Is there a free grant for installing loft insulation? Yes, in November 2026, but only through specific routes, and one of them is about to close. The Great British Insulation Scheme stopped taking new applications on 31 March 2026, so any guide still telling you to apply for it is out of date. The routes that remain are ECO4, which runs until 31 December 2026 with supplier funding that is now very limited, and the Warm Homes: Local Grant in England, which runs until 31 March 2028 and is delivered through your council. If you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, the schemes are different, so check the devolved scheme for your nation rather than applying for an England only grant.

The short answer is therefore a qualified yes. Free loft insulation is still available in November 2026 for households that meet the eligibility rules of one of the live schemes, and the loft itself must need the work. A home that already has a full 270mm layer of mineral wool loft insulation is unlikely to qualify for a top up, because there is nothing left to gain. A home with no loft insulation, or a thin layer well below 270mm, is the kind of home these schemes are designed for.

Is there a free grant for installing loft insulation in November 2026?

There is no single national free loft insulation grant that anyone can claim. There are three live or closing routes to check, in this order. First, ECO4, the Energy Company Obligation scheme, which requires larger energy suppliers to fund insulation and heating upgrades for lower income and vulnerable households in Great Britain. Second, ECO4 Flex, where your local council can refer you if you are on a low income or vulnerable to living in a cold home, even if you do not receive a qualifying benefit. Third, the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which is England only, is delivered by councils, and covers loft insulation among other measures. The right route depends on where you live, your home’s energy rating, and your household income or benefits.

Timing matters more than usual this month. ECO4 was extended to 31 December 2026 to wind down, with no new supplier targets and no successor supplier obligation. Several October 2026 guides report that most suppliers have used up, or nearly used up, their ECO4 funding, so an application in November is not a guarantee of work. The Warm Homes: Local Grant, by contrast, is funded to March 2028, but only while your council has funding left, and some councils have already paused new applications after using their current year allocation. Apply through the live route first, and do not wait for a future scheme that has not been announced.

Who qualifies for free loft insulation through ECO4?

ECO4 is a means tested scheme, not a grant that every homeowner can claim. To qualify through the main ECO4 route, you generally need to own your home or rent privately, and someone in the household needs to receive a qualifying benefit, such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, or Child Benefit subject to its income limit. Your home also needs an energy performance certificate, or EPC, rating of D to G if you own it, or E to G if you rent privately. If you do not have an EPC, you may still be assessed, because the test is whether your home needs energy efficiency improvements.

ECO4 is not, strictly speaking, a grant scheme. Ofgem, the regulator, states that ECO is not a grant scheme, and that different suppliers or installers may provide different levels or types of support. In practice that means work is often fully funded for eligible households, but you can be asked to contribute, and any amount you pay towards an ECO4 measure must be recorded. Ask the installer in writing, before any work starts, whether you will be asked for a contribution, and how much. If anyone promises free work without a survey, or asks for an upfront fee to secure a grant, treat that as a warning sign and check with your council or supplier first.

ECO4 covers loft insulation as a first time installation or as a top up, alongside cavity wall, solid wall, underfloor, flat roof and room in roof insulation, plus heating upgrades in some homes. A retrofit assessment decides which measures suit your property. Heating measures come with insulation preconditions, so you cannot always pick a single measure in isolation. For loft insulation specifically, the survey will check how much insulation is already there, whether the loft is boarded or used for storage, and whether ventilation and access need attention before more insulation goes in.

What is ECO4 Flex, and who can it help?

ECO4 Flex, also called LA Flex, is the route for households that do not receive a qualifying benefit but are still on a low income or vulnerable to the effects of a cold home. Your local council sets its own statement of intent, which is the document that says who it will refer, so the exact income threshold and health criteria vary by council. Council guidance commonly cites a household income under about £31,000 a year, or a health condition made worse by the cold, as the kind of circumstances that can support a referral. Those figures are council level guidance, not a national ECO4 rule, so the only reliable answer for your home comes from your own council.

To use ECO4 Flex, contact your local council and ask whether it operates an ECO4 Flex scheme and whether your household would be referred. You do not need to use a company that charges to apply for you. The council referral does not guarantee funding, because the supplier still has to have funding available and the home still has to pass its assessment, but it is the correct door for households that fall outside the benefits route.

Who qualifies for the Warm Homes: Local Grant?

