Who qualifies for the Warm Homes Local Grant? Warm Homes Local Grant eligibility is simpler than the scheme’s full name suggests: if you live in England, in a privately owned home rated EPC D, E, F or G, and your gross household income is £36,000 a year or less, you could qualify for up to £30,000 of free energy upgrades, split between insulation-style improvements and a low-carbon heating system such as a heat pump. That is the short answer. The detail matters, because councils are now writing to eligible households in batches, and knowing the thresholds before a letter arrives means you can check your own position in about five minutes.

On 2 October 2026, Hackney Council and the Greater London Authority began a phased outreach drive contacting more than 3,000 low-income households in privately owned homes, with letters going out in batches of around 500 over the coming months. The letters invite residents to check whether they qualify for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, the government scheme that pays for the upgrades. In many areas, the grant is not waiting for you to find it. Councils are finding you. This guide explains the eligibility rules, what the grant covers, how to apply, and what to do if your council’s funding pot is already spoken for.

What is the Warm Homes Local Grant?

The Warm Homes: Local Grant is a government-funded scheme delivered through local councils. It pays for energy efficiency improvements and low-carbon heating in low-income households living in the least efficient, privately owned homes in England. It replaced earlier schemes, the Local Authority Delivery (LAD) and Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) programmes, with a simpler dual cost-cap structure: up to £15,000 per home for energy performance upgrades and up to £15,000 per home for low-carbon heating, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s policy guidance for local authorities.

The stated aim is to raise a treated home’s Energy Performance Certificate rating to at least C. You cannot get a new gas boiler through the scheme; the heating pot is reserved for systems such as air source and ground source heat pumps. Both cost caps are averaged across a council’s whole project rather than guaranteed per household, so the exact package depends on what a home survey finds and what funding remains. The scheme is due to run to March 2028 on a £500 million tranche, with further funding committed under the Warm Homes Plan to 2030. Council-level money can run out sooner, which is why the Stratford-on-Avon example below matters: the council’s waiting list is already closed.

Who qualifies for the Warm Homes Local Grant? The three tests

Warm Homes Local Grant eligibility rests on three tests, applied together. Councils assess them locally, but the national criteria are the same everywhere.

Test one: where you live and who owns the home. Your home must be in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own schemes. The home must be privately owned, either owner-occupied or privately rented. It should be your main residence, and in a participating council area. If you rent privately, your landlord must apply and give permission for the work.

Test two: the EPC rating. The home must have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of D, E, F or G. If you do not have a valid certificate, most councils can arrange a survey to produce one at no cost. Check your home’s certificate on GOV.UK before you start; an E or F rated home that you assumed was a D can change the conversation.

Test three: the low-income route, three ways. You need to meet just one of these:

• Gross annual household income of £36,000 or less. The income of every adult in the household counts, other than those in full-time education. Some disability-related benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance, are excluded from the calculation.
• Someone in the household receives a means-tested benefit, such as Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, or Pension Credit. Lodgers and adults in full-time education are excluded.
• You live in a postcode within Indices of Multiple Deprivation income deciles 1 or 2, the most disadvantaged areas in England. Households on this route do not need an income verification check.

Because councils assess eligibility themselves, they can also apply local priorities. Sheffield, for example, prioritises households with children, people aged 65 or older, and people with long-term health conditions or disabilities, and gives extra weight to households with savings under £23,250. Your council’s page is always the definitive source.

What is the £25,000 savings rule?

In London, the outreach programmes add a savings test on top of the income test. Hackney Council and the GLA list household savings under £25,000 as part of their indicative criteria, and Camden Council’s published guidance states that total savings, including money in bank accounts and ISAs, must be less than £25,000. Camden adds one exception: if someone in the property is eligible for Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, the savings test does not disqualify you.

Even outside London, savings matter. Bedford Borough Council’s guidance notes that local authorities can decide not to treat a property if, despite a qualifying income, the household holds high savings or a particularly large asset value, because that would not be a reasonable use of grant funds. The practical point: add up bank accounts, ISAs and other savings before you apply, so you know where you stand.

What could the grant actually pay for?

