Insulation Grants England 2026

Free Insulation in England: What's Actually Left

England had three routes to free insulation at the start of 2026. One has closed and another ends this year, so here's where things stand in October 2026, scheme by scheme.

ECO4: For Households on Benefits, Until 31 December 2026

The Energy Company Obligation makes the big energy suppliers pay for insulation and heating upgrades in lower-income homes. It covers Great Britain, so England, Scotland and Wales but not Northern Ireland. Ofgem runs it, and it ends on 31 December 2026 after a nine-month extension.

Who qualifies

gov.uk says you might be eligible if you live in private housing (you own it, or rent from a private landlord) and someone in the household gets one of these:

• Universal Credit
• Pension Guarantee Credit or Pension Savings Credit
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Housing Benefit

The home also has to be inefficient enough. If you own it, the EPC needs to be D, E, F or G; if you rent privately it needs to be E, F or G, and the owner has to give permission. Social housing rated E to G can get insulation or a first heating system through ECO4 too, but that goes through the landlord.

How to apply: ask your council whether it's taking part, or contact an energy supplier directly. ECO4 can fund loft, cavity wall and solid wall insulation, and often bundles insulation with heating upgrades after a survey.

One warning about solid wall insulation

gov.uk now opens its ECO page with a notice that there are "quality issues with some solid wall insulation" fitted through the scheme, and the National Audit Office found in October 2025 that an estimated 98% of homes given external wall insulation under ECO needed work to correct major issues, along with 29% of those given internal wall insulation. Ofgem is offering a free home check to every home that had external wall insulation through ECO4 or the Great British Insulation Scheme, and says you should not be asked to pay to put faults right. If ECO4 offers you solid wall insulation, ask who the TrustMark-registered installer and retrofit coordinator are, and read our solid wall insulation guide before you sign.

Warm Homes: Local Grant: For Incomes Up to About £36,000

The Warm Homes: Local Grant is England-only and run through councils, and it's the wider of the two schemes because it doesn't need you to be on benefits. If you're eligible and your council still has funding, it arranges a survey and then organises and pays for the agreed work. You don't pay anything, although a landlord may have to pay towards improvements to a rented home.

To qualify, gov.uk says your home must:

• be in England
• be privately owned, either by you or your landlord
• have an EPC of D, E, F or G

Household income must usually be £36,000 a year or less. Earn more and you might still qualify if you live in a certain postcode area, or someone in the household gets certain benefits. Wall, loft and underfloor insulation are on its list, alongside air source heat pumps, smart controls and solar panels.

How to apply: use the "Apply for the Warm Homes: Local Grant" service on gov.uk, or ring the helpline on 0800 098 7950. Your council usually contacts you within 10 working days. Ignore any site quoting an "up to £15,000" cap: gov.uk doesn't publish one, and what you get is what the survey recommends and the council agrees to fund.

What Happens After ECO4 Ends

The government's Warm Homes Plan confirms that ECO "will be coming to an end". It doesn't get a like-for-like replacement. Instead, the plan puts £5 billion into low-income schemes, delivered at first through the existing Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund before being merged into "a single scheme for low-income households". It also promises low and zero-interest loans, but those are aimed at solar, batteries and heat pumps rather than insulation.

So for insulation the practical message is simple: if you qualify for ECO4 now, apply before 31 December 2026. If you're on a low income but not on benefits, the Warm Homes: Local Grant is the route that carries on.

Landlords: You Can't Rely on Grants

Private landlords in England already have to get a rental property to EPC E, with a spending cap of £3,500 including VAT before an exemption applies, and a fine of up to £5,000 per property. The new standard is EPC C from 1 October 2030, with the cap rising to £10,000. ECO4 and the Warm Homes: Local Grant can still help where your tenant qualifies, but plan on paying. Loft and cavity insulation are the cheapest EPC points you can buy; our EPC improvement calculator shows how far each measure moves the rating.

Council and Housing Association Tenants

You can't apply to either scheme yourself. Social landlords get funding through ECO4 and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, so report cold, damp or draughty rooms in writing and ask whether your home is in an upgrade programme.

If You Don't Qualify: What It Costs to Pay

Most households in England now pay for their own insulation. These are the Energy Saving Trust's figures for a typical home in Great Britain:

Our home insulation costs guide breaks those down by house type and region, and the loft, cavity wall, floor and solid wall guides go into each job. If a heat pump is on your list too, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives £7,500 off and stacks with any insulation funding: gov.uk confirms you can still get BUS after having insulation funded.

What to Do Next

1. Run the checker above to see which scheme fits.
2. On a qualifying benefit? Apply for ECO4 through your council or an energy supplier before 31 December 2026.
3. Income £36,000 or less? Apply for the Warm Homes: Local Grant on gov.uk or call 0800 098 7950.
4. Neither? Do the loft first, then draught proofing, then cavity walls, and get at least three quotes.