Warm Homes Plan

[edit] Warm Homes Plan launch

On 20 January 2026 the government finally launched the Warm Homes Plan, alongside the delivery of £15 billion in public investment, with a roll out of upgrades to up to 5 million homes to save hundreds on energy bills and lift a million families out of fuel poverty by 2030. Action on the cost of living was taken at the Budget, with an average of £150 of costs off energy bills with around 6 million households receiving the £150 Warm Home Discount.

Home insulation installations fell by more than 90% between 2010 and 2024, and millions of households have paid higher energy bills as a result. Currently there is a record demand for home clean energy products like solar panels and heat pumps, though the cost of these continues to fall, they are still out of reach for many. The ’Warm Homes Plan’ targets help at low-income families, alongside a universal offer, to all working families. It aims to support consumer choice for all households, to choose technologies that work for them with the ability to apply for government-backed, low and zero interest loans to install solar panels. Such loans also be available for batteries and heat pumps. Low-income households and those in fuel poverty could receive support to cover the full cost of solar panels or insulation installed, alongside new rules to ensure landlords invest in upgrades to cut bills for renters and social tenants.

There are 3 pillars of the programme described by the government in its announcement as being:

• Direct support for low-income families:
  • Low-income households will receive free of charge packages of upgrades, depending on what technologies are most suitable for their homes-backed by £5 billion of public investment
  • For example, families could receive fully funded installations of solar panels and a battery, to the full average cost (currently £9,000-£12,000)
  • For social housing residents, this could mean upgrades to entire streets at the same time, lowering bills and improving warmth and comfort for whole neighbourhoods
• An offer for everyone:
  • The government-backed, zero and low interest loans programme to get solar panels onto the nation’s rooftops and new rules that mean every new home will come with solar panels by default
  • This plan will triple the number of homes with solar panels on their rooftops by 2030
  • Making it easier for anyone who wants to get a heat pump, with a £7,500 universal grant for heat pumps, and the first ever offer for ‘air-to-air heat pumps’ that can also cool homes in the summer
• New protections for renters:
  • Today, 1.6 million children live in private accommodation suffering from cold, damp, or mould
  • The government believes in a simple principle that if you rent a home, private or social, a landlord has a responsibility to ensure that it is safe, warm, and affordable
  • By updating protections for renters, and supporting landlords to make these upgrades in a fair way over several years, an estimated half a million families will be lifted out of fuel poverty by the end of the decade

[edit] Initial announcement

In government Labour formally announced the Warm Homes Plan was in November 2024, it comprised of a number of existing, adapted and new measures, as well as a target to lift over 1 million households out of fuel poverty by 2030. The component parts of the Warm Homes Plan as it has gradually been announced currently include:

• Boiler Upgrade Scheme: Grants of up to £7,500 to support the installation of air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps and biomass boilers. Proposed continuation by the current government.
  • For more information see Boiler Upgrade Scheme
• Warm Homes: Local Grant: A £500 million fund launching in 2025 to provide energy upgrades for low-income households. Introduced by the current government.
  • For more information see Warm Homes Local Grant
• Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3: £1.2 billion has been allocated as part of the budget to be delivered from 2025 until 2028 by eligible social housing landlords. Continuation by the current government.
  • For more information see Waves of warmer homes grants for the rental sector
• Boosting minimum energy standards: Raising the required energy efficiency ratings for rented homes (private and social housing) by 2030. This includes proposals to make EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) Band C the minimum standard. Introduced by the current government via consultation.
  • For more information see The EPC consultation in the context of changes to the NCM
• And the Warm Home Discount to help with energy bills, supporting low-income households. Expansion currently under consultation by the current Labour government.
  • For more information see Warm Home Discount scheme

[edit] Labour manifesto

The Warm Homes Plan is a Labour policy, which appeared in the Labour manifesto (see What the political party manifestos say on housebuilding and building safety) as:

"Warm homes plan: The energy shock of recent years has highlighted the urgent importance of improving energy efficiency in British homes. Labour will invest an extra £6.6 billion over the next parliament, doubling the existing planned government investment, to upgrade five million homes to cut bills for families."

"The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation and other improvements such as solar panels, batteries and low carbon heating to cut bills. We will partner with combined authorities, local and devolved governments, to roll out this plan. Labour will also work with the private sector, including banks and building societies, to provide further private finance to accelerate home upgrades and low carbon heating. "

"We will ensure homes in the private rented sector meet minimum energy efficiency standards by 2030, saving renters hundreds of pounds per year. Nobody will be forced to rip out their boiler as a result of our plans. Labour will save families hundreds of pounds, slash fuel poverty, and get Britain back on track to meet our climate targets. Our plan will mean good skilled jobs for tradespeople in every part of the country."

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Accredited energy assessor.
• Are Energy Performance Certificates accurate?
• Building performance.
• Building performance metrics.
• Certificates in the construction industry.
• Display energy certificate.
• Emission rates.
• Energy certificates for buildings.
• Home information pack HIP.
• How are EPCs produced?
• Minimum energy efficiency standard (MEES).
• National Calculation Method.
• Passivhaus vs SAP.
• Performance contracting.
• Performance gap.
• Simplified Building Energy Model.
• The Home Energy Model and Future Homes Standard assessment wrapper.
• The sustainability of construction works.
• The Warm Homes Plan and existing policies to help with energy bills
• Warm Home Discount scheme.
• Warm Homes Local Grant
• Warm Homes Plan.
• Waves of warmer homes grants for the rental sector.
• What the political party manifestos say on housebuilding and building safety.