Grant deep dive · Updated monthly

Boiler Upgrade Scheme 2026 — £7,500 (Rising to £9,000) Heat Pump Grant

Last reviewed 18 May 2026 · 11 minute read · England & Wales

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme — BUS for short — is the UK government's single biggest direct grant for low-carbon heating. £295m was allocated in 2025/26, funding will continue to March 2028, and the Treasury has signalled it will run to 2030 within a £2.7bn envelope. If you're an English or Welsh homeowner considering a heat pump, this is almost certainly the grant you want.

The headline numbers have moved a lot in 2026. Below we cover what the grant actually pays, who qualifies, how the process works, why applications fail — and the question every customer asks us right now: should I wait for the £9,000 uplift in July?

Current amounts (May 2026)

What you're installing	Current grant	From July 2026
Air source heat pump (ASHP)	£7,500	£7,500 (£9,000 if replacing oil or LPG)
Ground or water source heat pump (GSHP/WSHP)	£7,500	£7,500 (£9,000 if replacing oil or LPG)
Air-to-air heat pump	£2,500	£2,500 (uplift to £7,500 under DESNZ consultation)
Biomass boiler (rural only)	£5,000	£5,000
Hybrid heat pump (heat pump + gas boiler)	Not eligible	Not eligible

Important caveats:

The £9,000 uplift for oil/LPG replacements was announced in the April 2026 amendments. Final Ofgem installer guidance (v5) was in draft as of mid-May 2026 — we expect go-live in early July. Don't book your install for July 1 without confirming with the installer that the new rate has been operationalised.
The air-to-air grant launched live on 28 April 2026. The planned uplift from £2,500 to £7,500 is currently under DESNZ consultation and not yet confirmed. We'll update this page when we have a date.
Biomass is only available for rural properties not connected to the gas grid. Most homeowners won't qualify and shouldn't pursue it unless heat pumps are unsuitable.

Who qualifies?

Property requirements

Property is in England or Wales. Scotland has its own scheme (Home Energy Scotland Grant & Loan); Northern Ireland goes via NISEP.
It's an existing building. New builds are excluded, except self-builds where the owner is the first occupier.
You're replacing a fossil fuel heating system — gas, oil, LPG or coal — or an electric resistive system (immersion or panel heaters).
The property has no previous BUS or RHI claim. One grant per address.
Hybrid systems (heat pump + boiler) are not eligible.
The EPC requirement was scrapped in April 2026. You don't need an in-date EPC, and you don't need to have addressed any outstanding loft or cavity wall recommendations (that earlier rule went in May 2024).

Owner requirements

You're the owner-occupier, a private landlord, or a small business owner.
The invoice for the install must be addressed to the property owner, not a company.
If you're a landlord, the install can proceed without the tenant's signature, but most installers will want the tenant informed before the works.

How the application actually works

Unlike most grants, you never apply directly. The whole flow runs through your installer:

You choose an MCS-certified installer. Use the MCS Find an Installer tool by postcode. Verify both MCS and TrustMark registration.
The installer applies to Ofgem on your behalf before any work begins. You'll get an email asking you to confirm consent — this is the only step that requires your action.
Ofgem issues a voucher to the installer. Vouchers are valid for 3 months for ASHP and 6 months for GSHP.
The installer commissions the system and generates the MCS installation certificate.
The installer redeems the voucher within 120 days of commissioning. The grant value is deducted from your invoice — you never see the money.

Typical timeline from enquiry to commissioning: 9–14 weeks (per Ofgem's December 2025 data). Faster in spring and summer; slower over winter.

Should you wait for the £9,000 uplift?

This is the single most-asked question we get from oil and LPG households in 2026. Our straight answer:

Yes — wait if you can, with conditions

The £1,500 difference is significant on a single install. If your current boiler is working reliably, your timeline isn't urgent, and you're already in a quote-gathering stage, waiting until the £9,000 rate goes live makes mathematical sense. The expected go-live is early July 2026, so we're talking about a 6–8 week deferral as of mid-May.

Conditions:

Your current boiler is reliably working — no breakdowns, no rising service costs, no end-of-life smoke signals.
You're not entering peak demand season (autumn install slots fill fast).
Your installer will write in their quote that the £9,000 rate will be applied once it goes live.
You're confident on supply chain — some heat pump models still have 8–12 week lead times.

No — don't wait if any of these apply

Your boiler is breaking down or you're already on temporary heating.
You're planning works that need to integrate with other building work (kitchen extension, new flooring, etc.) where timing is fixed.
The cost-of-running delta — a heat pump on a smart tariff vs. your current LPG or oil bill — is enough that one winter's saved running costs alone would exceed the £1,500 wait benefit.
Your preferred installer has a slot opening up now that won't be available later.

A worked example: a typical oil-heated 4-bed semi in rural England spends £2,300/year on heating oil. A heat pump on Octopus Cosy might cost £900–£1,100/year for the same heat. That's £1,200–£1,400 saved per year of operation. If you delay installation by two months in spring/summer, you might lose ~£200 of heat-pump savings vs. boiler running costs (or zero, if you don't need much heating in those months). Waiting for the extra £1,500 is almost always net positive in this case.

