Rates and scheme status checked 22 October 2026 on Ofgem and GOV.UK. A guide, not a decision: suppliers, councils and installers make the final check. Never pay anyone to apply for you.
Rules used
ECO4 standard route: someone gets a listed benefit, you own the home or have the landlord’s permission, home in England, Wales or Scotland. Measures decided by a retrofit assessment.
ECO4 Flex: household gross income under £31,000, or a listed health condition made worse by cold; needs a referral from your council (or the Scottish or Welsh Government) or your supplier.
Warm Homes: Local Grant: England only, privately owned home, EPC D to G, household income usually £36,000 or less (some postcodes and benefits qualify above that), if your council has funding.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme: property owner in England or Wales replacing oil, gas, electric or LPG heating; not social housing or most new builds. Great British Insulation Scheme: ended 31 March 2026.
This home energy grant checker tells households in England, Wales and Scotland whether they are likely to qualify for ECO4 before it ends on 31 December 2026, and checks the other home energy grants open now: the Warm Homes: Local Grant in England, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the social housing fund. It also flags the schemes that have closed. Answer a few questions about where you live, your tenure, benefits, income, health and EPC rating to see which schemes to contact.
Quick answer: ECO4 runs until 31 December 2026. You are likely eligible if someone in your home gets a listed benefit such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit, or through ECO4 Flex with household income under £31,000 or a cold-sensitive health condition. The home energy grant checker also covers the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
What Is a Home Energy Grant Checker?
A home energy grant checker, often searched for as an ECO4 eligibility checker or ECO4 checker, is a tool that compares your household's circumstances with the published rules of the Energy Company Obligation and related grant schemes, and tells you which ones you are likely to qualify for. In plain words: it checks your nation, tenure, benefits, income, health and EPC rating against each scheme's conditions, then marks each scheme as likely, possible, not eligible or closed.
The home energy grant checker cannot approve an application. Under ECO4 the energy supplier or its installer makes the final decision after a retrofit assessment of the home, and under the Warm Homes: Local Grant your council decides. The checker saves you calls to schemes you cannot use and tells you who to contact for the ones you can.
How Do You Use the Home Energy Grant Checker?
- Choose the nation the home is in and whether you own it, rent it privately, rent from a council or housing association, or let it out.
- Say whether anyone in the household gets one of the listed benefits.
- Enter the household's combined gross income for the year and whether anyone has a listed health condition made worse by cold.
- Pick the EPC rating, the main heating and whether the home is a new build still under construction.
- Read the result for each scheme and the days left for ECO4 installations, then open "Rules used" to see the conditions behind each answer.
Is ECO4 Still Open in 2026?
Yes. ECO4 applies to measures installed from 1 April 2022 and runs until 31 December 2026 after a nine-month extension, according to Ofgem's Energy Company Obligation page. The government response on extending ECO4 confirms the 31 December 2026 end date and that there will be no successor supplier obligation after it.
Instead, the government is providing £1.5 billion of additional grant funding for low-income households as part of the Warm Homes Plan. Because suppliers must finish work by the end date, the home energy grant checker counts down the days left. A survey, design and installation take time, so if you qualify, contact a supplier now rather than in December.
Who Is Eligible for ECO4?
You are likely eligible for ECO4 if you own your home, or have your landlord's permission, and someone in the household receives at least one of the benefits Ofgem lists. The home must also need energy efficiency upgrades, and a retrofit assessment decides which measures are installed.
| Route | Who qualifies | How to apply |
|---|---|---|
| ECO4 benefits route | Someone gets Child Benefit, Pension Guarantee Credit, Pension Credit Savings Credit, income-related ESA, income-based JSA, Income Support, Universal Credit or Housing Benefit | Contact any obligated energy supplier, not only your own |
| ECO4 Flex, income | Combined gross household income under £31,000 | Referral by your council, the Scottish or Welsh Government, or a supplier |
| ECO4 Flex, health | Someone has a cardiovascular condition, respiratory disease, limited mobility or immunosuppression made worse by a cold home | Referral by your council, the Scottish or Welsh Government, or a supplier |
| Supplier referral | Customers with persistent fuel debt, or prepayment customers who have repeatedly lost supply through hardship | Your energy supplier |
The list is taken from Ofgem's guidance for homeowners and tenants. Some older guides still list Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit; Ofgem's current list does not. Whether a council accepts self-referrals for Flex depends on the council, so the home energy grant checker marks Flex as "may be eligible" rather than likely.
What Replaced the Great British Insulation Scheme?
The Great British Insulation Scheme ended on 31 March 2026 and was not extended. GOV.UK says its eligibility checker has closed and installations had to be complete by that date. In England, the main open grant for private homes is now the Warm Homes: Local Grant, run through councils.
