council-run schemes and, unlike them, covers homes both on and off the gas grid. Councils decide what work each home needs after a survey, within rules set by DESNZ. For the full picture of support in 2026, see our home energy grants guide.

Who qualifies?

Your home must meet the property rules, and your household must meet one of three income routes. You only need one of the three.

Park homes can qualify if they are your permanent home and reach an energy performance equivalent to band D to G. If you do not know your rating, you can find it when you apply, or look it up first with our EPC tool. Our guide to reading your EPC explains what the bands mean.

What upgrades can you get?

GOV.UK lists wall, loft and underfloor insulation, air source heat pumps, smart controls and solar panels as examples. DESNZ guidance allows councils to fund measures recognised in the EPC methodology that are not fossil fuel based, and it also covers home batteries used with solar panels. Some measures, such as external and internal wall insulation, double or triple glazing and solar thermal, have price limits councils must meet on average.

• Councils can spend up to £16,600 per home on energy performance upgrades such as insulation and solar, and up to £16,600 per home on low carbon heating. These caps are averaged across a council's project, so an individual home can receive more or less.
• A new gas boiler cannot be funded. In limited hybrid cases, in homes currently heated by mains gas, only the heat pump part can be paid for.
• Low carbon heating is available to homes of all fuel types, but the council must give you clear advice on what it means for your bills.
• All work must follow the PAS 2035 retrofit standard, which means an assessment and a coordinated plan rather than a single product sold on the doorstep.

Is it really free?

For most people, yes. DESNZ guidance says owner-occupiers are not required or expected to contribute, which is meant to protect households from being pushed into paying. Tenants do not contribute either. You can choose to pay for extras the council's retrofit coordinator has not recommended, such as cosmetic work, where the council agrees.

Landlords are treated differently. One eligible home per landlord can be fully funded, and the landlord pays a 50% contribution for each further home. The guidance says this is kept under review. For landlords, the scheme can help towards the rising minimum energy standard covered in our guide to landlord EPC rules.

How do you apply, and how do councils run it?

1. Check your eligibility and apply online through the GOV.UK 'Apply for the Warm Homes: Local Grant' page. You do not need to track down a separate council scheme first: after you apply, your local council contacts you.
2. If you need help using the online service, call the assisted digital helpline on 0800 098 7950, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, and Saturday 9am to 12pm.
3. If you are eligible and your council has funding available, it will usually contact you within 10 working days to ask for more information and arrange a survey.
4. You provide evidence: proof of ownership or tenancy, residence and identity, plus proof of benefits or income if you qualify that way.
5. A retrofit assessment follows, and the council agrees a package of work with you.
6. The council organises the installers and pays them directly.

Funding is allocated council by council, so what is on offer and how quickly it moves depends on where you live. Installers working on the scheme must be TrustMark registered and certified to PAS 2030 or by MCS for the measures they fit, and all work is lodged with TrustMark.

How do you avoid Warm Homes grant scams?

Government schemes with 'free' in the headline attract fraudsters. The Energy Saving Trust lists the usual signs: being contacted unexpectedly, a deal that looks too good to be true, pressure to pay quickly or in an unusual way, and requests for passwords, PINs or personal details. For this grant specifically:

• The scheme is free to apply for. Nobody should ask for a fee to 'register', 'secure' or 'fast-track' your grant.
• Genuine applications start on GOV.UK. Be wary of a caller, text or social media advert that sends you to another website to apply.
• Your council contacts you after you apply. A cold call or doorstep visit claiming you have already been approved is a warning sign.
• Ask anyone who comes to survey your home which council they are working for, then check with the council using contact details you find yourself.

If you have given away bank details or paid money, call your bank straight away. Report fraud to Report Fraud, the police service that replaced Action Fraud in December 2025, at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040 (Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland). Forward scam texts to 7726 and suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.

What if you do not qualify?

Other help does not depend on income. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme takes £7,500 off an air source or ground source heat pump in England and Wales, and installing insulation, heat pumps, solar panels and batteries is zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027. Check whether a heat pump grant fits your home with our BUS eligibility checker, or plan your retrofit to put upgrades in a sensible order.

Common questions