Boiler Grants for Landlords: What Your Rental Can Actually Get

Three funding routes can reach a rented home. Two of them test your tenant's household; the heat pump grant does not. This is how these energy efficiency grants for landlords compare on 4 November 2026.

None of these pays for a straight gas boiler swap in a rental. Insulation grants for landlords sit inside the first four rows. ECO4 funds solid wall insulation, with other insulation added alongside it, and the Local Grant funds wall, loft and underfloor insulation.

One rental per landlord can be upgraded at no cost to you; every rental after that needs a 50% landlord contribution. That rule comes from the GOV.UK Local Grant policy guidance for councils, updated in July 2026, and there is no limit on how many eligible rentals you put forward.

The grant limits per property, from the same guidance:

• First rental: grant up to £16,600 for insulation and energy work plus £16,600 for low carbon heating (£33,200 in all); you pay £0
• Second rental onwards: grant up to £8,300 plus £8,300 (£16,600 in all); you match it with £8,300 plus £8,300

Councils can accept more than 50% from a landlord. Your tenants are never asked to pay.

The tests behind it

• The tenant's household: usually a gross income of £36,000 a year or less, with some postcode and benefit exceptions. The full tests are on our Warm Homes: Local Grant page.
• The home: privately owned, in England, rated D, E, F or G.
• F and G rentals: these need a registered exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register before they can be funded. The grant cannot be used to bring a home up to the legal minimum, only to take it further.

What you sign as the landlord

• A landlord declaration, with your details checked against the title deeds
• Confirmation that public support to you has not gone over £315,000 in the last three years (the Minimal Financial Assistance limit)
• Confirmation that you understand the rent should not go up because of the funded work

The Local Grant pays for heat pumps, insulation, solar panels and smart controls, not new gas boilers. If a hybrid system needs a new gas boiler, only the heat pump part is funded. We help you with the Local Grant form and your documents.

You must keep the heating working, have gas appliances checked every year, and hold an EPC of at least band E to let the home. None of these duties waits for a grant.

• Repairs: section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 makes you keep heating and hot water installations "in repair and proper working order" (England and Wales).
• Gas safety: a Gas Safe registered engineer checks gas appliances every year, and your tenant gets a copy of the gas safety record.
• Energy rating: the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) set band E as the minimum for most private lets in England and Wales.

Band E today: the cost cap and exemptions

Under the current MEES rules you are not expected to spend more than £3,500 including VAT on reaching band E. If EPC grants for landlords cover part of the job, GOV.UK says to use all the funding you secure, then top up to the cap.

If band E still cannot be reached, you register an exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register. Most exemptions last 5 years. Letting a non-compliant home can bring penalties of up to £5,000 in total per property.

EPC C by 2030: what is decided and what is not

The government has decided on band C for private rentals by 1 October 2030, but it is not law yet. Its response to the consultation, published on 21 January 2026, sets that single date for all tenancies in England and Wales.

The main points of that response:

• A new cost cap of £10,000 per property, covering a 10-year period
• Spending on recommended measures from 1 October 2025 onwards counts towards that cap
• A fabric standard first, then your choice of a heating system standard or a smart readiness standard
• Homes rated C or above before 1 October 2029 stay compliant until that certificate expires
• A maximum fine of £30,000 per property per breach

It still needs Parliament's approval, and the government aims for the regulations to come into force in 2027. On 4 November 2026 the legal minimum EPC rating for rental homes remains band E.

Want to know which job lifts your rental's rating?

FreeBoilerUpgrade.uk is the installer on your job. One team checks the rental, surveys it and fits the work. On ECO4 jobs we submit the work under the scheme; on Local Grant jobs we help with the form and your documents, and on heat pump jobs we help with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The steps run in this order.

• Eligibility check: we look at your tenant's benefit or council route, the EPC band and how the home is heated.
• Survey: with your permission, we visit the property and confirm which measures fit.
• Approval: the paperwork goes in, including your signed consent.
• Installation: our Gas Safe registered engineer does the fitting, which is typically 1 to 2 days on site after approval.

Have these ready to save time:

• Proof you own the property
• Your signed landlord permission
• Your tenant's benefit award letter, or council confirmation
• The current EPC, if you have one
• For a band F or G Local Grant job, your exemption registration

How long it takes depends on your paperwork and the survey. We cover England and Scotland, including Manchester, Salford, Stockport and Oldham.