For more details, please download our Warm Homes: Local Grant Guidance or call us on 01695 553 920
Warm Homes: Local Grant
In September 2024, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) announced details of the Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme. Delivered by local authorities in England, it will provide funding for energy efficiency retrofit measures and low-carbon heating in private households, both on and off the gas grid.
The support will be targeted at low-income private homeowners and at landlords who have tenants on low incomes. In keeping with best practice, the funding can also be used to support improvements to a small proportion (10%) of ‘infill’ social housing properties.
We are one of the UKs largest contractors delivering large-scale social housing energy efficiency and decarbonisation projects and have a long track record of also delivering owner-occupied / private landlord schemes too. The Warm Homes: Local Grant can be managed and delivered in conjunction with, or separately to, Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3.
As a partner, we can manage all or as many aspects of the customer journey as required, providing an end-to-end retrofit solution, including customer acquisition, retrofit advice, energy surveys (assessments), direct installation of measures, and customer/LA/WH:LG administration and reporting.
Key Dates
Delivery Window Open
1st April 2025
Delivery Window Duration
3 to 5 years
Warm Homes: Local Grant Guidance
Funding and Tenure
Where private homeowners meet the eligibility criteria, the grant will provide full funding for relevant retrofit measures and low-carbon heating upgrades.
It will also provide full funding for one eligible property per landlord, though any additional private rented properties will require a 50% cost contribution. Where a scheme includes infill properties, social housing landlords must likewise contribute 50% of the costs.
Cost Caps
Like previous schemes, the Warm Homes: Local Grant is subject to certain cost caps.
Energy performance upgrades
£15k per home
Low carbon heating
£15k per home
Cost caps can be averaged across a project and must be met by project closure
Energy performance upgrades include fabric-first measures including insulation, double glazing, replacement doors etc. They also include smart controls, battery storage and microgeneration systems such as solar PV. Eligible low carbon heating systems include heat pumps and storage heaters.
Eligibility – Household Income
DESNZ identifies three pathways through which households may be deemed eligible on the basis of income.
Pathway 1: Households which reside within Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) Income Deciles (ID) 1-2 areas. (See DESNZ list of eligible postcodes.)
Pathway 2: Households which can demonstrate receipt of a specified means-tested benefit or that they are eligible via route 2 of ECO Flex.
Pathway 3: Households with an annual gross income below £36,000 or the ‘after housing costs’ threshold in line with DESNZ-published equivalisation tables.
Note that means-tested benefits include: Housing Benefit, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Pension Credit (savings and guarantee), Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, and Child Tax Credit.
Those that are not eligible can make use of our Home Hero package. It seeks to bridge the gap between grants, savings and the cost of green home improvements. It does so by sourcing appropriate funding, by providing access to specialist finance and by managing the delivery of installations on the homeowner’s / landlord’s behalf.
Eligibility – Properties and Measures
Properties must have an EPC rating within bands D to G to be eligible.
Park homes must have an equivalent level of energy performance.
The work should seek to bring properties up to EPC Band C or better.
Retrofit measures must be compatible with the PAS 2035:2023 framework and must be installed in accordance with the latest PAS 2030:2023 or MCS standards.
Installers must be Trustmark registered and PAS 2030:2023 certified for energy performance measures and/or MCS certified for low carbon heating measures.
Funding may be applied to any energy improvement or heating measures that are compatible with the latest Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP) methodology.
Unlike some previous schemes, the funding is available regardless of the primary heating system.
Exclusions
New-build or self-built properties that have not previously been occupied.
Social housing properties (except for a maximum 10% infill).
Measures involving new fossil fuel heating systems.
Warm Homes: Local Grant Application Support
As a highly experienced decarbonisation contractor, we can provide expert help in developing applications for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, whether you wish to use it independently or in conjunction with the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (Wave 3).
We have a long and successful record of supporting local authorities, social housing providers and consortia. We are successfully delivering twenty SHF-funded retrofit schemes, valued variously between £2.5 million and £25 million.
We are adept at engaging with private homeowners, most often to extend the reach of funded schemes led by social housing providers. We have also developed Home Hero – a consumer-focused service that supports homeowners on an end-to-end retrofit journey. It helps them to source funding and to access finance, and it manages the delivery of installations on their behalf.
Provide retrofit consultancy and application support
Help to analyse your existing housing stock
Identify properties for specific retrofit approaches in order to maximise funding
Review existing property energy / carbon data
Evidence property energy / carbon outcomes
Produce budget costs and programmes
Provide access to fully developed regional and national supply chains and stakeholder partners
Undertake mixed-tenure (owner-occupier/private landlord) property acquisitions
Provide Smart Home Technology solutions
In addition to our own experience and expertise, our clients can also take advantage of the skills and resources of our sister companies:
Retrofit service consultancy, consumer funding and fintech provider
Residential smart technology solutions
Decarbonisation products supplier
