Loft Insulation Grant: Measure Your Loft, Then See Who Pays

Yes. A loft insulation grant is still available on 5 November 2026 through two funded routes. ECO4 covers England and Scotland for work completed by 31 December 2026, and councils in England run the Warm Homes: Local Grant until March 2028. The Great British Insulation Scheme closed on 31 March 2026.

Status, checked 5 November 2026: ECO4 work must be finished by 31 December 2026 · GBIS closed to new installations · Warm Homes: Local Grant delivery window closes 31 March 2028 · We survey and fit in England and Scotland

A loft that already has some insulation in it is the usual reason people expect a refusal. Depth matters less than who lives in the home, its energy rating and what else the home needs. Measure first, because that number shapes every route below.

Two schemes are open for loft work on 5 November 2026, and each has its own test. ECO4 looks at benefits or a council declaration, while the Local Grant looks mainly at income or postcode.

The full rules for the council routes sit on our LA Flex scheme page. For how ECO4 itself works, from supplier funding to the end date, read our guide to the ECO4 scheme.

Three ECO4 rules that catch people out

ECO4 is a whole-home scheme, not a loft-only grant. The project has to lift the home's energy rating, to at least band C from D or E, or to at least band D from F or G. If a loft top-up alone cannot reach that rating, it goes in alongside wall insulation or a heating upgrade.

Before ECO4 funds new heating in an E, F or G home, the loft and cavity walls must already be insulated, which is why loft work often comes first on a first time central heating grants job.

Privately rented homes need a bigger measure in the package. A rental on ECO4 must receive at least one of solid wall insulation, first time central heating, renewable heating or a district heating connection. A loft alone is not enough there.

If your loft was insulated under an earlier ECO scheme while you already owned the home, Ofgem will reject a new loft claim. If you bought the home after that work, it can be looked at again.

Not sure which row fits your home?

Yes, you can get free loft insulation if you are not on benefits, but only through an income, health or postcode route. Each one has its own paperwork.

• Council income route (ECO4 Flex Route 1): the gross income of every adult living in the home must add up to less than £31,000 a year. Payslips, pension statements or a P60 usually show this.
• Health referral (ECO4 Flex Route 3): a GP or NHS referral for someone whose cardiovascular condition, respiratory disease, limited mobility or immunosuppression is made worse by a cold home.
• Warm Homes: Local Grant (England): pays for wall, loft and underfloor insulation where household income is usually £36,000 or less, or where you live in one of the government's listed postcode areas. We help with the application, from the form to the documents.

The Local Grant has more time left than ECO4, so it is often the better fit for a household that cannot be ready before the end of December. Our guide to the Warm Homes: Local Grant explains the income tables and postcode route in detail.

If you are working out a wider plan without benefits, our page on getting a boiler grant if you're not on benefits sets out the heating side.

If no route fits, the Energy Saving Trust puts a professional install at about £750 for an empty loft and about £600 to top up from 120mm to 270mm. Those are its Great Britain figures, on a page last updated on 8 May 2026.

The VAT point most guides skip

• Fitted by a business: installing loft insulation in a home is zero-rated for VAT from 1 May 2023 to 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 it returns to the reduced rate of 5%.
• Bought to fit yourself: HMRC says energy-saving materials sold by a retailer without installation are always standard-rated. DIY rolls carry normal VAT.

So the gap between paying a professional and doing it yourself is smaller than the shelf price of the rolls suggests, at least until the end of March 2027.

When DIY makes sense

The Energy Saving Trust says DIY is fine when the loft is easy to reach, has no damp and is not a flat roof. The usual method is two layers of mineral wool: the first between the joists, the second laid at right angles across them to build up the depth.

Bring in a professional if any of these apply:

• you have a flat roof, or want the insulation at the sloping rafters
• the loft is used as a room
• there are signs of damp, condensation or structural problems

The Trust also lists the water tank, the pipes and the loft hatch as things to plan for when you insulate, along with ventilation and any storage boarding.

What you save

An uninsulated roof loses around a quarter of a home's heat, according to the Energy Saving Trust, and loft insulation lasts around 40 years. That is why the Trust calls loft insulation cost-effective: it should pay for itself many times over.

Going from 120mm to 270mm saves around £17 a year in Great Britain on the Trust's figures. If your loft is already half full, the stronger reasons to finish it are comfort and getting the home ready for a heat pump, not a fast return.