The Warm Homes: Local Grant is the main ongoing route for funded loft insulation in England. It is delivered by local councils, and it pays for insulation, low carbon heating and solar panels, with the measures chosen after a home survey. To qualify, your home must be in England, privately owned by the occupier or privately rented, and rated EPC D to G. A home without an EPC can still apply, and an EPC can be arranged as part of the process.

On the household side, you need to meet one of three tests: a gross household income of usually £36,000 a year or less, receipt of a qualifying means tested benefit, or an address in an eligible postcode, which is based on deprivation data. Social housing is not eligible for this grant, because social homes are covered by a separate fund. Owner occupiers are not normally expected to contribute, while private landlords may be asked to contribute towards the cost, with the amount agreed before work begins. If you are a private tenant, you need your landlord’s consent before work can go ahead.

Applying is free, and you do not need a company to apply for you. Use the GOV.UK eligibility checker for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, or call the helpline on 0800 098 7950. If you are eligible and your council has funding available, the council will arrange a home survey, and councils commonly say they will contact you within about 10 working days. The survey decides the measures, and insulation is often prioritised before heating, because a fabric first approach means insulating the home before fitting a new heating system. All work must follow the PAS 2035 retrofit standard, and installers must be TrustMark registered.

Two practical warnings apply. First, your council must actually be taking part and must have funding left. Some councils have paused new applications in autumn 2026 after using their current year allocation, and are reviewing applications ahead of the next scheme year from 1 April 2027. Second, in Greater Manchester the ten councils are not in the national scheme, and the combined authority runs its own version, so residents there should use the Greater Manchester retrofit route instead of the national checker.

What if you do not qualify for any grant?

If no live scheme covers your home, loft insulation is still one of the cheapest retrofit measures, and it is worth pricing honestly rather than waiting for a grant that may never come. The Energy Saving Trust says current building regulations recommend a minimum depth of 270mm for mineral wool insulation, usually laid in two layers, one between the ceiling joists and one across them, so the joists are covered and the blanket is continuous. The same guidance puts the cost of insulating an empty loft to 270mm at £750 for a semi detached house in Great Britain, and topping up from 120mm to 270mm at £600.

The saving from a top up alone is small, and it is better to know that before you pay. The Energy Saving Trust puts the saving from increasing insulation from around 120mm to 270mm at £17 a year in Great Britain. That is because the first layer of insulation does most of the work, and each extra layer adds less. The saving from insulating an empty loft is much larger, because you are going from nothing to a full layer, but it still varies by house type, heating fuel and energy prices, so treat any single saving figure as a guide rather than a promise. Loft insulation installed correctly has a lifespan of around 40 years, according to the Energy Saving Trust, which is why it still pays over time even when the yearly saving from a top up looks modest.

If you pay for the work yourself, use a TrustMark registered installer, or follow the manufacturer’s guidance carefully if you do it yourself, and do not block ventilation, cover downlights that are not rated for it, or squash insulation into a thinner layer than specified, because compressed insulation insulates less well. Keep access to water tanks and pipework, and keep the loft hatch insulated and draught proofed, because an uninsulated hatch is a hole in the blanket you have just laid.

How to apply for a free loft insulation grant, step by step

First, check your EPC rating on the GOV.UK energy certificate register, and measure your existing loft insulation with a ruler. If you can see the tops of the joists, or you measure well below 270mm, your loft is a candidate. Second, work out which route fits: benefits and EPC D to G points to ECO4, low income or vulnerability without benefits points to ECO4 Flex through your council, and England, EPC D to G, plus income, benefits or postcode points to the Warm Homes: Local Grant. Third, apply through the official route for that scheme, not through a cold caller. For ECO4, contact an obligated energy supplier or your council. For the Warm Homes: Local Grant, use the GOV.UK checker or the helpline, and let the council arrange the survey.

Fourth, expect a survey before anyone promises work. The surveyor should carry photo identification, should not try to sell you anything extra, and should not ask for bank details. Fifth, get the agreed measures and any contribution in writing before work starts, and check that the installer is TrustMark registered and working to PAS 2035. Sixth, after installation, check that the insulation reaches 270mm where specified, that ventilation is not blocked, and that you have the paperwork for the work, because that paperwork matters if you later sell the home or claim further measures.

How does this differ from earlier free insulation guides?

