The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has confirmed that an update to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) was published on 30 October 2025, creating a new set of eligible IMD:ID 1-2 postcodes for the Warm Homes: Local Grant1. The scheme's policy guidance for local authorities states that the change requires a transition between IMD data sets, and that postcodes based on the 2019 IMD remain eligible until the end of the first delivery year, 2025/261.
The grant is England-only and is delivered by local authorities. The expression of interest window for authorities closed on 1 December 2024, funding allocations were announced on 11 March 2025, and the delivery window opened on 1 April 20251. The guidance states that 74 projects involving 271 local authorities, over 97 per cent of eligible authorities in England, were allocated funding1.
Household eligibility runs through three pathways: residence in an IMD Income Decile 1-2 area, receipt of a specified means-tested benefit or eligibility via route 2 of ECO Flex, or an annual gross income below £36,000 or the relevant after housing costs threshold1. The guidance says the after housing costs thresholds have not changed, though the table has been updated for clarity1. The income thresholds by household composition are:
| Household composition | Gross income threshold |
|---|---|
| 1 adult | £20,000 |
| 1 adult + 3 dependents | £23,600 |
| 1 adult + 4 dependents | £27,600 |
| 1 adult + 5 dependents | £31,600 |
| 2 adults | £20,000 |
| 2 adults + 1 dependent | £24,000 |
| 2 adults + 2 dependents | £28,000 |
| 2 adults + 3 dependents | £32,000 |
| 2 adults + 4 dependents | £36,000 |
| 2 adults + 5 dependents | £40,000 |
Cost caps have been raised. The guidance sets £16,600 per home for energy performance upgrades and £16,600 per home for low carbon heating, and states that the caps have been amended upwards to account for inflation, applying retrospectively across the lifetime of the scheme1. Caps can be averaged across a project and must be met by project closure1.
On standards, the guidance states that an earlier provision allowing installers certified to schemes deemed equivalent to MCS no longer stands.
"this provision no longer stands and installers must be MCS certified in all cases for relevant measures"
The guidance also confirms that MCS consulted on a Thermal Energy Storage System Standard in March 2025 and announced a pilot in September 2025, and points to MCS MIS 3005-D, updated in December 2024, for further detail1. Private landlords may receive one property fully funded, with a 50 per cent landlord contribution required for any subsequent properties, and there is no eligibility restriction on landlords based on the number of properties owned1. The guidance cites a Minimal Financial Assistance limit of £315,0001.
Why it matters for households
The IMD update changes which addresses sit inside the first eligibility pathway, so a household's position can shift without any change in its own circumstances. The guidance does not set out how households should check which data set applies to them, and no postcode-level list is reproduced here. The retention of the 2019-based list until the end of 2025/26 means both sets can apply during the transition, which the guidance describes as a need to transition between data sets rather than a single cut-off1.
For a home, the practical effect is on whether a grant-funded package of insulation and low carbon heating is available at all, and on how much of the work the grant covers. Owner occupiers are not required or expected to contribute to the cost of upgrades, and tenants are not required or expected to contribute either1. The raised cost caps widen what can be funded within a single property, and the retrospective application means the higher figures apply across the scheme's life rather than only to work agreed after the change1.
The MCS certification requirement removes a route by which installers certified to other schemes could carry out relevant measures. Households receiving work under the grant are therefore dealing with installers certified to MCS or to PAS 2030, registered with TrustMark, with measures lodged to the TrustMark data warehouse1.
What happens next
The guidance does not state a date by which the transition between IMD data sets must be complete, beyond the end of the first delivery year.
Sources1 cited
- Warm Homes: Local Grant policy guidance for local authorities, assets.publishing.service.gov.uk