Boiler Upgrade Scheme: How It Works and Who Qualifies
Last updated:
- Open in England and Wales, with a Find a Grant closing date of 30 December 2029
- £9,000 for oil and LPG homes off the gas grid until 31 March 2027
- No income test, but it never pays for a gas boiler
Weighing up a heat pump? Find out which grant fits your home first.
Check If You Qualify- Gas Safe registered engineers
- Company No. 16100301
£7,500
Heat pump grant
GOV.UK
£9,000
Oil and LPG rate
GOV.UK, to 31 Mar 2027
£2,500
Air to air grant
GOV.UK
30 Dec 2029
Find a Grant closing date
GOV.UK Find a Grant
What Is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme? Your Answer at a Glance
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a government grant in England and Wales that knocks money off a heat pump or biomass boiler when you replace fossil fuel heating. Owners, including landlords, can use it with no income test. Your installer claims it and shows it as a discount on the quote. Oil and LPG homes off the gas grid get £9,000 until 31 March 2027.
The word "boiler" in the name refers to the system you take out, not the one you put in. The grant is for low carbon heating that replaces gas, oil, LPG or direct electric systems.
Ofgem runs the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). It opened on 23 May 2022, and GOV.UK's Find a Grant service lists its closing date as 30 December 2029.
Status, checked 3 November 2026: scheme open · higher oil and LPG rate ends 31 March 2027 · we compare every grant route for your home
How Much Does the Boiler Upgrade Scheme Pay?
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 towards an air to water or ground source heat pump, £5,000 towards a biomass boiler and £2,500 towards an air to air heat pump. You get one grant per property.
- Air to water heat pump: £7,500, or £9,000 in an off-grid home replacing oil or LPG
- Ground or water source heat pump: £7,500, or £9,000 in an off-grid home replacing oil or LPG
- Air to air heat pump (homes only): £2,500, with no higher rate
- Biomass boiler (rural homes off the gas grid): £5,000, with no higher rate
The higher rate is only for oil and LPG. The government's grant notice, updated 20 October 2026, keeps an off-grid home replacing coal or direct electric heating at £7,500.
If you heat with oil, our oil boiler replacement grant guide compares the heat pump route with other options. To see what a heat pump job can still cost after the grant, read our heat pump grant page.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme Eligibility: Find Your Situation
You qualify if you own the property and you are replacing fossil fuel heating, such as gas, oil, LPG or electric. There is no income test.
Since 28 April 2026, Ofgem's rules have not required an Energy Performance Certificate. Past insulation funding does not count against you.
| Your situation | Can you use the scheme? |
|---|---|
| You own and live in the home | Yes |
| You own a home you rent out | Yes, through the installer you choose |
| You own a second home | Yes |
| You rent from a private landlord | Not yourself. Your landlord can use it for your home |
| Social housing, including shared ownership | No |
| A new build still being built by a developer | No |
| You bought a finished new build with a fossil fuel boiler | You may be able to |
| A self build you or the first owner built | Yes, if a business never owned it. Biomass is not allowed on self builds |
| A small or medium business building | Yes, in England or Wales |
Some homes are ruled out by their history. A property that has already received government money for a heat pump or biomass boiler cannot claim again, and a low carbon system cannot be swapped for another one under the scheme.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme for landlords
Landlords can use the grant in the same way as owner-occupiers, and it still comes off the installer's quote. GOV.UK names a property you rent out to tenants as one you can claim for.
A tenant cannot use the scheme for a rented home; only the owner can. If your tenants are on a low income, other help may fit better, as the section on combining grants explains.
How Does It Work, Step by Step?
You never fill in a form for the grant yourself. Your installer, who must be certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), sends the application to Ofgem and deducts the grant from the price you pay.
- Quotes: you compare quotes, and each one should say whether your property meets the scheme rules.
- Agree a price: the price you agree is the full cost with the grant already taken off.
- The installer applies: the application goes to Ofgem on your behalf.
- Ofgem contacts you: you confirm the installer is acting for you and that you meet the rules. If Ofgem does not hear back within 14 calendar days, it may reject the application.
- Fitting window: once approved, the installer has three months to finish the job, or six months for a ground source heat pump. GOV.UK also says the heat pump must be installed and commissioned within 120 days of the application, so agree a fitting date before the installer applies.
- Checks: Ofgem can check the job at any stage, including after the grant is paid, and that can mean a site visit.
What Ofgem's guidance says about consent
Ofgem's page for property owners sets out how your consent works.
- One installer only: you can confirm consent for one installer. Applications from anyone else for your home are rejected.
- Consent is not a contract: confirming to Ofgem does not tie you to that installer.
- The grant is never cash: it is an upfront discount on the quote, and GOV.UK says it must also show on your invoice.
Want someone to read through a quote with you?
