For more details, please download our Warm Homes: Local Grant Guidance or call us on 01695 553 920
Warm Homes: Local Grant
In September 2024, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) announced details of the Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme. Delivered by local authorities in England, it will provide funding for energy efficiency retrofit measures and low-carbon heating in private households, both on and off the gas grid.
The support will be targeted at low-income private homeowners and at landlords who have tenants on low incomes. In keeping with best practice, the funding can also be used to support improvements to a small proportion (10%) of ‘infill’ social housing properties.
As one of the UK’s most experienced, tier 1 decarbonisation contractors, we can offer expert support to clients who wish to prepare an application.
Key Dates
Expressions of Interest Open
16th October 2024
Expressions of Interest Close
1st December 2024
Delivery Window Open
1st April 2025
Delivery Window Duration
3 to 5 years
Cost Caps
Like previous schemes, the Warm Homes: Local Grant is subject to certain cost caps.
Energy performance upgrades
£15k per home
Low carbon heating
£15k per home
Cost caps can be averaged across a project and must be met by project closure
Energy performance upgrades include fabric-first measures including insulation, double glazing, replacement doors etc. They also include smart controls, battery storage and microgeneration systems such as solar PV. Eligible low carbon heating systems include heat pumps and storage heaters.
Warm Homes: Local Grant Guidance
Funding and Tenure
Where private homeowners meet the eligibility criteria, the grant will provide full funding for relevant retrofit measures and low-carbon heating upgrades.
It will also provide full funding for one eligible property per landlord, though any additional private rented properties will require a 50% cost contribution. Where a scheme includes infill properties, social housing landlords must likewise contribute 50% of the costs.
Exclusions
New-build or self-built properties that have not previously been occupied.
Social housing properties (except for a maximum 10% infill).
Measures involving new fossil fuel heating systems.
Eligibility – Properties and Measures
Properties must have an EPC rating within bands D to G to be eligible.
Park homes must have an equivalent level of energy performance.
The work should seek to bring properties up to EPC Band C or better.
Retrofit measures must be compatible with the PAS 2035:2023 framework and must be installed in accordance with the latest PAS 2030:2023 or MCS standards.
Installers must be Trustmark registered and PAS 2030:2023 certified for energy performance measures and/or MCS certified for low carbon heating measures.
Funding may be applied to any energy improvement or heating measures that are compatible with the latest Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP) methodology.
Unlike some previous schemes, the funding is available regardless of the primary heating system.
Eligibility – Household Income
DESNZ identifies three pathways through which households may be deemed eligible on the basis of income.
Pathway 1: Households which reside within Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) Income Deciles (ID) 1-2 areas. (See DESNZ list of eligible postcodes.)
Pathway 2: Households which can demonstrate receipt of a specified means-tested benefit or that they are eligible via route 2 of ECO Flex.
Pathway 3: Households with an annual gross income below £36,000 or the ‘after housing costs’ threshold in line with DESNZ-published equivalisation tables.
Note that means-tested benefits include: Housing Benefit, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Pension Credit (savings and guarantee), Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, and Child Tax Credit.
Those that are not eligible can make use of our Home Hero package. It seeks to bridge the gap between grants, savings and the cost of green home improvements. It does so by sourcing appropriate funding, by providing access to specialist finance and by managing the delivery of installations on the homeowner’s / landlord’s behalf.
Funding Allocation Model
In its Allocation Guidance document, DESNZ writes that “the Warm Homes: Local Grant will allocate grant funding using an Expression of Interest allocation model. The scheme involves three distinct stages. These are:
1) Allocation (Expression of Interest)
2) Mobilisation
• Mid-Mobilisation Review
• Delivery Assurance Check (DAC)
3) Delivery
Expression of interest allocation model diagram
The new system is intended to be more streamlined and to require less intensive reporting than previous schemes. However, participating authorities must still conduct a Mid-Mobilisation Review and pass a Delivery Assurance Check prior to drawing down funds in order to demonstrate that they have met the minimum criteria for successful delivery.
In their Expressions of Interest, local authorities should describe their projects, any consortia members, and their broad, overarching plans for procurement, resourcing, and mobilisation. At the Expression of Interest stage, there will be no ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ assessment. In effect, all eligible English local authorities that submit an Expression of Interest within the deadline will be allocated some level of funding.
A Mid-Mobilisation Review will follow confirmation of funding allocations. This provides applicants with early feedback about their documents and delivery plans, and enables them to update DESNZ on their progress on procurement.
The Delivery Assurance Check is intended to confirm that local authority applicants have procured and resourced their schemes appropriately. It will also review documentation relating to the management of fraud risks, household eligibility verifications, and delivery forecasts to meet the minimum criteria for successful delivery.
Funding Draw-Down
DESNZ notes that “up to 20% of allocated funding per financial year will be given upfront to local authorities, with the remaining funding drawn down via a batch system… The majority of the capital grant funding will be drawn down in portions throughout the delivery window to upgrade batches of homes which are ‘ready to retrofit’ (signed up, validated, and assessed in line with PAS 2035). This ensures that local authorities will receive the right amount of funding at the point of use.”
Warm Homes: Local Grant Application Support
As a highly experienced decarbonisation contractor, we can provide expert help in developing applications for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, whether you wish to use it independently or in conjunction with the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (Wave 3).
We have a long and successful record of supporting local authorities, social housing providers and consortia. We are successfully delivering twenty SHF-funded retrofit schemes, valued variously between £2.5 million and £25 million.
We are adept at engaging with private homeowners, most often to extend the reach of funded schemes led by social housing providers. We have also developed Home Hero – a consumer-focused service that supports homeowners on an end-to-end retrofit journey. It helps them to source funding and to access finance, and it manages the delivery of installations on their behalf.
Provide retrofit consultancy and application support
Help to analyse your existing housing stock
Identify properties for specific retrofit approaches in order to maximise funding
Review existing property energy / carbon data
Evidence property energy / carbon outcomes
Produce budget costs and programmes
Provide access to fully developed regional and national supply chains and stakeholder partners
Undertake mixed-tenure (owner-occupier/private landlord) property acquisitions
Provide Smart Home Technology solutions
In addition to our own experience and expertise, our clients can also take advantage of the skills and resources of our sister companies:
Retrofit service consultancy, consumer funding and fintech provider
Residential smart technology solutions
Decarbonisation products supplier