The measures depend on the home survey, but councils and MoneySavingExpert list a wide set of possibilities:

• Insulation: cavity wall, solid or external wall, loft, room-in-roof, flat roof, underfloor and park home insulation, plus hot water cylinder insulation and thermostats.
• Low-carbon heating: air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, hybrid heat pumps, shared ground loops and, in some cases, high heat-retention storage heaters. No new gas boilers.
• Solar and power: solar PV, solar thermal, and battery storage when it complements solar PV.
• The finishing touches: heating controls, smart and digital controls, draught proofing, double or triple glazing, energy-efficient doors and low-energy lighting.

The package is designed around each home, so not every applicant gets every measure, or even a heat pump. Owner-occupiers and tenants are not expected to contribute to costs. Landlords can have one property fully funded but must pay 50 percent of costs for any additional homes upgraded after the first. If your home already has strong insulation, a heat pump or solar panels are the measures more likely to change your bills.

Why are councils writing to households in batches?

The Hackney outreach is the model other councils are following. More than 3,000 households are being contacted in batches of around 500 over the coming months, guiding residents through eligibility checks and home surveys. Councils across Greater London have received just over £53.4 million in total funding for the programme, delivered with the GLA and the Mayor of London, with money from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

If a letter arrives, here is how to handle it safely:

• Check the letter against the council’s own website. Find your council’s published Warm Homes: Local Grant page and confirm the scheme details, the named delivery partner, and the contact route before you respond.
• You never pay to apply or to receive the upgrades. The scheme is government funded; councils arrange installation with approved contractors and pay them directly. Any request for payment up front is a red flag.
• Do not share bank details on a phone call you did not initiate. Apply through the route on your council’s own website, or call the council on its published number.
• A letter is an invitation, not a guarantee. Eligibility is confirmed after checks and a home survey, and only while funding remains.

How do you apply?

There is no single national application form. You apply through your local council’s Warm Homes: Local Grant route, which your council publishes on its own website. Camden, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough and Sheffield all run their own pages with local checkers or contact points. Expect eligibility checks, evidence requests for benefits or income where relevant, and a home survey before any measures are agreed.

Two practical points from the scheme guidance. First, your postcode route may make you eligible without income checks at all, so it is worth checking your council’s postcode tool. Second, councils typically respond within around ten working days of an application, but backlogs are real: the scheme proved extremely popular when it launched, and some portals temporarily closed in late 2025 while councils worked through the queue.

What if your council says no, or its funding is paused?

Stratford-on-Avon District Council currently describes the scheme as oversubscribed, with its waiting list closed until further funding arrives. That is the honest version of the scheme’s main catch: a national budget means local rationing. If your council is paused or you do not qualify, two other routes are worth checking.

The first is ECO4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme, which remain live routes to funded insulation for eligible households. The second is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which offers grants toward heat pumps with no income restriction at all: £7,500 generally, or £9,000 for off-gas oil and LPG homes until 31 March 2027. It suits households that can contribute, unlike the Warm Homes route, which is fully funded. With the energy price cap now at £1,723 a year after the October rise, the household budget case for any of these routes is stronger than it was a year ago.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be on benefits to qualify for the Warm Homes Local Grant?

No. Benefits are only one of three income routes. A gross household income of £36,000 or less qualifies you on its own, as does living in an eligible IMD deciles 1 to 2 postcode, where no income check is needed at all. So, who qualifies for the Warm Homes Local Grant? Any household meeting one of these three income routes with an EPC D to G home in England.

Does the grant cover the full cost of a heat pump?

For owner-occupiers, yes, if a heat pump is what the home survey recommends: the scheme has a £15,000 per-home cap for low-carbon heating, and neither owners nor tenants are expected to contribute. Landlords must contribute 50 percent of costs for any homes upgraded after their first fully funded property.

What if my home has no EPC?

Councils can arrange a survey to assess your home’s energy rating at no cost to you. Check GOV.UK first to see whether a valid certificate already exists for your address.

Can private tenants apply for the Warm Homes Local Grant?

The tenant’s household can qualify, but the landlord must apply and give permission for the works. Tenants are never asked to pay toward the upgrades.

I received a letter about the grant. Is it genuine?

It may well be: councils including Hackney are writing to households in batches. Verify it on your council’s own Warm Homes: Local Grant web page, apply through the council’s published route, and remember that genuine outreach never asks you to pay.