What grants can help replace your heating in England in 2026?

Check the funding route before committing to a new heating system.

The answer in 2 lines. In England, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme can help eligible property owners replace existing heating with a qualifying low-carbon system. Its 2026 grants vary by technology and property circumstances, including a temporary enhanced grant for eligible off-gas-grid homes. Lower-income households should also check Warm Homes: Local Grant through the official application service. These routes have different application processes: the heating installer applies for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, while the council arranges agreed Warm Homes work. Confirm eligibility, your contribution and the full scope before committing.

Start with the right funding route

Open the Boiler Upgrade Scheme eligibility page. Check ownership, existing heating and property exclusions before requesting grant-based quotes.
If your household is on a low income, use the Warm Homes: Local Grant service. Enter your household and property details; the service explains the next steps.
Prepare your existing heating details, household circumstances and any energy assessment information. Ask each funding route what evidence it needs before sending documents.

Stop: danger

No emergency warning applies to a routine grant enquiry. If your existing heating has a safety fault, arrange that assessment separately rather than waiting for a funding decision.
A promised grant is not an approval. Before paying a deposit, obtain written terms explaining your liability if funding is refused or the proposed system changes.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme amounts checked in 2026

The official grant schedule lists the available support. Current published amounts include £7,500 for qualifying air-to-water and ground-source heat pumps, £2,500 for qualifying air-to-air heat pumps and £5,000 for eligible biomass boilers.

For eligible off-gas-grid properties, qualifying air-to-water or ground-source installations can receive £9,000 under a temporary uplift; check the official schedule for the dates and conditions that apply. Check the Ofgem property-owner guidance with your installer to establish whether your home qualifies. The grant is a contribution, not a promise that installation will be free.

How the application actually works

Follow GOV.UK's application steps: use its certified-installer link to find suitable installers, obtain comparable quotes, confirm eligibility and agree the proposal. The installer applies on your behalf. The grant deduction should appear on both the quotation and invoice.

The scheme administrator then contacts you to confirm your consent. Read that request carefully and respond only for the installer you have chosen. Ask the installer to explain the applicable application and completion deadlines in writing; do not assume a date mentioned in an advertisement applies to your project.

What not to do

Assuming every household qualifies for the largest advertised grant or that a like-for-like gas boiler replacement is covered by this scheme.
Paying for work on the assumption that a council will reimburse it afterwards.
Sharing account passwords or accepting pressure to sign before the equipment, funding conditions and remaining cost are clear.

Warm Homes: Local Grant

The official application page currently gives a usual household-income threshold of £36,000 a year, with other eligibility routes through certain benefits or postcode areas. Homes must be privately owned and have an energy rating of D, E, F or G. The service can help establish the rating when you apply.

Subject to eligibility and available council funding, a survey identifies suitable improvements. These may include heating, insulation or controls. The council organises and pays for agreed work; a landlord may have to contribute. Applying does not guarantee the heating system you originally had in mind.

Compare the complete cost

Ask for the equipment, hot water arrangements, radiator or electrical changes, removal of old equipment, commissioning and making good to be itemised. Request an explanation of expected running costs using your home's circumstances, rather than a general savings claim.

Eligible installed energy-saving materials currently benefit from 0% VAT until 31 March 2027. This is tax relief, not cash paid to you. Use the official VAT guidance to ask the installer which parts of your quote qualify. Buying equipment alone does not receive the same treatment.

Good to know

Do not assume grants can be combined for the same installation. Disclose other public funding and ask for written confirmation of compatibility.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme also covers Wales. Warm Homes: Local Grant is England-only; its application page links to the separate national routes for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Keep the survey, agreed design, funding correspondence, quotation, invoice and commissioning documents together.

Illustrative example: an owner in rural Yorkshire wants to replace oil heating. She checks the enhanced grant conditions and obtains itemised heat-pump quotes. She asks whether insulation or radiator changes are needed, confirms the grant deduction and her remaining contribution, then agrees the contract after the funding process has been explained.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on 4 November 2026, for England. Confidence: high for the published 2026 grant amounts and official application routes; medium for individual entitlement, local funding availability and the final customer contribution. Amounts are current published scheme figures checked in 2026. Recheck before committing because eligibility and funding can change.