Home Upgrade Grant

What is an EPC?

An EPC is a report that assesses a property’s energy efficiency performance from grade A (most efficient) to grade G (least efficient) and is valid for 10 years. You can view your Energy Performance Certificate  for FREE online at https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate.

What evidence will I need to provide to support my application?

Home ownership: You will need to provide proof you own your property in the form of mortgage or title deeds. Copies are fine.

Income eligibility: If you do not live in one of the postcode areas listed you will need to provide income information for each adult in the property including benefits. Details of evidence are listed within the application form and can include:

• P60
• Wage slips
• DWP pension information
• Private pensions
• DWP benefits letter
• Child benefit information and/or bank statements.

What if I am a social housing tenant?

Social housing providers have their own funding to support energy efficiency improvements. Please refer to your landlord for possible support. Additional advice on how to save energy in home, can be found on GOV.UK.

How do I apply?

If you meet all of the above criteria, please contact our partner Act on Energy (AOE) on 0800 988 2881 or email advice@actonenergy.org.uk for next steps. 

To support customers on their journey we have teamed up with energy experts AOE who have been helping Midlands’ households with energy advice for 25 years. AOE are a registered charity that provide expert energy advice and can explain more about the scheme and will even complete a telephone assessment with you to establish if you and your property are eligible.

If I qualify what happens next?

Once your application has been verified for eligibility you will be contacted by an appointed contractor to make an appointment for an initial whole house retrofit assessment visit. A qualified Retrofit Assessor will carry out a whole house assessment to look at the condition of the property and suitability of measures.

The initial assessment can take up to 2 hours depending on the size of your property and the Retrofit Assessor will require access to all rooms to complete a thorough survey, including any loft space.

What happens after the initial assessment?

This assessment will be reviewed by a Retrofit Co-ordinator. If the property is deemed suitable for works, the Retrofit Co-ordinator will look at the best combination of suitable measures within the funding available to offer you the best possible energy savings.

Following the review, if your property is suitable for improvement works you would be contacted to discuss the options available to you. Further visits may be required for additional surveys for specific measures. You are under no obligation to proceed with any works following the assessment and no installations would take place without your consent.

How much will be awarded?

The value of the grant available depends on:

• whether you are an owner occupier or a private rented tenant
• the EPC rating of your property
• type of property (semi-detached, detached, solid wall etc.)

If you are the homeowner and live in your own home the cost of the measures will be fully funded up to the maximum spend cap per property.
If you live in a private rented property, the landlord will be required to pay at least one third of the overall cost of measures. Before applying for the grant, please ensure your landlord has agreed for measures to be completed and they understand they will be required to make a financial contribution. If you are a landlord applying for a grant, please ensure you have discussed this with your tenants as several visits to the property will be required.

Grants will not be awarded in cash. The grant towards the cost of measures is claimed back from central government via the local authority.

What home energy efficiency measures could I receive?

Eligible households could benefit from one or more of the following fully funded and (in the case of privately rented properties) partially funded measures which are subject to a suitable property survey and funding caps. Examples include:

• Improved ventilation (to help reduce condensation, damp, and mould)
• External wall insulation
• Internal wall insulation
• Cavity wall insulation
• Loft insulation
• Solar panels
• Air source heat pumps

This is not an exhaustive list and all measures are subject to the necessary survey and funding.

A full technical survey will be carried out to check what measures need to be put in place - and in which order the measures need to be completed. Not all homes will be suitable for all measures.

Ventilation plays an essential role in any insulation measure. The Retrofit Assessment will identify if the ventilation is already adequate – or not; and will make ventilation recommendations if necessary.

If extra ventilation is required, this must be carried out before any other energy efficiency measures are installed.

Can I choose which measures I want to receive?

Following an initial property assessment, you would be contacted to discuss the options available to you within the funding available to offer you the best possible energy savings. All works under the scheme must comply with a “fabric first” approach which means heat loss prevention measures such as insulation must be installed before any other energy efficiency measures so it may be necessary to install one measure as a pre-condition for another measure. For example, a loft must be insulated before any solar panels can be installed, so it may be necessary to install these measures as a package if no insulation exists or existing insulation does not meet the correct standard. You are under no obligation to proceed with any measures following the assessment and no measures would take place without your consent.

What contractors will be used and can I trust them?

All contractors are registered with TrustMark, the Government Endorsed Quality Scheme, for measures in and around your home. TrustMark Registered Businesses are thoroughly vetted and continually monitored to ensure they meet required standards in technical competence, customer service and trading practices.

If anything should go wrong, TrustMark has that covered as Registered Businesses must provide guarantees on their work and have a clear and simple disputes resolution process in place. Details can be found on TrustMark website.

Contractors are procured by the Local Authorities, in order to meet the requirements of the scheme.

What savings could I see on my bill?

The savings will vary depending on the measure and number of measures being installed. For example, the Energy Saving Trust has estimated that by adding loft insulation to a typical 3-bedroom semi-detached house you could save around £255 on your energy bill each year whilst solar panels could save you between £210 and £514 each year.

How does the process work?

Once your application has been verified there are several stages to the process which will require several visits to your property:

1. Assessment
2. Technical Design
3.  Installation and Handover
4. Post Energy Performance Certificate and Inspection
5. Evaluation

Please be aware funding will be allocated on a first come first served basis prioritising the most inefficient properties. A completed assessment does not guarantee that work will go ahead. If our allocation for the current scheme has been met, we will keep your assessment on file and aim to incorporate works on the next available government funded scheme.

