Warm Homes Local Grant in Birmingham, Manchester and the devolved areas

Why 17 councils are missing from the national list

The national policy guidance says that Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) “have each received an allocation of funding from Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme through their integrated settlements”. As a result, the two combined authorities and their councils “are not permitted to participate in the national Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme”.

The councils affected are named in the guidance:

West Midlands (WMCA)	Greater Manchester (GMCA)
Birmingham	Bolton
Coventry	Bury
Dudley	Manchester
Sandwell	Oldham
Solihull	Rochdale
Walsall	Salford
Wolverhampton	Stockport
	Tameside
	Trafford
	Wigan

So if you live in Birmingham, Manchester or any of the other 15 areas and cannot find your council on the GOV.UK list, that is expected. It does not mean there is no help: the money reaches you through a different door.

How much deprivation sits in these areas

These two city regions hold a large share of the most income-deprived neighbourhoods in England. Counting the DESNZ eligible postcode list by council:

Area	Eligible postcodes	Neighbourhoods (LSOAs)
West Midlands, 7 councils	27,010	804
Greater Manchester, 10 councils	25,824	574
Birmingham alone	11,586	376
Manchester alone	7,784	162
Sandwell	4,323	114
Wolverhampton	3,136	83
Bolton	2,931	72

Together the 17 councils contain 52,834 eligible postcodes, about a fifth of the national list. Birmingham has more eligible postcodes than any other council in England.

Greater Manchester: the GM-wide scheme

GMCA’s page describes a Greater Manchester-wide Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme, delivered by the local authorities, with applications taken through the GMCA Retrofit Portal (gmca.retrofitportal.org.uk). As read on 28 September 2026, the page sets out:

• the same four household routes as the national scheme: an eligible postcode in income deciles 1 or 2 (it references the February 2026 list), a means-tested benefit, ECO4 Flex route 2, or gross household income under £36,000
• EPC D to G for owner-occupied homes, and D to E for rented homes unless an F or G rental has a registered exemption
• a 50% cost share for a landlord’s second and later properties
• caps shown as £15,000 for energy improvements plus £15,000 for heating

The national guidance raised the national caps to £16,600 each in June 2026. Ask GMCA whether its devolved scheme has followed; do not assume either way.

West Midlands: WMCA and the councils

For the West Midlands, the national guidance directs enquiries about devolved funding to WMCA at devolved.retrofit@wmca.org.uk. WMCA also advertises Warm Homes Grants for private landlords, with terms that differ from the national scheme:

• the grant covers 70% of the cost on a landlord’s first four properties, and 50% from the fifth (the national scheme funds one home in full and then 50%)
• homes must have an EPC of D or below
• the offer targets named neighbourhoods, including Castle Vale, Balsall Heath, Sparkbrook, Tyseley and Bromford in Birmingham and Hillfields, Upper Stoke and Lower Stoke in Coventry, plus areas in Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton
• landlords submit an expression of interest, which does not guarantee funding

Owner occupiers and tenants in the West Midlands should ask their council or WMCA what the devolved scheme offers at their address; routes and target areas can change as the settlement is spent.

What stays the same

Whatever the route, the basic shape of the help matches the national scheme: low-income households in privately owned, poorly rated homes get insulation, solar and low carbon heating, and the work is done to the same national standards (PAS 2035 whole-house retrofit, TrustMark-registered installers, MCS for heat pumps, solar and batteries). The protections on this site apply too: never pay a fee to apply, and check any installer before work starts.

If you have just moved to or from these areas

Eligibility follows the home, not the person. A household that moves from Wigan to Warrington moves from the devolved Greater Manchester route to the national scheme (Warrington is in the Cheshire East consortium). Use the council lookup for the new address.