Boiler Upgrade Scheme Eligibility: Which Homes and Systems Qualify

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) pays upfront grants of up to £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump, and £9,000 for heat pumps in eligible off-gas-grid homes heated by oil or LPG¹. It is a government scheme administered by Ofgem, it covers properties in England and Wales only, and it is installer-led: your installer applies for the grant on your behalf and deducts it from your invoice, so you never handle the money¹. The scheme launched on 23 May 2022 and has been extended to 2030³.

Eligibility turns on a handful of conditions, and most of them concern the property rather than the person. The home must be in England or Wales, it must not be social housing, it must not be a new build still in a developer's hands, and it must be replacing an existing fossil fuel or electric heating system³. One grant is allowed per property, and a property that has already had a BUS grant for a heat pump or biomass boiler cannot have another³. Since 28 April 2026, a valid Energy Performance Certificate is no longer required for most applications, which removes what was previously one of the commonest stumbling blocks³.

The scheme and who administers it

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a government scheme that provides upfront grants to help reduce the cost of installing heat pumps and biomass boilers in homes and non-domestic buildings². Its purpose is decarbonisation: it pays property owners to replace fossil fuel heating with low-carbon alternatives, with a particular focus on off-gas-grid homes⁹. Ofgem is the scheme administrator, and it is Ofgem that issues and redeems the grant vouchers¹.

The scheme opened at one minute past midnight on 23 May 2022¹, and it took over from the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive, which closed to new applicants as BUS launched¹⁰. Where the Renewable Heat Incentive paid households over several years for the heat they generated, BUS pays a single upfront capital grant, deducted from the installation cost at the point of purchase¹¹. That structural difference matters for eligibility: because the money arrives as a discount rather than as ongoing income, the conditions are all checked before and during the installation, not afterwards.

The scheme sits within the wider landscape of home energy grants, and its rules are set in regulations: the grant categories and values are approved under Regulation 13 of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales) Regulations 2022¹². If you want the full picture of what the scheme pays for, see the Boiler Upgrade Scheme; this page deals with who and what qualifies.

Funding levels: £7,500, rising to £9,000 off gas

The standard grant is £7,500¹². That figure applies to eligible properties that do not qualify for the uplifted grant, and it covers air-to-water heat pumps, ground source heat pumps and, in the limited circumstances described below, biomass boilers³. Exhaust air-to-water heat pumps are also eligible for the £7,500 grant¹³.

From 21 July 2026, eligible off-gas-grid properties can apply for an uplifted grant of £9,000 towards an air-to-water or ground source heat pump³. The uplift is aimed at homes that are not on the gas network and whose previous heating system was fuelled by oil or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the two fuels that cost off-grid households the most to replace³. The uplifted value is in place until 31 March 2027; after that date the off-gas-grid position reverts to the standard rules unless they are changed³.

Only one grant is available per property, and only one voucher can be redeemed per property³. The grant is a discount on a single installation, not a rolling subsidy. For a fuller treatment of the amounts, see how much the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant is.

Eligible homes: where you live, own and what type of building

Only properties in England and Wales are eligible³. That is a hard territorial limit: homes in Scotland and Northern Ireland fall under their own schemes, and a BUS application for a Scottish address will not succeed. Within England and Wales, both domestic and small non-domestic properties can qualify, which is why the scheme also covers small business premises¹.

On tenure, the scheme is broad but has one large exclusion. Owner-occupied homes, properties rented out to tenants, second homes and holiday homes are all eligible, and guidance adds examples such as park homes and related properties like an annex or a swimming pool¹⁶. Churches and park homes may be eligible where an EPC can be issued for them¹⁶. Social housing is not eligible, and that includes shared ownership properties⁴. The reasoning is that social housing is served by separate funding streams, so a registered provider's stock is out of scope for BUS entirely; the detail is covered on social housing and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

A property is also excluded if it has already been given government funding or support for a heat pump or biomass boiler⁶. This is an address-level test rather than a personal one: what matters is what the property has received, not what the owner has received elsewhere.

What your current heating system must be replaced

This is the condition that catches most people out. The installation must replace an existing heating system, and that system must have been either a fossil fuel system, such as gas, oil or LPG, or an electric system, with existing heat pumps excluded⁴. A home with no heating system at all, or one that has never had one installed, does not meet the retrofit requirement.

