ECO4 Grants Explained: Could Your Home Qualify?

Updated September 2026: ECO4 is currently due to end on 31 December 2026. Eligibility does not guarantee that an energy supplier or installer will offer funding or carry out work in your home.

If you have been searching for an "ECO grant", you are probably looking for help with the cost of improving your home's energy efficiency.

The scheme people usually mean is ECO4, the fourth phase of the Energy Company Obligation. It can support energy-efficiency and heating improvements in eligible homes across Great Britain, particularly homes with lower energy-efficiency ratings and households affected by fuel poverty.

But ECO4 is not simply a grant that every eligible household can claim. It places obligations on energy companies to deliver qualifying energy-efficiency measures, and the supplier decides which projects it will fund and how much funding it will provide.

This guide explains what ECO4 is, who may qualify, how your home's EPC can matter and what residents should know before seeking support.

What is ECO4?

ECO4 is a government energy-efficiency scheme administered by Ofgem. It places an obligation on medium and large energy suppliers to help improve eligible domestic properties.

The current phase, ECO4, began in 2022 and is due to run until 31 December 2026 following a nine-month extension.

Its focus is on improving less energy-efficient homes and helping households experiencing fuel poverty. ECO4 takes a whole-house approach, which means the improvements considered should reflect the needs of the property rather than treating every home in exactly the same way.

You will often see ECO4 described online as an "ECO grant" or "ECO4 grant". That language is useful when searching, but technically ECO4 is not a grant scheme. Energy suppliers are responsible for meeting obligations under the scheme and decide which eligible projects they choose to fund.

Is ECO4 still available in 2026?

Yes. ECO4 is currently due to end on 31 December 2026.

The scheme was previously due to end on 31 March 2026, but the government extended it by nine months. The extension gives energy suppliers additional time to meet their existing obligations and allows further time for remediation of non-compliant installations.

The Great British Insulation Scheme, sometimes mentioned alongside ECO4, was a separate scheme and ended on 31 March 2026.

Because ECO4 is approaching its end date, residents looking into support should check the latest information rather than relying on older articles or advertisements.

Who can qualify for ECO4?

Eligibility depends on both the household and the property.

For private domestic premises, one route into ECO4 is through the Help to Heat Group, which includes households receiving certain qualifying benefits and meeting the relevant requirements.

Qualifying benefits can include:

Universal Credit
Housing Benefit
Income Support
income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
Pension Credit Savings Credit
Child Benefit, subject to the relevant income limits

There are also routes connected with the Warm Home Discount and ECO4 Flex.

The household criteria are only part of the picture. The property itself must also meet the relevant ECO4 requirements.

Does your EPC rating matter for ECO4?

Yes. ECO4 focuses on less energy-efficient homes, but the exact property criteria depend on the eligibility route and tenure.

For example, Ofgem confirms that ECO4 can support qualifying social housing in EPC bands D to G, while ECO4 Flex has route- and tenure-specific property requirements. A property's EPC or SAP rating is therefore an important part of the eligibility assessment, but an EPC band on its own does not establish eligibility.

Your Energy Performance Certificate can be a useful place to start when trying to understand your home's energy performance.

An EPC contains more than the letter rating. It can also provide information about the home's heating, insulation and potential energy-efficiency improvements.

If you are not sure what yours means, read our guide: What Can Your EPC Tell You About Your Home?

An EPC should not be treated as a live condition survey, however. It may have been produced several years ago and will not necessarily reflect every change, repair or problem in the home today.

Can you qualify for ECO4 if you are not on benefits?

Potentially, yes.

ECO4 includes a route called ECO4 Flex. Participating local authorities and devolved administrations can use this route to identify some low-income, fuel-poor or vulnerable households that may not qualify through the standard benefit route.

Ofgem says a household could be eligible through ECO4 Flex if the property requires energy-efficiency upgrades and, for example:

the household has a combined gross annual income below £31,000, or
someone in the household has a severe or long-term health condition that is adversely affected by living in a cold home and meets the relevant health criteria.

There are other ECO4 Flex criteria too.

Importantly, earning below £31,000 does not automatically mean you will receive ECO4 work. The local authority or devolved administration must be participating, the relevant route and property requirements need to be met, and eligibility still does not guarantee that a supplier or installer will offer measures.

Check your local authority's website or contact them to find out whether they participate in ECO4 Flex and how referrals work locally.

Can social housing residents get ECO4 support?

Yes, some social housing properties can receive measures through ECO4. Ofgem says ECO4 measures can be delivered to social housing let below market rate in EPC bands D to G, although the measures available differ depending on the property's energy-efficiency band and the scheme requirements.