What the Scheme Will Not Fund
The scheme pays only towards the heat pump or biomass boiler itself, and only under its rules. These sit outside it:
- A new gas or oil boiler, even a very efficient one
- Hybrid systems that pair a heat pump with a gas boiler
- A system that only heats water
- Very large systems over 45 kWth for a single heat pump
Separate work such as loft or wall insulation, solar panels or a battery needs its own funding route.
Can You Combine It With Other Grants?
Yes, in some cases. A heat pump can be funded by one government scheme only, but loans, VAT relief and insulation funding can sit alongside the grant.
- ECO4 insulation: yes. Insulation funded through ECO4 can sit alongside the grant.
- Warm Homes: Local Grant: not for the same heat pump.
- Warm Homes loans: yes. GOV.UK's factsheet says homeowners can combine a loan with a grant of up to £9,000.
- 0% VAT on heat pumps: yes, on installation in homes until 31 March 2027. The rate becomes 5% from 1 April 2027.
For low income homes in England, the Warm Homes: Local Grant can cover the whole job instead. It is for privately owned homes rated EPC D to G, usually with a household income of £36,000 or less, and owner-occupiers do not pay towards the work it agrees. Landlords may have to pay for some of it. We help with the Local Grant form and documents.
The government launched the Warm Homes Loan Scheme on 27 October 2026, with no and low interest loans from a first group of lenders. Our Warm Homes Plan guide explains how the wider plan fits together.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme End Date and the Dates That Matter
The Find a Grant listing gives a closing date of 30 December 2029, but 31 March 2027 matters sooner for oil and LPG homes and for VAT.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 23 May 2022 | The scheme opens |
| 21 July 2026 | £9,000 rate starts for oil and LPG homes off the gas grid |
| 27 October 2026 | Warm Homes Loan Scheme launches |
| 31 December 2026 | Deadline for ECO4 work to be finished |
| 31 March 2027 | Higher oil and LPG rate ends, and so does 0% VAT on heat pump installation |
| 30 December 2029 | Closing date on GOV.UK Find a Grant |
If you heat with oil or LPG, ask us to check which grant amount a quote assumes before you sign.
Is There a Boiler Upgrade Scheme in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?
Only Wales shares it with England. Homes in Scotland and Northern Ireland need a different route.
- Wales: one set of rules and one grant notice cover both England and Wales, so the amounts match.
- Scotland: Home Energy Scotland offers a grant of up to £7,500 for a heat pump, an optional interest-free loan of £7,500 and a £1,500 uplift for rural and island homes.
- Northern Ireland: there is no Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant.
Our team works in England and Scotland. Scottish homeowners can read about funded heating and insulation on our Scotland boiler grants page.
How FreeBoilerUpgrade.uk Helps
FreeBoilerUpgrade.uk offers air source heat pumps and help with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, alongside funded boilers and insulation. Because we cover both, we can show you whether a grant towards a heat pump or a fully funded route suits your home better.
- First, the cheapest route: if your household could get a funded boiler or insulation under ECO4 before it closes, we check that before you spend anything.
- A look at your home: we survey the property so the advice fits your heating, space and insulation.
- The paperwork, explained: we go through what the quote should show, the Ofgem confirmation and the fitting window.
Ready to see what your home could get?
Common Questions
Will there be a free boiler scheme in 2026?
Yes, until the end of the year. ECO4 can still fund a boiler for eligible households, but the work must be finished by 31 December 2026. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme only gives a discount on low carbon heating and never funds a gas boiler.
Who qualifies for a free new boiler?
It depends on benefits, income and the home itself, and our ECO4 eligibility guide goes through each rule.
Looking for help with a boiler, insulation or heating controls instead? Our boiler grants home page lists every route we cover.
Check If You Qualify
Four quick steps. Tap your answers and we'll do the rest.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Boiler Upgrade Scheme eligibility
- GOV.UK: Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant values
- GOV.UK Find a Grant: Boiler Upgrade Scheme
- Ofgem: Boiler Upgrade Scheme for property owners
- GOV.UK: Warm Homes Loan Scheme factsheet
- GOV.UK: Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, how to apply
- GOV.UK: Apply for the Warm Homes: Local Grant
- HMRC VAT Notice 708/6
- Ofgem guidance for installers, version 5
- Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan
About This Page
FreeBoilerUpgrade.uk is an installer run by Reliant Energy Solutions Ltd (No. 16100301), incorporated on 25 November 2024. Every boiler is fitted by a Gas Safe registered engineer. We are not part of the government or Ofgem.
- Company: Reliant Energy Solutions Ltd, company number 16100301, address 16 Suite, Turner Business Centre, Middleton, Manchester M24 1RU
- Phone: 07599 995537
- Email: info@freeboilerupgrade.uk
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