Earlier guides, including our own free insulation guide from October 2026, described a landscape with three live routes. That landscape has changed in one important way: the Great British Insulation Scheme is closed, and it has no direct replacement for households that are not on low incomes or benefits. The scheme ran from April 2023 to 31 March 2026, delivered mainly single insulation measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation, and covered homes in council tax bands A to D in England, or A to E in Scotland and Wales, with an EPC rating of D to G. If an installer, advert or older web page still offers you a GBIS grant in November 2026, that offer is out of date.

The other change is urgency. ECO4 closes on 31 December 2026, and the Warm Homes: Local Grant depends on your council having funding left. That is why this article answers the loft question narrowly, rather than repeating a general grants list. If your loft needs insulation and you meet the rules, the time to check is now, while at least one route is still open for your home.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free grant for installing loft insulation if I am not on benefits?

Possibly, through ECO4 Flex or the Warm Homes: Local Grant. ECO4 Flex lets councils refer low income or vulnerable households that do not receive a qualifying benefit, with thresholds set by each council. The Warm Homes: Local Grant in England accepts households with a gross income of usually £36,000 or less, or an address in an eligible postcode, as well as households receiving benefits. Neither route is open to every homeowner, and both depend on funding being available.

Is there a free grant for installing loft insulation in Scotland or Wales?

ECO4 covers Great Britain, so it applies in Scotland and Wales as well as England, subject to the same benefits and EPC rules. The Warm Homes: Local Grant is England only. Scotland has Warmer Homes Scotland, delivered through Home Energy Scotland, and Wales has the Nest scheme, so check the devolved scheme for your nation for the full list of measures and eligibility rules.

How much loft insulation do I need to qualify?

There is no published rule that says a loft must have less than a precise depth to qualify, but the survey decides based on what is already there. A loft with no insulation, or a thin layer well below the recommended 270mm for mineral wool, is the clearest case. A loft that already reaches 270mm is unlikely to gain from a top up, and a scheme is unlikely to fund work that adds little.

Will a grant cover the full cost of loft insulation?

Often yes for eligible households, but not always, and never assume it before the survey. ECO4 is not a grant scheme in the strict sense, and you can be asked to contribute. The Warm Homes: Local Grant does not normally ask owner occupiers to contribute, but landlords may be asked to contribute, and the amount is agreed before work begins. Get the contribution, if any, in writing first.

Can a private tenant get free loft insulation?

Yes, if the home and household meet the scheme rules, but the landlord must give consent before work goes ahead. For ECO4, a privately rented home generally needs an EPC rating of E to G, while an owner occupied home needs D to G. For the Warm Homes: Local Grant, a privately rented home needs EPC D to G and the landlord’s agreement, and the landlord may be asked to contribute.

What should I do if a company says my grant is about to expire?

Check the claim with your council or energy supplier before you sign anything or let anyone into your home. ECO4 does close on 31 December 2026, so urgency about that scheme is real, but urgency is also a common pressure tactic. A genuine scheme will arrange a survey, will not ask for an upfront fee to secure funding, and will not ask for bank details at the door.

Related reading

How Thick Should Loft Insulation Be? explains the 270mm recommendation and how to measure what you already have. Who Qualifies for Free Insulation Grants in the UK in 2026? covers the wider grants picture, including cavity wall and solid wall insulation. Can You Get Free Insulation and a Heat Pump? Warm Homes Local Grant Eligibility Explained goes deeper on the council delivered route, including landlord rules and the survey process.

Sources

Energy Saving Trust, Roof and loft insulation guide: 270mm minimum recommendation for mineral wool, £750 to insulate an empty loft to 270mm and £600 to top up from 120mm for a semi detached house in Great Britain, £17 a year saving from a 120mm to 270mm top up in Great Britain, and around 40 year lifespan when installed correctly. Energy Saving Trust roof and loft insulation guide. ECO4 and GBIS status, October 2026: ECO4 runs until 31 December 2026, GBIS closed 31 March 2026, ECO is not a grant scheme. Insulation grants 2026: ECO4, GBIS and what you can get and Energy grant checker UK 2026. Warm Homes: Local Grant eligibility and application route: England only, EPC D to G, income usually £36,000 or less, benefits or eligible postcode, delivery to 31 March 2028, GOV.UK checker and helpline 0800 098 7950. Warm Homes: Local Grant guide and MoneySavingExpert Warm Homes: Local Grant guide. Great British Insulation Scheme closure and former eligibility: closed 31 March 2026, no longer taking applications. MoneySavingExpert Great British Insulation Scheme guide.