Why applications get rejected

Most rejections are administrative, not eligibility-based. Watch for:

Installer not MCS-certified for that technology. An installer can be MCS-certified for ASHP but not GSHP. Verify the specific accreditation before signing.
Hybrid system installed. Despite popular blog claims, BUS does not cover heat pump + boiler combos. Don't let an installer talk you into this and claim it'll still qualify.
120-day redemption deadline missed. Common if the installer is overloaded. Confirm in the contract that they'll redeem within Ofgem's window.
Invoice addressed to a company rather than the property owner. Even if you're a sole trader, the invoice has to be in your name as the householder.
New build slipping through. Self-builds that have been "owned by a business" (developer, builder, even a planning company) at any point before the first occupier are excluded.

What you can combine BUS with

BUS is one of the more flexible grants for stacking. You can claim it alongside:

0% VAT. Always. The VAT relief applies to the homeowner's net cost (after the grant is deducted), so you get the full 20% off whatever you actually pay.
ECO4 insulation. If you're benefit-eligible, you can take ECO4 funding for insulation and BUS for the heat pump as separate works. ECO4 and BUS just can't fund the same measure.
WHLG (in some circumstances). The interaction is local-authority-specific. If you're applying for the WHLG and want the heat pump element funded via BUS, the WHLG can cover everything else. Your delivery partner will model the split.
Octopus or supplier discounts. The Octopus Cosy 6 deal (and equivalents from OVO, British Gas) bundles BUS-deducted pricing with additional supplier subsidies. These stack — the £7,500 grant + ~£3,000 supplier discount + 0% VAT can bring an ASHP install down to under £500 in some cases.

What you can't combine:

Two BUS claims on the same property (one grant per address).
BUS + RHI legacy payments on the same kit (the RHI scheme closed in 2022 but old claims still run).
BUS for a hybrid system, even with a separate boiler invoice.

Choosing the right installer

The installer matters more than the grant. A badly-sized heat pump installed by a cheap firm will return SCOPs of 2.3 instead of 3.5 — that's a 50% real-world running cost penalty for the lifetime of the system. Things to insist on:

Full MCS HP-001 heat-loss survey (room-by-room, not a rule-of-thumb sizing).
Insurance-backed workmanship warranty — not just the manufacturer's product warranty.
Quoted SCOP (Seasonal Coefficient of Performance) and projected annual electricity consumption in kWh.
Clarity on which radiators will need replacing for the new flow temperature.
Heat Geek or Nesta-listed quality installer status (these are the third-party quality marks above MCS).

We're working on a dedicated best heat pump installers UK guide — coming soon. Until then, the Heat Geek directory is the gold standard for installer vetting.

Want to check the full grant stack? Our quiz models BUS + WHLG + ECO4 + 0% VAT interactions for your specific property.

Run the eligibility check →

Frequently asked questions

Can I get BUS as a private landlord?

Yes. BUS is open to private landlords (including small portfolios) for properties they own and rent out. The invoice for the install must be in the landlord's name. The tenant doesn't apply.

Do I need an EPC to claim BUS?

No — that requirement was removed in the April 2026 amendments. You also no longer need to have addressed outstanding insulation recommendations from a previous EPC (that earlier rule went in May 2024). We still strongly recommend insulating first to get the SCOP right, but it's no longer a grant prerequisite.

What if my installer messes up the application?

The most common failure modes are administrative — voucher expired, paperwork incorrect, MCS certificate not lodged. If the installer's application is rejected, you don't lose your eligibility — they can re-submit. If they refuse or delay, you can switch installers; the new installer will reapply from scratch.

I have an LPG boiler — should I install now or wait until July?

See the should you wait section above. Short answer: yes, wait, unless your existing system is breaking down or you have a fixed external deadline.

Does BUS cover the hot water cylinder?

The cylinder isn't separately grant-funded but is treated as part of the heat pump install. A typical BUS-funded ASHP install includes the outdoor unit, indoor controls, hot water cylinder, buffer tank where needed, and radiator changes — all within the £7,500 grant deducted from total price.

Can I get BUS for a heat pump in a listed building?

Yes — BUS itself doesn't exclude listed buildings. However, you'll need listed building consent for the external unit and any associated visible work, which often complicates the install. Air-to-air systems may be a better fit in listed properties and now have the £2,500 BUS rate.

Sources

Page changelog

18 May 2026 — Initial publication. Reflects April 2026 amendments (£9,000 oil/LPG uplift from July, £2,500 air-to-air live 28 April, EPC requirement scrapped), final Ofgem v5 installer guidance still in draft, BUS funded to 2030 within £2.7bn envelope.

Find out which heat pump grant is right for your home

Our independent 9-question check models BUS, WHLG, Home Energy Scotland and the air-to-air route together — and tells you whether to wait.

Start the eligibility check →