Boiler Upgrade Scheme
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is the government grant in England and Wales towards replacing a fossil-fuel heating system with a heat pump or biomass boiler. As at September 2026 it pays £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump, £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump (added in April 2026), and a temporary £9,000 towards a heat pump replacing oil or LPG heating for applications between 21 July 2026 and 31 March 2027. Landlords are eligible as applicants, and the grant is claimed by the installer on the landlord's behalf and deducted from the invoice.
Eligibility
The property must be in England or Wales, must be replacing a fossil-fuel or electric heating system, and must be fitted by an installer certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS); the earlier requirement for a valid EPC with no outstanding insulation recommendations was removed. New-build properties are excluded except self-builds. The scheme is administered by Ofgem, and the current amounts and terms are on gov.uk.
How it is claimed
The MCS installer applies to Ofgem once the landlord has agreed a quote, Ofgem issues a voucher, the installation is completed and commissioned, and the installer redeems the voucher; the landlord pays the invoice net of the grant. Vouchers are time-limited, so agree the installation date before the voucher is issued.
The MEES cost cap
Under the minimum energy efficiency standards regime that requires privately rented homes to reach EPC C by 1 October 2030, landlords must spend up to £10,000 per property before registering a cost-cap exemption, and grant funding counts towards that cap except Boiler Upgrade Scheme money, which does not. A landlord who uses the grant therefore still needs to evidence £10,000 of other qualifying spend before an exemption is available. Spend since 1 October 2025 counts.
Order of works
The standard is fabric first: a heat pump in an uninsulated property raises the tenant's bills and the complaints with them, and the government's guidance expects insulation before heating. Commission a retrofit assessment before the heat pump quote, and check the design includes a heat-loss calculation and radiator upgrades. The post-works energy performance certificate records the improvement; run the property through the EPC improvement calculator to see whether a heat pump is the measure that moves it to C.
From working with landlords across the UK preparing for 2030, the grant is claimed most successfully by those who had the assessment first and the heat pump third; those who started with the heat pump often found the property still short of C. A heat pump also changes the servicing and cover picture, covered in the best boiler cover for landlords, and providers at each stage are in the best EPC improvement providers for landlords. August's compliance tracker holds the EPC and the invoices that evidence the cap.
Related schemes: the Warm Homes Local Grant funds fabric and heating for low-income tenants through participating councils and does count towards the cap; ECO4 runs until 31 December 2026.
Last reviewed: September 2026. The scheme's terms change by budget; check gov.uk before committing spend.
