The £9,000 heat pump grant for oil and LPG homes: who qualifies

The short answer

If your home is off the gas grid and heated by oil or LPG (bottled or tank gas), you can get £9,000 off an air source or ground source heat pump in England or Wales, instead of the usual £7,500. Your installer must apply for it on or before 31 March 2027.

It is the same Boiler Upgrade Scheme as the standard grant, with a temporary £1,500 top-up. You don’t apply yourself: your installer does it and takes the grant off your bill.

Who qualifies for the £9,000

Ofgem, which runs the scheme, says the higher grant is for properties that are:

• Off the gas grid. For this scheme, that means the property is not fuelled by mains gas, has no record of a gas meter point, is not connected to a heat network and is not a new build.
• Replacing heating that runs on oil or LPG.
• Getting an air-to-water or ground source heat pump. An air-to-water heat pump is the usual kind of air source heat pump that heats your radiators and hot water.

You also need to meet the normal Boiler Upgrade Scheme rules. In short, you must own the property (homes you live in, rent out or use as a second home all count), it must be in England or Wales, and it can’t already have had government funding for a heat pump or biomass boiler. Social housing, including shared ownership, is not eligible. Our full guide to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers the general rules.

Who doesn’t get the extra £1,500

Some homes that sound like they should qualify don’t. Here is how Ofgem’s rules apply to common situations:

The deadline: 31 March 2027

The £9,000 is available for applications “properly made” between 21 July 2026 and 31 March 2027. Properly made means your installer has sent Ofgem everything it needs, not just started the paperwork. After that date the grant for these homes goes back to £7,500, unless the government changes the rules.

Work backwards from the deadline. Your installer needs to visit, work out how much heat your home loses, and give you a quote before they can apply. Once they apply, Ofgem emails you to confirm you agree, and you have 14 days to reply or the application may be rejected. Leaving it until March is risky.

Once a voucher is issued, the heat pump must be fitted within 3 months for an air source heat pump or 6 months for a ground source one.

A worked example: what the extra £1,500 is worth

Which?, using official Boiler Upgrade Scheme figures, found the average air source heat pump installed between October and December 2025 cost £13,431 for an 8.4kW unit. Using that price:

That is about a quarter less to pay (we worked it out as £1,500 divided by £5,931). The same date matters for VAT: installing a heat pump in a home is zero-rated until 31 March 2027, after which 5% VAT applies. If both the top-up and the zero rate had gone, the same £13,431 job would be about £14,103 with VAT (£13,431 × 1.05), or about £6,603 after a £7,500 grant. That is roughly £2,170 more than an oil or LPG home pays now. This is a rough guide: your own price depends on your home, and VAT depends on when the work is done.

What evidence you need

Your installer gathers the evidence and sends it to Ofgem. They need to show the property is off the gas grid and that the current heating runs on oil or LPG. An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) can do this. If you don’t have a valid one, Ofgem accepts other evidence, such as a fuel receipt (the most recent you have), photos of your current heating system, or an expired EPC.

When Ofgem contacts you to confirm the application, you will be asked to confirm that the property is off the gas grid and the existing system runs on oil or LPG, so make sure that is true before you agree.

Is the money running out?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme budget for 2026 to 2027 is £400 million, shared by everyone applying, not just oil and LPG homes. Ofgem’s latest figures show about £143.6 million left at 30 September 2026, with more than 106,000 vouchers issued since the scheme began. The budget is for the whole year, so it makes sense not to leave your application until the last weeks.

Watch out for

• A quote that shows £7,500 when you should get £9,000. Ofgem says the higher amount should be shown on your quote. Every quote must list the full price, the grant and what you pay.
• Being asked to fill in grant forms or pay to apply. Ofgem says your installer applies on your behalf and you don’t need to complete any forms yourself. Your only job is to confirm the details when Ofgem emails you.
• Finance where you don’t own the heat pump. You must become the legal owner once it is fitted, so some lease-style deals don’t qualify. Ask before you sign.
• Fitting first and applying later. Installers can sometimes apply up to 120 days after the heat pump is working, but Ofgem warns this carries extra risk, as the grant isn’t guaranteed.

Paying for the rest

The government’s Warm Homes Loan Scheme can help with the amount the grant doesn’t cover. Its caps are £20,000 for an air-to-water heat pump and £35,000 for a ground source one, measured before the grant is taken off. For a fuller picture of prices, see our guide to how much a heat pump costs.

What to do next

We’re getting ready to launch free heat pump quotes. Leave your email below, or on our heat pump quotes page, and we’ll let you know the day it opens, so you have time to get quotes before the 31 March 2027 deadline. If you’re also thinking about panels on the roof, see our guide to solar grants and loans.