Green Homes Grant
Green Homes Grant vouchers towards making energy efficient improvements to your home
The Green Homes Grant is finally here. So, if you are a homeowner or residential landlord you can apply for a Green Homes Grant voucher. This can be used towards the cost of installing energy efficient improvements to your home.
There is a lot of information to take in when it comes to the Green Homes Grant. So, we have set out the key points below detailing how the scheme works, who is eligible, and what work can be funded under the scheme. Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss anything further.
So, what do we know?
- Ground and Air Source Heat Pumps are included within the scheme.
- The grant is for £5,000 or 2/3 of the cost of installation (whichever is less).
- Lower income properties can receive a grant of £10,000 or 100% of the cost of the installation (whichever is less).
- The homeowner can apply for the GHG, and then apply for the domestic renewable heat incentive (DRHI).
- All heat pump installers must be registered with MCS in order to carry out work under the Green Homes Grant. If you are not MCS accredited, you can get certified on the MCS website.
- Installers must register with TrustMark and register as a Green Homes Grant installer to carry out work under the scheme.
- Homeowners can log on to the Simple Energy Advice Scheme Website where they run through a questionnaire.
- BEIS recommend homeowners seek 3 quotations, but are only required to submit 1 quotation when applying for the GHG scheme.
- The scheme administrator may ask the homeowner to submit another quotation if it is deemed as “unreasonably high”.
- Whilst the SEA website asks whether an EPC is available for the homeowners property, it looks like there is no requirement when applying for the GHG voucher to confirm you have an EPC or the energy efficiency thereof. If you are a landlord however, you need to confirm the property achieves an EPC level E or above, or you have registered an exemption.
- You cannot carry out GHG on your own property.
- Hybrid heat pump systems (ones which use a heat pump in conjunction with a fossil fuel boiler) are eligible. But the heat pump and fossil fuel boiler MUST BE NEW.
- All heat installations must be used for space heating and/or domestic hot water heating purposes.
- GHG voucher covers Labour, Materials and VAT.
Who is eligible?
- For the general scheme, the following 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 homeowners (for residential sites including Gypsy and Traveller sites)
- But, new build and self build domestic properties ARE NOT eligible.
- And, for the low-income scheme, only owner occupied properties and park homes are eligible. Households receiving income based or disability benefits would be eligible for a fully funded package of measures.
- Homeowners will qualify for the Green Home Grants low income scheme if they receive at least one of the following benefits
- Income based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)
- Working Tax Credit (WTC)
- Income based Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
- Child Tax Credits (CTC)
- Income Support (IS)
- Pension Guarantee Credit
- 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)
- Housing benefit