28 April 2026: the rules rewritten
Regulations made on 19 March 2026 (SI 2026/390) came into force on 28 April 2026 and changed four things at once.
No energy performance certificate needed
Until then, an application needed a valid EPC. The requirement was removed; a valid EPC's reference is still recorded where the property has one. This took away a step that had held up applications, and it means older advice about getting an EPC first is out of date. The government's find-a-grant listing still mentions an EPC; the regulations take precedence.
Air-to-air heat pumps added
Air-to-air heat pumps, which warm the air in rooms and do not heat water, became eligible for £2,500 in homes. They are not eligible in non-residential buildings.
MCS the only certification
Installers taking part must be certified by MCS. The requirement to belong to a consumer code continues; Ofgem lists HIES, RECC and MCS.
The grant must come off the quote
Installers must deduct the voucher value from the quote and may not ask the owner for that amount unless the application is refused or the voucher revoked. The same regulations extended the scheme to 2030.
21 July 2026: £9,000 for oil and LPG homes
From 21 July 2026, homes with no mains gas connection that replace oil or LPG with an air source or ground source heat pump became eligible for £9,000, £1,500 more than the standard grant. Ofgem describes it as available for applications properly made up to 31 March 2027. A capped or clamped gas meter counts as a connection. The £9,000 rate page sets out the conditions.
20 and 22 October 2026: values confirmed, heat batteries added
DESNZ's notice of approved grant categories and values was updated on 20 October 2026, listing the £9,000 rate with effect from 21 July 2026. Two days later, SI 2026/1121 came into force, adding thermal energy storage, or heat batteries, to the definition the scheme relies on. No grant value for heat batteries had been published when this page was checked, so there was nothing yet to apply for.
What did not change
The standard heat pump grant stayed at £7,500. The biomass grant stayed at £5,000 for rural off-grid homes. The core eligibility tests stayed the same: you own the property in England or Wales, the heat pump replaces fossil fuel or electric heating, it is not a hybrid, and an MCS certified installer applies. The timings on each application, 14 days to confirm and 3 or 6 months to finish, also stayed in place.
Checking for the next change
GOV.UK's "what you can get" page and Ofgem's property owner pages are updated when the rules move. DESNZ's notice of grant values is the formal record of amounts. This guide is checked against all three, and the date at the top of each page shows when.
If you were quoted before the changes
Quotes and advice from before 28 April 2026 may be out of date in three ways. They may say you need an EPC, which is no longer true. They may say air-to-air heat pumps are not covered, which changed on the same date. And if your home has no mains gas and you heat with oil or LPG, a quote from before 21 July 2026 would show £7,500 where £9,000 may now apply, as long as the application is properly made by 31 March 2027. If you are working from an older quote, ask the installer to reissue it under the current rules before you accept.
One way to check whether a page you are reading predates the changes: look for any mention of an EPC being required, or of air-to-air heat pumps being excluded. Either one means it was written, or last checked, before 28 April 2026.