Not eligible for the Warm Homes Local Grant? Other routes

A no from the Warm Homes: Local Grant comes down to one of its rules or limits: the home is rated EPC C or better, the household is not low income under any of the three pathways, the home is social housing or outside England, or the council has no capacity right now. None of those means there is nothing else. Here are the other routes, with their conditions, as read on the official pages on 28 September 2026.

First: are you sure you are not eligible?

Before looking elsewhere, check the three things people most often get wrong:

• Income. Gross household income over £36,000 does not rule you out: the after-housing-costs test can still let you in, and so can an eligible postcode or a listed benefit. Run the income check.
• Postcode. 254,014 postcodes qualify without any income check. Check yours.
• Council. “My council is not doing it” is often wrong: many districts are members of a consortium led by a county or neighbouring council, and Greater Manchester and the West Midlands have a devolved route. Look it up.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme

For heat pumps, with no income test, in England and Wales:

• £7,500 towards an air-to-water or ground source heat pump
• £9,000 where an off-gas-grid home is replacing an oil or LPG system, from 21 July 2026 until 31 March 2027
• £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump (residential only)

The grant is claimed through your installer and deducted from the invoice. The scheme runs until 31 March 2028. It cannot pay for the same heat pump as the Warm Homes: Local Grant, but it is the natural route if your income is above the Local Grant thresholds. Always choose an MCS-certified installer.

0% VAT on energy-saving materials, until 31 March 2027

Installing energy-saving materials in a home, including insulation, heat pumps, solar panels and (since 1 February 2024) batteries, is zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 the rate returns to 5% (VAT Notice 708/6). The relief applies when the installer supplies and fits the materials; materials bought without installation are standard-rated.

This is a real, fixed date rather than a sales deadline. If you are paying for work yourself anyway, it affects the price.

The Warm Home Discount

A £150 discount off your electricity bill, applied by your supplier; the money is not paid to you. The 2025 to 2026 round has closed and the scheme reopens in October 2026. Most eligible households get it automatically, but some, including park home residents, may need to apply. It does not pay for upgrades, but it helps with this winter’s bill.

ECO4, until 31 December 2026

ECO4, the energy-supplier scheme, is in its final months after a nine-month extension focused on finishing in-flight work and fixing non-compliant installations. It is not a route to count on for new work. What its closure means.

Loans in the Warm Homes Plan

The Warm Homes Plan allocates £2,000 million for consumer loans through its Warm Homes Fund. Check GOV.UK for when and how any loan offer opens and its terms. This site does not arrange credit, and you should compare any loan’s total cost carefully.

Outside England

The Warm Homes: Local Grant is England only. The other nations run their own schemes:

• Scotland: Home Energy Scotland points households to Warmer Homes Scotland, a Scottish Government funded programme, and other funding.
• Wales: the Welsh Government’s Nest scheme offers free, impartial advice and, for eligible households, free improvements such as heat pumps, insulation and solar panels.
• Northern Ireland: the Affordable Warmth Scheme run by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (being replaced by a Warm Healthy Homes Fund, under consultation) and the Northern Ireland Sustainable Energy Programme.

If you rent from a council or housing association

Social housing is excluded from the Local Grant except as infill. Your landlord upgrades its homes through the separate Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, so ask them whether your home is in a programme.

If you are on a waiting list

Stay on it, and ask the council how it prioritises and whether anything in your circumstances (a new benefit award, a change in household) should be passed on. Meanwhile, the low-cost measures above, especially the Warm Home Discount, can help this winter.

Want a second opinion or a quote?

If you plan to pay for some work yourself, get quotes from installers registered with TrustMark (and MCS for heat pumps, solar and batteries). The form below passes your enquiry to independent firms covering your postcode; there is no charge and no obligation. How to check an installer.

Sources: reference/sales/urgency-data.json (GOV.UK Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant notice, last verified 1 September 2026; VAT Notice 708/6); GOV.UK Warm Home Discount; Ofgem ECO; Warm Homes Plan; Home Energy Scotland; Welsh Government Nest; nidirect. Read 28 September 2026.