The rule is stated consistently across the scheme's guidance and statistics: to qualify, a property must be replacing an existing heating system that operates on either fossil fuels or electricity²⁰. An existing heat pump does not count as an eligible system to replace, so a household that installed a heat pump privately in the past cannot use BUS to upgrade it⁴. For the specific case of gas-heated homes, see BUS grant eligibility with a gas boiler.

For the off-gas-grid uplift, the replacement rule is tighter still: the previous heating system must have been fuelled by oil or LPG³. A home with old electric storage heaters that is off the gas network qualifies for the standard £7,500 grant but not the £9,000 uplift, because the uplift is defined by the fuel being replaced rather than by the property's location alone.

Qualifying technologies and those excluded

The eligible technologies are air-to-water heat pumps, air-to-air heat pumps, ground source heat pumps (including water source heat pumps and shared ground loops), and biomass boilers³. Air-to-air heat pumps are eligible only in residential properties, while the other technologies are open to residential and non-residential properties alike³.

Two exclusions shape the edges of the scheme. Hybrid heat pump systems do not qualify: the rules state that "You cannot get a grant for a hybrid heat pump system (for example a combination of gas boiler and air source heat pump)."⁷ That position is explored in detail on hybrid heat pumps and the BUS grant. And biomass boilers are eligible only in limited circumstances, subject to additional location and air-quality requirements set out below¹⁶.

Since 28 April 2026, a BUS-funded heat pump may be installed alongside a supplementary heating appliance, provided the appliance is not fossil fuel based³. A biomass boiler may be retained or installed alongside a BUS-funded heat pump as supplementary heating, but it cannot be used to meet the property's heating demand requirement, and a BUS-funded biomass boiler cannot itself be installed alongside supplementary appliances at all¹³.

The position on newly built and self-built homes

New build properties that a developer is still building are not eligible⁶. The scheme is a retrofit programme, and a property that is being constructed with its first heating system is not replacing anything. The statistics reports put it plainly: new build properties are not eligible except for certain self-builds⁸.

Self-builds are the exception, and the definition is specific. A self-build qualifies if you or the original owner built it yourself, or paid a builder to build it, and it has never been owned by a business or organisation⁶. Earlier guidance phrases the same test as a property built mainly using the labour or resources of the first owner²⁴. A house bought from a developer, even a small one, does not pass that test; a house commissioned by its first owner does.

Two further conditions apply to self-builds. Self-build properties are eligible only for heat pumps, not biomass boilers³. And if you move into a finished new build that has a fossil fuel boiler, you may be able to get a grant for a heat pump under the scheme, because the property now has an eligible system to replace⁶.

Where EPCs and insulation fit in

The EPC requirement has changed, and older advice is now out of date. From 28 April 2026, properties are no longer required to have a valid EPC to apply for BUS³. Before that date, a valid Energy Performance Certificate was a condition of eligibility, and the grant listing still describes it in those terms¹. The two positions differ because they come from documents published at different times: the current rule, dated 28 April 2026, is that no EPC is needed for most applications³.

One residual point remains. Properties applying under certain exemptions have historically been required to submit a valid EPC at the voucher application stage, and guidance has noted that these properties will still require one at that point in the process¹⁶. If your property falls under an exemption rather than the standard route, the certificate may still be asked for.

The insulation question that used to sit behind the EPC rule, where a certificate recommending loft or wall insulation could hold up an application, is covered separately on the BUS EPC and insulation requirement. What can be said here is what the current rule is: for retrofit installations applied for on or after 28 April 2026, the certificate itself is no longer a gate³.

Capacity, efficiency and MCS requirements

The technical conditions are set out in the installer guidance and apply to every funded installation. Capacity is capped at 45 kWth for an individual heat pump system and 70 kWth for a multi heat pump system, with shared ground loop systems allowed up to 300 kWth in total as long as each connected heat pump does not exceed 45 kWth³. An individual biomass boiler system is capped at 45 kWth³. These limits comfortably cover the heating demand of an ordinary house.

Efficiency has a floor. Air-to-water and ground source heat pumps must achieve an in situ seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP) of at least 2.8³.

Biomass boilers carry extra conditions. They may only be installed in properties in rural areas, and the boiler's emissions certificate must show that particulate matter did not exceed 30g/GJ net heat input and NOx did not exceed 150 g/GJ net heat input³. These requirements are examined on BUS requirements for biomass boilers.

