Green Homes Grant

The UK government have announced a new Green Homes Grant scheme, for energy-saving home improvements, to launch in September 2020. This £2 billion scheme aims to support over 100,000 green jobs, help meet the UK’s target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, upgrade over 600,000 homes across England and save households hundreds of pounds per year on their energy bills.

Through the scheme homeowners and private or social landlords in England will be able to apply for vouchers to pay for green improvements, of up to £5,000 per household. With government grants covering two-thirds or more of the cost and the homeowner or landlord contributing the remainder. For owner-occupier and park home households on low incomes, the scheme will fully fund energy efficiency measures of up to £10,000 per household. Additional information has been released on the scheme, including further details on measures available and eligibility criteria, we have summarised this information below.

Webinars

We have two Green Homes Grant webinars coming up on:

• Tuesday 29th September from 1:30-3pm. Sign up on Eventbrite.
• Wednesday 7th October from 7-8:30pm. Sign up on Eventbrite.

In these webinars we will talk through what we know about measures available, eligibility criteria, approved tradespeople, how to apply and the most frequently asked questions. We will also explain the services we offer and any support we may be able to provide households looking to apply for this scheme.

Measures

Available measures are split into “primary” and “secondary” groups and households will need to install at least one primary measure to qualify for funding. If at least one primary measure is included in the package of works, households will also be able to install secondary measures, and these will be subsidised up to the amount of subsidy provided for primary measures.

Primary measures include:

• Insulation – Solid wall, cavity wall, under-floor, loft, flat roof, room in roof, park home
• Low carbon heat – Air source heat pump, ground source heat pump, solar thermal

Secondary measures include:

• Draught proofing
• Windows and doors – Double/triple glazing (where replacing single glazing), secondary glazing (in addition to single glazing), upgrading to energy efficient doors (where replacing doors installed prior to 2002).
• Heating controls and insulation – appliance thermostats, hot water tank thermostats, hot water tank insulation, smart heating controls, zone controls, delayed start thermostat, thermostatic radiator valves

Eligibility

For the general scheme these properties are eligible:

• All owner-occupied homes (including long-leaseholders, shared ownership)
• Landlords of private rented sector domestic properties
• Landlords of social sector domestic properties (including LA owned homes)
• Park home owners (for residential sites including Gypsy and Traveller sites)

New-build domestic properties and non-domestic properties are not eligible.

For the low-income scheme, only owner-occupied properties and park homes are eligible, and households must receive income-based or disability benefits to be eligible for fully funded package of measures.

Eligible benefits include: Income based Jobseekers allowance (JSA), Income based Employment & Support Allowance (ESA), Income Support (IS), Pension Guarantee Credit, Working Tax Credit (WTC), Child Tax Credits (CTC), Universal Credit (UC), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, Contribution based Jobseekers allowance (JSA), Contribution based Employment & Support Allowance (ESA), and Housing benefit.

Application and approved tradespeople

The scheme is due to launch this September, with online applications for recommended energy efficiency measures, along with a list of local approved tradespeople to use. Tradespeople must be registered with TrustMark or Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation to take part in the scheme. From late August homeowners will be able to access advice and support on improving the energy efficiency of their homes from the Simple Energy Advice (SEA) service, who will suggest appropriate home improvements that homeowners may be able to apply for. Once an approved tradesperson has provided a quote and the work is approved, the voucher will be issued, starting from the end of September.

Get in touch

Further details of the scheme, including application process, approved tradespeople and timescales, have yet to be released and we will update this post when we know more. If you’re interested in finding out more and want local support with accessing this scheme, please fill out our online contact form, email us at enquiries@environmentcentre.com.

Green Home Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme

Of the £2 billion scheme, the government have indicated that £500m will go towards vouchers for low-income households, £1bn will go towards vouchers for the general scheme and £500m will be administered by local authorities to support low-income households in their area through the Green Home Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme.

Other announcements about energy efficiency schemes:

• Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme – The government will invest £1 billion over the next year in grants to public sector bodies, including schools and hospitals, to fund both energy efficiency and low carbon heat upgrades.
• Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund – The government will establish a new fund to help social landlords improve the least energy-efficient social rented homes, starting with a £50 million demonstrator project in 2020-21, that will mean warmer homes and lower annual energy bills for some of the lowest income households.