How we will prioritise the use of the Home Upgrade Grant funding

The decisions to award homes funding will be based on the number of eligible applications received and the remaining funding available to us. This will be reviewed monthly until the end of the scheme. A review of the way we prioritise the Home Upgrade Grant funding will take place following any formal amendments of the government guidance, targets, funding amounts or scheme deadlines.

Use of the Home Upgrade Grant funding will be prioritised in the following way where the constraints of the funding can be met. (The constraints of the scheme and resident/s preferences may mean we are unable to offer some homes measures under the scheme and subsequently may offer a home with a higher EPC funding. In these scenarios we will look to support homes with other funding available if possible.)

• Priority will be given to homes with the lowest EPC regardless of its indices of multiple deprivation area as long as the home is not heated by gas.
• Where a decision is to be made between two homes of the same EPC rating, the home with the lower energy score will receive the funding.
• Where a decision is to be made between two homes of the same EPC rating and energy score, the home with the lower annual household gross income will receive the funding.
• Where a decision is to be made between two homes of the same EPC rating and energy score in the same indices of multiple deprivation area, the applicants will be required to provide evidence of annual household income and the home with the lower annual household gross income will receive the funding.

The constraints of the scheme, as set by the funder, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero are:

• A cap on the total spend for each home. The cost caps for each property type vary based on the property type and wall construction.
• A requirement to spend a minimum of 60% of the total funding on grade A measures.
  • Grade A measures: Cavity wall Insulation, loft insulation, external wall insulation, internal wall insulation, room in roof insulation, draught proofing, air sourced heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, shared loop ground source heat pumps, communal heat networks, wet central heating, hot water cylinder insulation, hot water cylinder thermostat, digital, smart controls, heating controls, battery storage when complementing solar PV.
• A maximum spend of 40% of the total funding on grade B measures.
  • Grade B measures: High heat retention storage heaters, low energy lighting, underfloor insulation, solar PV, High temperature heat pumps, low carbon district heating, double glazing (only when required by Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2035 to complement external wall installation or for the home to be PAS compliant).
• A maximum spend of 10% of the total funding on grade C measures.
  • Grade C measures: Biomass room heater with boiler, solar thermal, biomass, direct electric heaters, double glazing (when not required by PAS 2035 to complement external wall installation nor for the home to be PAS compliant).
• The ability to deliver proposed measure/s within the time deadlines of the scheme, 31 March 2025.

How long will the process take?

Due to the nature and complexity of the funding criteria and volume of assessments being completed and reviewed the process from application to installation could take several months. In some cases, if there are unforeseen supply chain issues this may be longer.

How many home visits will be required?

The process will require 4-6 home visits:

• Pre EPC visit to establish the energy efficiency rating of your property to verify the eligibility of your application (if your property does not already have one).
• Initial whole house retrofit assessment to look at the condition of the property and suitability of measures.
• Technical survey for each measure to be installed to identify the most appropriate design(s) for your property.
• Installation work of improvement measures agreed.
• Post EPC visit to confirm the new and improved energy efficiency rating of your property.
• Independent installation quality inspection to ensure the installation work meets required standards. Properties are randomly selected so not all properties will have an inspection visit.

Will scaffolding need to be erected at my property?

It will be necessary to erect temporary scaffolding for the installation of most measures, for example, solar panels, windows and external wall insulation.

Will you need access to my loft?

Yes. We will require access to any loft space to establish whether you have any existing loft insulation or whether this meets the required standard. We kindly ask that you clear down sufficient space to allow adequate access to contractors for them to carry out an accurate survey.

How long will the work take on my house?

The duration of installation works will depend on the measure or combination of measures being installed. For example, loft insulation can generally be fitted within a day, whereas external wall insulation could take 2 weeks or longer depending on weather conditions.

How much space will an Air Source Heat Pump occupy?

An Air Source Heat Pump is sited outside the property can either be attached to an external wall or fixed to a floor and are generally around 1500mm x 500mm in size. You will also need space within your property to accommodate a hot water cylinder either in the loft or an airing cupboard. An assessor will look at the options available when they visit your home to carry out the initial survey.

Will I have to move out whilst the work is taking place?

No, you will not need to move out of your property. We will endeavour to keep any disruption to a minimum whilst the installation work is being carried out. Most of the work will be carried out externally where possible. If internal access is required, your carpets and flooring will be covered by the contractor before the installation of any measures and the contractor will leave your property in the same condition as prior to the installation.

Will I receive any warranties for works completed?

Yes. All installation works will come with appropriate warranties and guarantees for each measure installed.

Can I nominate someone to speak on my behalf?

Yes. You can nominate someone to speak with us on your behalf. This may be a family member, friend, carer, or if you are a private tenant you may wish for us to speak with your landlord. If you prefer to do this, we will need your permission and the contact details of your nominated person.

What if there are 3 owner names on our mortgage/property deeds?

The application form and home ownership information need to be the same. All property owners listed on the home ownership will need to sign the application form.

Additional scheme information:

Resource Archive - Act on Energy - Energy Advice Charity – Information on energy efficiency improvements

Sept 2022 Government guidance to on scheme

April 2023 Government guidance to on scheme

Privacy policy and privacy policy for HUG2 - Act on Energy

Our privacy and data protection (wyreforestdc.gov.uk)