On the installer side, the installer must be certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and must meet the MCS standards². All heating systems installed under the scheme must meet the relevant MCS standards approved and published by the Secretary of State³. The installer carries the responsibility for ensuring the application meets the eligibility criteria²⁵. The installer question is covered on MCS-certified installers and heat pump grants.

The application process run by installers

The scheme is installer-led, and you cannot apply yourself⁴. The installer applies to Ofgem for a grant voucher on the property owner's behalf, carries out the installation, then redeems the voucher after commissioning¹. It is a two-stage process: a voucher application, then a voucher redemption application, at which point the installer receives the grant payment³.

The grant reaches you as a discount. Installers must deduct the full BUS grant value from the quote before any payment is made by the property owner³. The grant is applied upfront as a discount to the cost of the installation, and you do not receive the grant directly⁴. The stages are walked through on how the Boiler Upgrade Scheme application works.

Voucher validity depends on the technology. Vouchers for air source heat pumps, air-to-air heat pumps and biomass boilers are valid for 3 months; vouchers for ground source heat pumps are valid for 6 months, reflecting the longer ground works involved⁸. There is also a retrospective route: installers may apply for a voucher after the installation has been commissioned, provided the application is properly made within 120 days of the commissioning date³. The deadline pressure this creates is explained on BUS voucher redemption deadlines.

Combining the grant with other funding

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme cannot be combined with ECO funding for the same work. The rule is stated in the ECO4 guidance: "Funding from BUS and ECO cannot be blended for the same measure or be included within an ECO4 project."⁹ A household can receive BUS and ECO4 support for different measures at the same property, but a heat pump funded by BUS cannot also sit inside an ECO4 project, and vice versa.

This makes the choice between the two schemes a real one when a heat pump is the measure in question, rather than a question of stacking. The trade-offs are set out on Boiler Upgrade Scheme or ECO4 for a heat pump and in the broader comparison of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme vs ECO4. ECO4 itself is means-tested in a way BUS is not, which is why the two schemes serve different households; see ECO4 and ECO4 eligibility for those conditions.

The other interaction to note is internal to BUS: a property that has already received government funding or support for a heat pump or biomass boiler is excluded, so the scheme does not stack on top of its own past payments at the same address⁶.

How long the scheme runs and its budget

The scheme has been extended more than once, and the current end point is 2030. As of 28 April 2026, the scheme has been extended to 2030, replacing an earlier statement that it ran to 2028³. The grant listing gives a closing date of 30 December 2029 at 11:59pm¹. The Government confirmed funding for further years up to 2029/30 through the Warm Homes Plan in January 2026¹⁴.

The initial budget was £150m per financial year for 2022 to 2025³. Unspent budget is not carried over to the next scheme year, so each year's allocation stands or falls within that year²⁶. That matters for households planning ahead: a year in which applications run ahead of budget does not build up a reserve for the following one, and the funding for later years rests on the confirmations given through the Warm Homes Plan rather than on money already in the scheme¹⁴.

What grants can and cannot achieve for energy independence

A BUS grant changes a household's heating fuel, and that is where its independence effect lies. By offering upfront grants, the scheme makes heat pumps and, in limited circumstances, biomass boilers more affordable, and it pays specifically to replace fossil fuel systems, with a focus on off-gas-grid homes⁹. For an oil or LPG household, the £9,000 uplift funds a move away from a fuel that must be delivered, stored and bought in bulk at volatile prices, which is one of the sharpest forms of energy dependence a home can have³.

What the grant does not do is remove the household's dependence on energy supplied from outside. A heat pump runs on electricity, so a BUS-funded home swaps a gas or oil supplier for an electricity supplier, and unless the household adds generation or storage of its own, the grid remains the source of heat. The scheme pays for the heating appliance only: it does not fund solar panels, batteries or insulation, so a household aiming for genuine self-sufficiency will need to look at grants for solar panels, grants for home battery storage and the wider picture on grants and household energy independence.

There is also a dependence the grant creates rather than removes: on the installer and on the scheme's own administration. The application is installer-led, the voucher expires within months, and the eligibility checks sit with the installer rather than with you⁴. A household that understands the conditions before signing, rather than after, keeps the benefit of the grant without finding that a missed deadline or an ineligible property has cost them the discount.