Grants and funding for landlord EPC improvements
The honest version most sites won't give you: there is no grant for the EPC itself, and landlord eligibility for improvement funding is often limited. But some routes are real, so here is what a private landlord can actually access, and where a scheme does not apply.
First, the EPC itself is not fundable
A domestic EPC is a paid professional assessment by an accredited Domestic Energy Assessor, lodged on the national register. There is no public grant that pays for the certificate; it is a modest cost of letting the property lawfully. The value in it is compliance and clarity: it is what lets you lawfully let the home, and it tells you exactly where you stand for the current EPC E minimum and the proposed EPC C for 2030.
Where funding can come in is the improvements the EPC recommends. When a rating comes back weak, the report lists the measures that would lift it, and a few of those can be part-funded or tax-advantaged. Below is the honest picture, including the caveats, because landlord eligibility is genuinely more restricted than the headlines suggest.
Funding routes for the improvements an EPC recommends
The domestic EPC itself (paid service, no grant)
There is no grant or public funding for the EPC assessment itself, it is a professional service you pay for, produced by an accredited Domestic Energy Assessor and lodged on the national register.
- Value / note
- Typically a modest fixed fee for a standard flat or house, a little more for large homes, HMOs and awkward access; portfolio rates available on volume.
Be honest with landlords: the certificate is a cost of compliance, not a fundable measure. Where funding exists, it is for the energy-efficiency IMPROVEMENTS an EPC recommends, not for the certificate. The value in the EPC is compliance, the legal right to let, and the ranked improvement roadmap.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)
A grant of up to £7,500 toward an air source or ground source heat pump replacing a fossil-fuel heating system in a home in England or Wales. Landlords, including buy-to-let and portfolio landlords, are eligible; the property needs a valid EPC with no outstanding recommendation for loft or cavity wall insulation (unless technically unsuitable), and the install must be by an MCS-certified installer.
- Value / note
- Up to £7,500 toward an air source or ground source heat pump (confirm current grant value and eligibility on gov.uk before relying on it; scheme terms are periodically revised).
This is the one substantial grant genuinely open to landlords, and it funds an IMPROVEMENT (low-carbon heating) that also helps the rating, not the EPC. Most relevant where a rental is on old gas, oil or LPG heating. Under the proposed C standard's heating-system metric, a heat pump can be the measure that clears the secondary standard. Verify the current position on gov.uk, as grant values and off-gas-grid uplifts have been under review.
ECO4 (Energy Company Obligation)
Obligated-supplier funding for insulation and heating measures, targeted at low-income and vulnerable households. A landlord's property in EPC bands E, F or G may qualify, but eligibility is tied to the TENANT being on qualifying benefits or being assessed as low-income by the local authority (ECO4 Flex), not to the landlord.
- Value / note
- Fully or partly funded insulation and heating measures for qualifying households; no fixed cash value, it funds the measure.
Be honest about the limits: ECO4 is not a general landlord grant. It funds measures only where the occupying tenant meets the low-income or benefits criteria, written landlord permission is required for any works, and ECO/GBIS funding cannot be blended with other government grants on the same measure. Where it does apply, it can cover the insulation an EPC recommends. Confirm current scheme rules and closure dates on gov.uk/Ofgem, as the obligation period and criteria change.
Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) — check current status
Subsidised single insulation measures (loft, cavity wall and similar) for less energy-efficient homes. For the private rented sector, eligibility was generally limited to homes in EPC bands D and E, because landlords already have a statutory duty to let at least at band E.
- Value / note
- Subsidised or funded single insulation measure per eligible home.
Flag honestly: GBIS was scheduled to close on 31 March 2026 and its landlord relevance was always limited (bands D-E only, and it does not blend with other grants). Do NOT present it as a live, dependable landlord grant, point landlords to gov.uk/Ofgem to check whether it or a successor scheme is currently open before relying on it, and lean on BUS and any current Warm Homes local funding instead.
0% VAT on energy-saving materials
A zero rate of VAT applies to the installation of qualifying energy-saving materials (insulation, heat pumps, solar panels, heating controls and more) in residential accommodation in Great Britain, until 31 March 2027, after which it reverts to the 5% reduced rate.
- Value / note
- 0% VAT on qualifying installs until 31 March 2027 (then 5%).
This one is squarely relevant to landlords, because it applies to residential accommodation, so it reduces the cost of exactly the improvements an EPC recommends on a rental home (loft and wall insulation, a heat pump, heating controls). It is a genuine reason to bring works forward before 31 March 2027. Confirm the qualifying-materials scope on the gov.uk notice for any specific measure.
Warm Homes local funding (local-authority delivered)
Locally-administered energy-efficiency funding delivered through councils and the Warm Homes programme, sitting alongside the national schemes. Availability, measures and eligibility (which sometimes extend to lower-income private tenants) vary by local authority and funding round.
- Value / note
- Varies by scheme and area; typically funds specific insulation or heating measures rather than cash to the landlord.
Frame honestly: local funding is patchy, time-limited and usually tenant-eligibility-driven, not a landlord entitlement. It is worth checking the property's local authority for a current scheme when an EPC recommends fundable measures, but it should never be presented as a guaranteed route. Point landlords to their council and gov.uk to check what is currently open.
PRS Exemptions Register (the compliance backstop, not funding)
Where a rental home genuinely cannot be improved to the minimum standard within the cost cap (all relevant improvements made and still below E, the cheapest measure exceeds the £3,500 cost cap, wall insulation would damage the property, required third-party consent is refused, or a surveyor confirms improvements would devalue it by more than 5%), the landlord can register a valid exemption instead of doing further work.
- Value / note
- No cash value, it is a legal shield, not funding. Most exemptions last five years before you must try again; certain cost-cap and value-impact exemptions run longer.
This is the backstop, not a planning strategy. It lets a genuinely unimprovable home be let lawfully while sub-standard, but each exemption must be properly evidenced and registered per property, and it is time-limited. For most homes a modest fabric-first improvement package within the cost cap is cheaper and lower-risk than relying on repeated exemptions. Note the current £3,500 cost cap applies to the E standard; a higher cost cap (proposed at £10,000) is expected to accompany the C standard, subject to legislation.
Improvements before exemptions
The PRS Exemptions Register is a legal backstop, not a plan. It lets a genuinely unimprovable home be let while below standard, but each exemption must be evidenced and is time-limited, most last five years before you must try again. For most rentals a modest fabric-first improvement package, loft insulation, heating controls, draught-proofing, LED lighting, is cheaper and lower-risk than relying on repeated exemptions, and it lifts the rating for the tenant too. The EPC's own ranked recommendation list is the place to start, and we can tell you which measures give the biggest rating gain for the least spend, and stay within the £3,500 cost cap.
Whatever you fund, you still need an accurate, lodged EPC to evidence the result. If your rental has come back below E, or you are planning ahead for the proposed EPC C for 1 October 2030, start with the assessment and the recommendation list before you commit to any works.