ECO4 Flex is different: Ofgem's current local-authority Flex guidance says measures delivered through Flex must be to private domestic premises, so homes let by a social landlord are not eligible through that Flex route.

If you live in social housing and are concerned about how energy efficient your home is, useful information to understand includes:

your home's current EPC rating
the heating system in the property
any known insulation information
problems with keeping particular rooms warm
previous energy-efficiency work
repairs or property issues that could affect how the home performs

Keeping this information together can help create a clearer picture of the property before any improvement is considered.

Can private tenants get ECO4 support?

Private rented homes can potentially be eligible for ECO4 where the relevant household and property requirements are met.

However, tenants should not assume that they can arrange changes to the building themselves. A landlord may need to provide permission or information as part of the process, depending on the work being considered.

Ofgem's ECO forms also recognise that eligibility and pre-installation declarations may, where applicable, need to be signed by the occupier, landlord or social landlord.

If you rent your home, ask what work is being proposed, who is responsible for it and what permissions are required before agreeing to anything.

What types of improvements can ECO4 support?

The measures appropriate for a property depend on its existing condition, energy performance and the requirements of the scheme.

ECO4 can support different types of energy-efficiency and heating measures. Ofgem gives examples including insulation measures, first-time central heating, renewable heating and district-heating connections.

This does not mean every measure will be available to every household.

A home should be assessed to understand which measures are appropriate rather than starting with the assumption that a particular product or improvement is automatically suitable.

If your home seems to use more energy than you expect, it can also be useful to understand the wider picture first. Read: Why Does Your Home Use More Energy Than You Expect?

Does qualifying mean the work will be free?

Not necessarily.

This is one of the most important things to understand about ECO4.

Ofgem states that eligibility does not necessarily mean an energy supplier or installer will decide to install measures in your home. ECO4 is not a standard grant with a fixed amount that every qualifying household receives.

The energy company decides which retrofit projects it chooses to fund and the level of funding it provides.

So be cautious of advertising that suggests everyone who meets one criterion is automatically entitled to free work.

Before agreeing to work, make sure you understand:

who is offering the funding
who will carry out the assessment and installation
exactly what work is proposed
whether you are expected to contribute anything
what warranties or guarantees apply
who to contact if there is a problem afterwards

What information might you need?

The exact information required will depend on the eligibility route and the organisation handling the project.

It may be useful to have information about:

your address and occupancy
your EPC or energy-efficiency rating
qualifying benefits or household circumstances, where relevant
household income if you are being considered through an applicable ECO4 Flex route
your landlord or housing provider if you rent
existing heating and energy-efficiency features
previous relevant work to the property

Do not send sensitive personal or financial information to an organisation until you are satisfied that you know who you are dealing with and why the information is required.

How do you check whether your home may qualify?

A sensible starting point is to understand both your household circumstances and your home.

You can:

Check your home's current EPC and note its rating.
Look at what the EPC says about heating, insulation and recommended improvements.
Check the current ECO4 information from Ofgem.
If you think ECO4 Flex may apply, check whether your local authority participates and what its local eligibility process is.
If you rent, speak to your landlord or housing provider about any proposed property improvements and permissions that may be required.
Ask the supplier or installer to explain the proposed measures and funding clearly before agreeing to work.

Eligibility is not the same as approval for work, so avoid treating an initial eligibility check as a guarantee.

What happens after ECO4 ends?

ECO4 is currently due to end on 31 December 2026.

The government has said there will not be a successor supplier obligation to ECO4. It has instead announced additional grant funding for upgrading low-income households as part of the wider Warm Homes Plan.

The details and routes available to individual households may change as new programmes develop. Because of that, this article should be checked against current government and Ofgem information after ECO4 ends.

Know your home before making decisions about improvements

Energy-efficiency support makes more sense when it is considered alongside the wider picture of the home.

An EPC rating, heating system, insulation, previous improvements, repairs, energy use and the resident's experience can all provide different pieces of useful context.

At House Krowd, Know Your Home is about helping residents build a clearer understanding of that information over time, while creating better context that can also support landlords and other organisations responsible for homes.

If you are exploring ECO4, start with what you already know about your property and identify what information is missing.

You can continue with:

Important: ECO4 rules and availability can change. This guide reflects information available in September 2026. Check the latest Ofgem and government guidance before making decisions or sharing personal information.

ECO4 Grants Explained: Could Your Home Qualify for Energy-Efficiency Support?