Up to 170,000 homes to get energy saving upgrades

Up to 170,000 homes in England will benefit from energy efficiency upgrades as the rollout of the Warm Homes Plan gathers pace, helping more families lower their energy bills and improve their homes. 

£1.8 billion in government support will from today (Tuesday 11 March) be allocated to local authorities and social housing providers, in a new boost which will support them to deliver warmer, more energy efficient homes in local communities across England. 

This funding will be targeted towards low-income households and tenants living in social housing, with thousands of families set to receive energy performance and clean heating upgrades in the form of insulation, solar panels and heat pumps.  

At a time when many are experiencing high energy bills driven by the UK’s reliance on international gas markets, this funding through the Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund schemes could now help households save hundreds of pounds a year. 

This move will help deliver a milestone of higher living standards in every part of the UK by the end of Parliament by boosting people’s Real Household Disposable Income – a key part of our Plan for Change. 

Minister for Energy Consumers, Miatta Fahnbulleh, said: 

Living in a warm, comfortable home should not be a luxury. It is a right that has been out of reach for too many people for too long. 

By giving this funding to local authorities and social housing providers we are delivering on our promise to improve the homes of thousands of people across England. 

As part of our Plan for Change, we are powering on with our Warm Homes Plan, upgrading cold and draughty homes so they are warmer, cleaner, and cheaper to live in.

The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund will deliver up to £1.29 billion of funding to 144 projects across England with the Warm Homes: Local Grant allocating £500 million to 73 projects across 270 local authorities over the next 3 years. 

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will receive an allocation of this funding as part of the Warm Homes and Public Sector Decarbonisation Devolution Programme. 

This funding complements the government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower, delivering energy security and bringing down bills for good.  

The expected rise in the price cap shows once again the cost of remaining reliant on the unstable global fossil fuel markets that are driving price increases. 

The funding allocations follows the recent announcement on the Warm Homes Discount with almost 3 million more households, including almost 1 million households with children, becoming eligible for £150 to pay their energy bills next winter, as the government consults on proposals to offer more support to consumers across the country.   

This comes after other government support to deliver warmer, more energy efficient homes and protect consumers, including: 

• consulting on plans to mandate private landlords in England and Wales to improve the energy performance of their properties by 2030, saving private renters £240 per year on average on their energy bills
• setting out a £500 million Winter Package with Energy UK to help customers with their energy bills
• extending the Household Support Fund to help vulnerable households with essential costs like food, energy, and water bills
• helping more families get a heat pump by almost doubling the budget for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in the next financial year to £295 million, along with allocating an extra £55 million for the rest of this financial year. And removing the rule requiring heat pumps to be installed at least one metre from a property’s boundary

Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, said: 

We welcome this funding allocation to help decarbonise England’s social homes; a crucial step towards the government’s commitment to tackle fuel poverty. 

With the fund oversubscribed, it is clear that there is both momentum and appetite among housing associations to upgrade their homes at scale and pace. The sector is working hard to ensure all their homes meet EPC C by 2030, in line with the government’s net zero target. 

Decarbonising our homes is a win win for residents, the government and our planet, creating warmer homes, saving residents money and tackling the climate emergency.

Gavin Smart, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute for Housing (CIH), said: 

We welcome this investment as another important step towards making homes warmer, healthier, and more affordable to run. Social landlords have worked hard to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, and this funding will help them to continue that work—supporting retrofit programmes that will reduce fuel poverty, lower carbon emissions, and bring down energy bills for tenants.  

The strong demand for this funding highlights how vital energy efficiency investment is for the social housing sector. CIH will continue to work with government and our members to support the effective rollout of this funding and advocate for the long-term investment needed to make all homes warmer and safer.

Tracy Harrison, Chief Executive of the Northern Housing Consortium, said:  

The North has lots of older, colder homes – with 1 in 5 built before 1919 and almost a million households currently in fuel poverty – so this Warm Homes investment will make a big difference to people’s lives. NHC members, including housing associations, local authorities and combined authorities across the North, are working to tackle this by installing tens of thousands of energy efficiency measures from heat pumps to home insulation. 

This extra funding from government is very welcome and will boost these efforts, helping to cut carbon emissions, support jobs, cut fuel bills and tackle fuel poverty. We also welcome the move to devolve retrofit funding in the North through the allocation of funding to Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Integrated Settlement.  

This will allow funding to better align with locally led plans for economic growth, training and skills provision, as well as support greater collaboration between housing providers in Greater Manchester. We know there is continuing appetite from our members to continue to make our homes more energy efficient.

Derek Horrocks, Chairman of Sustainable Energy UL, said: 

With up to 170,000 households supported under today’s announcement, this will positively impact thousands of the most vulnerable in society through the creation of warmer, healthier, drier, and more affordable-to-heat homes. 

Building on the success of previous energy efficiency programmes, the initiative will also drive significant investment in training and skills development, strengthening the workforce needed for the UK’s transition to net zero. Alongside safeguarding existing jobs, the plan will also generate thousands of new roles in the growing green economy and enable the supply chain to continue to invest in the sector for the long term with confidence.

Notes to editors

A full list of successful local authorities can be found here: Warm Homes: Local Grant successful local authorities.

A full list of successful social housing providers can be found here: Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund wave 3 successful social housing landlords.

When delivery of the Warm Homes: Local Grant begins, households will be able to check their eligibility using an online tool. This is not currently live but will be available on GOV.UK from April 2025. If a household is deemed eligible based on the information they provide, their application will be sent to their local authority or their official contractor, who will handle the next steps. Households can also contact their local authority directly for support. The method of contact may vary depending on the local authority.