Warm Homes: Local Grant (WHLG) UK 2026

The Warm Homes: Local Grant (WHLG) is the current English government scheme that funds energy efficiency and low-carbon heat upgrades for low-income owner-occupier and privately rented households. It launched in April 2025 as the successor to HUG2 (Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2, which closed in March 2025) and is delivered locally by participating Local Authorities.

What WHLG funds

WHLG can fund a package of measures including:

• Loft, cavity wall and solid wall insulation
• Air source and ground source heat pumps
• Solar PV systems
• Hot water cylinders and controls
• Other low-carbon heating measures

The grant amount varies by measure and by property — there's no single headline figure because the package is tailored to the home's needs.

Eligibility

To qualify for WHLG, your household must meet both a household criterion and a property criterion:

Household criteria (any one of):

• Household income ≤ £36,000/year (gross, or after housing costs)
• You receive certain means-tested benefits (Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, ESA, JSA — full list on gov.uk)
• You live in a postcode in Income Deciles 1–2 of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation

Property criteria:

• Property EPC band D, E, F or G
• You're the owner-occupier or a private tenant (your landlord must consent if you're renting)
• Property in England

How to apply

1. Visit gov.uk's Apply for the Warm Homes: Local Grant page
2. Enter your postcode to check whether your local authority participates
3. If they do, you'll be directed to their application process — usually an online form or phone call
4. An assessor visits to confirm eligibility and recommend a measures package
5. The local authority arranges installers and project-manages the work
6. You don't pay — the grant covers the package (or part of it; some packages include a small homeowner contribution depending on the LA's policy)

You can also call the WHLG helpline on 0800 098 7950 for advice.

Scope and timeline

• Live now — running April 2025 through March 2028
• Initial funding allocation: £500 million (further funding via the Warm Homes Plan envelope)
• Operates only in England (Scotland has Home Energy Scotland; Wales has Nest)
• Delivered by participating Local Authorities — not every LA is in the scheme; coverage is expanding

WHLG and BUS — can you use both?

Not for the same measure. If WHLG funds your heat pump, you can't also claim BUS for it (and vice versa). However:

• You can have WHLG fund insulation and use BUS separately for a heat pump (different measures)
• If WHLG funds your heat pump in part (some LAs require a small contribution), the rest can't be topped up with BUS

Specific guidance from gov.uk: "Where a new gas boiler needs to be fitted, only the heat pump component can receive Warm Homes: Local Grant funding" — i.e. WHLG won't fund fossil fuel heating, but might fund a heat pump where one's appropriate.

What happened to HUG2?

HUG2 (Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2) closed to applications in March 2025. Final delivery statistics: roughly 22,000 measures across 11,900 households, with a mix of 34% solar PV, 29% low-carbon heat, 27% insulation, and other measures. Functionally replaced by WHLG from April 2025.

The bigger picture: Warm Homes Plan

WHLG sits within the wider Warm Homes Plan, published 21 January 2026, which committed £13.2 billion over 2025/26 to 2029/30 to upgrade up to 5 million homes and lift up to 1 million households out of fuel poverty by 2030. Components include:

• ~£2.7 bn for universal grant support through BUS (~400,000 more households)
• ~£5 bn for low-income / fuel-poor households to 2030 (£4.4 bn capital + £600 m Warm Homes Fund)
• Warm Homes Fund: £5 bn capital for loans / innovative finance

For homeowners on lower incomes, this is the most significant heating-cost support programme of recent years.