It is available only in England, for privately owned homes with an EPC of D, E, F or G. Household income must usually be £36,000 a year or less, although homes in certain postcode areas, or where someone gets certain benefits, may qualify above that. If your council has funding, it arranges a survey and pays for agreed work such as insulation, an air source heat pump, smart controls or solar panels. Landlords may need to pay part of the cost.
Can Tenants and Landlords Get Home Energy Grants?
Yes, but the route depends on who you rent from. Private tenants can get ECO4 with the landlord's permission and may qualify for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, because it covers homes privately owned by you or your landlord. Council and housing association tenants also need permission for ECO4, but they do not apply to the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund themselves: the housing provider contacts tenants whose homes are chosen.
Landlords can apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for a home they rent out, since the scheme covers owners of rented properties in England and Wales. Social housing is excluded from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Before running the home energy grant checker for a let property, find its current EPC rating; if you want to check how that rating could change, the EPC rating calculator gives a first estimate.
Which Grants Pay for a Heat Pump?
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump for owners in England and Wales who are replacing oil, gas, electric or LPG heating, with an extra £1,500 until March 2027 where the home is heated by oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection. It is not means tested, so you can use it whatever your income.
ECO4 and the Warm Homes: Local Grant can also fund heating upgrades for eligible households. To see what a heat pump would cost to run against your current boiler, use the heat pump running cost calculator, and for a quick view of what your current appliances cost, the electricity cost calculator.
How Do You Avoid Grant Scams?
Only agree to ECO measures once you have a written contract, and always ask anyone who contacts you for their registration credentials and check them on the TrustMark website, as Ofgem advises. You do not have to sign for work you think is unsuitable, and being eligible does not guarantee an installation; you may be asked to contribute to the cost.
Insulation and heating work must be done by accredited installers. Any gas work needs a Gas Safe registered engineer, and new electrical circuits for a heat pump or solar panels must be installed by a qualified electrician to BS 7671. Never pay an upfront fee to someone offering to "unlock" a government grant.
Worked Example: Checking a Rented Terrace in Sheffield
Example: a family renting a 1930s terrace from a private landlord in Sheffield has a combined gross income of £27,500, receives Child Benefit, has an EPC rating of E and heats the home with a gas boiler. These details are an example, not a real household.
- ECO4 benefits route: Child Benefit is on Ofgem's list, so the household is likely eligible with the landlord's permission.
- ECO4 Flex: income of £27,500 is under £31,000, so the family may also qualify through a council referral.
- Warm Homes: Local Grant: England, privately owned, EPC E and income under £36,000, so the family is likely eligible if Sheffield's council has funding; the landlord may pay part.
- Boiler Upgrade Scheme: the tenants cannot apply, but the landlord, as owner, can.
- Great British Insulation Scheme: closed on 31 March 2026.
The home energy grant checker shows four schemes worth checking. The family's first call should be an energy supplier about ECO4, because that scheme ends on 31 December 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does ECO4 end?
ECO4 runs until 31 December 2026 after a nine-month extension, and the government has said there will be no successor supplier obligation. Suppliers need time for surveys and installation, so households who qualify should contact a supplier well before the end date.
What benefits qualify for ECO4?
Ofgem lists Child Benefit, Pension Guarantee Credit, Pension Credit Savings Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, Universal Credit and Housing Benefit. At least one person in the household must receive one of them for the standard route.
Can I get ECO4 without benefits?
Possibly, through ECO4 Flex. Ofgem says households with combined gross income under £31,000, or where someone has a cardiovascular, respiratory, mobility or immune condition made worse by a cold home, can be referred by their council, the Scottish or Welsh Government, or a supplier.
Is the Great British Insulation Scheme still open?
No. The Great British Insulation Scheme ended on 31 March 2026 and its online eligibility checker has closed. In England, the Warm Homes: Local Grant now funds insulation and heating for many lower income households in homes rated EPC D to G.
Can private tenants apply for ECO4?
Yes. Private and social housing tenants can get ECO4 measures if they qualify and have the landlord's permission. Private tenants in England may also qualify for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, although the landlord may be asked to pay for some of the improvements.
Does this home energy grant checker guarantee a grant?
No. It applies the published rules checked on 22 October 2026 to your answers. Energy suppliers, installers and councils make the final decision after assessing the home, and council schemes depend on available funding, so treat the result as a guide to who to contact.
Checked October 2026 by the Solaxyra Editorial Team. Sources: Ofgem: Energy Company Obligation, Ofgem: ECO for homeowners and tenants, DESNZ: Extending the ECO4 end date, government response, GOV.UK: Warm Homes: Local Grant, GOV.UK: Great British Insulation Scheme, GOV.UK: Help to Heat, GOV.UK: Boiler Upgrade Scheme.