Green Home Grants 2026: What Support is Available for Landlords?

Buyers are prioritising energy efficiency in the current market[1], while the government also clearly has long-term sustainability in mind[2]. Many property investors and landlords will likely be thinking about green home grants for 2026.

The process of making a property greener can be costly and time-consuming. Fortunately, public support schemes are available to investors for these issues.

In recent years, the main supportive programme available to landlords was arguably the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme[3]. This scheme provided grants to homeowners and landlords to make energy-efficient improvements to their assets.

But this scheme closed to new applicants in 2021, and the vouchers can no longer be redeemed. Guidance for the scheme was officially withdrawn in 2023 – there is no “official” Green Home Grants 2026 scheme.

This doesn’t mean landlords have been left without options, though. There are several schemes still available for investors who want to make their properties greener, with a bit of help from the state.

1. The Great British Insulation Scheme

The Great British Insulation Scheme[4], also known as ECO+[5], allows eligible applicants to get free or cheaper insulation to reduce their home’s energy bills. This scheme is arguably the closest to the Green Home Grant. This can include cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, loft insulation, and more.

Eligibility

The scheme is open to homeowners, landlords, and tenants. Support can be received if the home involved has an energy performance certificate (EPC) of D to G, and is in council tax bands A-D in England, or A-E in Scotland or Wales.

To be eligible, landlords will either need to be a “low-income[6]” applicant or, be a “general” applicant – the latter is likely to be more common for property investors. General applicants will only be able to get one type of insulation installed, but may still be able to benefit from lower costs.

Landlords need to get moving

To apply for free insulation, investors will need to head to the Government’s online eligibility checker. They’ll need to identify who their energy supplier is, along with their personal details. So long as they’re eligible, they should be contacted by their supplier within a few days to get the ball rolling.

Some of the UK’s biggest energy suppliers participate in this scheme, including British Gas, EDF Energy, and Octopus Energy. There are many elements to this scheme though, and so landlords may need to make sure they know its ins-and-outs before moving forward.

Landlords need to get on this quickly, however. Installations made via the Great British Insulation Scheme must be completed by March 31, 2026. This is when the scheme officially ends, and grants for landlords will no longer be available.

→ Find out how energy-efficiency grants, financing options and retrofit planning fit together in our Complete Guide to Bridging Loans.

2. ECO4

The Energy Company Obligation[7] (ECO) is another government energy grant effort similar to the Great British Insulation Scheme which aims to tackle fuel poverty and help reduce carbon emissions. The scheme has seen four iterations so far, with ECO4 being the current version in use. It applies to measures introduced in 2022, and will cover a four-year period until 31 March 2026.

Eligible applicants can request support for the installation of various insulations, boiler upgrades, and solar panels. Generally, landlords with tenants who receive specific benefits, or who reside in fuel poverty-stricken areas[8], will likely be able to benefit.

To check on their eligibility, homeowners will need to head to the ECO4[9] website, where further guidance can also be found. Also, while nothing has been formally announced yet, ECO5 is expected to run immediately after ECO4 ends. It will most likely run until 2030 and so landlords should keep an eye out for announcements over the coming months[10].

3. Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)

This scheme provides eligible landlords with upfront capital grants to encourage the replacement of fossil fuel heating systems with low-carbon alternatives, primarily heat pumps and biomass boilers[11]. Only one grant is available per property.

How much can be received?

Currently it’s possible to receive:

• Up to £7,500 for installing air source heat pumps
• Up to £7,500 for ground source heat pumps
• £5,000 for biomass boilers (limited to properties without gas grid access)

Who is eligible for support?

The Boilers Upgrade Scheme is available to landlords in England and Wales. Their properties much have a valid EPC, although the actual grade is irrelevant. The existing heating system must be fossil fuel-based or electric, and the replacement must be a new heat pump or biomass boiler.

The properties must also have a maximum installation capacity up to 45kWth for individual systems and 300kWth for shared ground loops. It should be noted that BUS does not cover properties that are newly built, have already been given government funding or support for a heat pump or biomass boiler.

4. Warm Homes: Local Grant

The Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme allows eligible applicants to receive free energy saving improvements made to their home if they’re on a low income, getting certain benefits or living in a certain postcode area. Currently, the support is only available in England.

What’s available?

If one is eligible, they’ll receive a home survey to determine how the property could be made more energy efficient. This may include suggestions to install insulation, air source heat pumps, smart controls, or solar panels[12].

Eligibility for landlords

In this scheme, landlords can access funding to improve properties where tenants meet the income eligibility criteria[13]. The scheme offers funding for one property per landlord and any additional properties; landlords must provide a 50% contribution towards the cost of improvements.

Landlords applying for this scheme must have a tenant(s) that hits certain income thresholds (such as earning below £36,000), have a property with an EPC rating of D, E, F, or G, and they must declare that they do not intend to raise rents as a direct result of any upgrades funded by the scheme.

5. VAT on energy-saving products

This isn’t so much as a grant or funding scheme, but is instead a tax benefit that landlords can take advantage of. Currently, it’s possible to pay a VAT rate of either 5% or 0% when certain energy-saving products are installed in a home[14].

While there are no formal eligibility criteria, there are various energy products available that qualify for a lower rate of VAT. This includes:

• central heating and hot water controls
• draught stripping, for example insulation fixed around windows and doors
• to reduce draughts
• insulation on walls, floors, ceilings and lofts
• solar panels
• ground-source heat pumps
• air-source heat pumps
• micro combined heat and power units
• wood-fuelled boilers
• wind turbines (Great Britain only)
• water turbines (Great Britain only)

This relief is set to last until March 31, 2027[15].

Why property investors should care

Property investors, and landlords specifically, should at least be aware of what schemes are available to them. Multiple grants and support initiatives may fall under the “Green Home Grants 2025” umbrella. New EPC targets are coming[16], and those who fall foul of the rules could face costly repercussions.

There is also a financial incentive to act here. Demand is there for greener homes[17], and better energy performance often leads to higher house prices and/or rents[18].

Fortunately, many landlords already seem to be on the ball here. Landlords across the country are increasingly engaging with, or adopting green initiatives[19]. Millions may be forced into action too if they haven’t already started. Currently, 57% of homes in England would need energy efficiency improvements to meet the government’s upcoming energy performance targets[20].

For those who still need to ready themselves for a greener future, the various grants available may prove to be of great use over the coming months. Where further financial support is needed however, Market Financial Solutions will be there with flexible funding to help bring their properties up to scratch.