ECO4: help from your energy supplier

What ECO4 pays for

You may get help with these costs, says GOV.UK:

• insulation, for example in the loft, or in cavity walls, meaning walls with a gap inside
• repairs or a replacement for your boiler, or other heating upgrades

The way the scheme works

A target set by the government must be met by suppliers funding home upgrades. Ofgem checks the suppliers and runs the scheme on the government's behalf.

The work must reach households that are low-income, fuel-poor or vulnerable, and help them heat their homes. If you struggle to pay to keep your home warm, that's fuel poverty. The size of each supplier's share of the gas and electricity market sets the size of its share of the target.

Who qualifies for the ECO4 scheme

Living in private housing and getting one of these benefits might qualify you. You're in private housing if the home is yours or you rent from a private landlord.

• Universal Credit
• Pension Savings Credit or Pension Guarantee Credit
• Income Support
• Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), the income-based kind
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), the income-related kind
• Child Benefit
• Housing Benefit

Help for tenants in social housing

Renters of council or housing association homes have a separate route. An E, F or G rating is required for the home. Help covers insulation, or a heating system in a home that's never had one.

EPC ratings: how they decide if you get help

Your home gets a letter from its EPC (Energy Performance Certificate). The scale starts at A, the best, and ends at G, the worst. The rules limit which letter you can have:

• a D, E, F or G rating is required if you own your home
• if you rent privately: a rating of E, F or G, plus the owner's agreement to the work
• in social housing, E, F or G is the rating your home needs

How to apply for an ECO4 grant

Apply to an energy supplier or to your council, GOV.UK explains. Ofgem lists the suppliers taking part.

1. Your landlord can tell you your rating, or you can look it up on the EPC register.
2. Find out from your local council whether it takes part.
3. Or ask an energy supplier that takes part.
4. If an installer or agent gets in touch without you asking, check with your council, or with the supplier they say they work for.

When ECO4 ends

After a nine-month extension, Ofgem says the scheme will run until 31 December 2026. The government response explains that suppliers can use the added time to hit their existing targets. Installers also get time to correct poor work.

Suppliers won't run a new scheme after it. Supplier schemes end with the Warm Homes Plan. England will offer grants instead, like the Warm Homes: Local Grant, for low-income homes.

Solid wall insulation issues

Not all solid wall insulation installed under the scheme meets quality standards. Audits found one or more major technical faults in 92% of jobs fitting external wall insulation, says the Warm Homes Plan.

The government promised to audit them all and back repairs where needed. For other work you're not happy with, contact whoever installed it or the company behind the guarantee. If nothing gets fixed, GOV.UK sends you to Citizens Advice.