Warm Homes: Local Grant

Bedford Borough Council has joined a consortium of other local authorities to deliver on the Government's next phase of free energy saving improvements to low-income households or eligible post code areas.

What is happening now – April 2025

Funding has now been allocated to the consortiums across the country and we are waiting for further information from the lead authority of the Bedford Borough consortium.

The full delivery timescales are currently unknown, but residents can submit Expressions of Interest to be contacted once the scheme is open to formal applications.

Eligible residents can register their interest here: www.warmerhomes.org.uk/apply

Or email retrofit@warmerhomes.org.uk

Or call 0800 038 5737

Please note that you cannot apply directly to Bedford Borough Council, we will refer you to the details above.

Before you register, please read the important information below.

Heating fuel

All primary heating fuel types are eligible for Warm Homes: Local Grant funding. This means properties which are heated using gas boilers, as well as those which are not, eg those that use oil, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), coal, solid fuels, or electricity for heating purposes, are eligible for the Warm Homes: Local Grant providing they meet the other eligibility criteria.

In order to receive funding, there are two key areas of eligibility that you must meet: income and property.

Eligibility criteria - Income

There are three ways a household could be approved as ‘income eligible’ for the Warm Home: Local Grant. A household must meet one out of the three criteria listed below, to be income eligible for this scheme.

Evidence of property eligibility (eg EPC score), proof of ownership, residence and personal identification are required for all three pathways. Additional evidence, eg of receipt of benefits and/or proof of household income, are required for pathways 2 and 3.

1. IMD postcodes

Households residing within IMD income deciles (IMD:ID) 1-2, will be eligible for the Warm Homes: Local Grant without needing an income verification check. Other eligibility parameters such as eligible tenures (eg owner-occupied) and EPC bands will continue to apply.

2. Means-tested benefits

Households in receipt of the specified means-tested benefits are eligible for the Warm Homes: Local Grant without further income checks, providing the property eligibility criteria is met (eg EPC rating). Anyone in the household may be in receipt of these benefits to qualify, but lodgers or adults in full-time education are excluded. The list of means-tested benefits is as follows:

Housing Benefit
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Income Support
Pension Credit (savings and guarantee)
Universal Credit

3. Income threshold

Households that do not meet criteria 1 or 2, must be able to demonstrate an annual gross household income of £36,000 or less. The income of every adult member of the household counts towards the gross household income threshold, other than those in full-time education.

The non-means-tested benefits below, that pay for necessary goods and/or services related to a disability, should be excluded from a household’s income calculation:

Attendance Allowance
Disability Living Allowance
Personal Independence Payment
Armed Forces Independence Payment
Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance
Constant Attendance Allowance
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Please note, local authorities also reserve the right to not treat a property if they do not feel they have a low income or are not at risk of fuel poverty. A local authority might find a household/property that has high levels of savings, or has a particularly large asset value, and despite having an income under £36,000 do not feel that treating the property is a reasonable use of the Warm Homes: Local Grant funds.

Eligibility criteria – Property

1. Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating

Funding must only support households living in England in homes with an EPC rating within bands D to G – except in the case of park homes (which typically do not have an EPC rating).

Households with an EPC rating within bands A to C are ineligible for scheme funding in all circumstances.

To check your homes EPC rating: www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate

2. Park homes

Park homes are eligible for support under the Warm Homes: Local Grant providing each of the following is met:

The park home is the permanent residence of the household.
The park home is equivalent to an EPC band D-G home. Note, while park homes do not have EPCs, they must still be assessed to determine their Energy Performance Rating (EPR), which can evidence equivalence.
The park home is expected to still exist (ie not be demolished) for the whole duration of the measure guarantee period for the measure/s to be installed, or for the longest guarantee period if more than one measure is installed.

Other criteria: Tenures

Owner occupiers

The Warm Homes: Local Grant will provide fully funded upgrades to owner occupied households who meet the eligibility criteria (income and EPC). There is no requirement for them to contribute towards the cost of upgrades.

Private Rented Sector (PRS)

Landlords who have low-income tenants that meet the household income eligibility criteria above, living in properties that meet the eligibility criteria (EPC rating), can access grant funding. The Warm Homes: Local Grant will fully fund upgrades for one property per landlord – any subsequent properties (the second to be upgraded and beyond) owned by the same landlord will require a 50% landlord cost contribution towards the total cost of works.

Privately rented properties rated EPC Band F and G must have registered exemptions under the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 to be deemed eligible. This is because funding cannot be used to make these properties compliant with existing regulations, but funding may be used to improve the property beyond the minimum legal requirement.

Charity owned rental properties

Properties owned by charities can qualify for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, subject to the same Private Rented Sector rules as stated above (with one property fully funded and 50% cost contribution thereafter). However, any charity-owned properties must identify as PRS, not social housing.

Social housing

Social housing may only be treated using Warm Homes: Local Grant funding for ‘infill’ purposes and to support area-based upgrades – for instance, upgrading a block of flats or adjacent, terraced properties as part of area-based delivery. Social housing must not exceed 10% of homes upgraded during a project and clear justification must be provided as to its inclusion. Social housing landlords must also contribute at least 50% of the total cost of upgrades.

Social housing organisations are encouraged to participate in the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.

Re-treating homes

If a property received upgrades through the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) and/or through Local Authority Delivery (LAD) scheme and meets the criteria (Income and Property) of this guidance, it will be eligible for further treatment under Warm Homes: Local Grant. However, this is on the condition that as a result of the re-treatment, the property either reaches EPC C or low carbon heating is installed as part of the Warm Homes: Local Grant package of measures.

How to register

To register your interest in the Warm Homes: Local Grant please complete the online form on www.warmerhomes.org.uk/apply