ECO4 Closes 31 December 2026: What Landlords Should Do

What is closing, and when

ECO4 closes on 31 December 2026. Ofgem, which runs the Energy Company Obligation, says the scheme has been extended and will run to that date for measures installed from 1 April 2022. The related Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) closed earlier, on 31 March 2026.

Ofgem describes ECO as supporting energy efficiency measures in the homes of people considered to be in fuel poverty. Energy suppliers are the obliged parties, which is why funding is arranged through suppliers and their installers, not through a government application form. Ofgem’s pages are the place to confirm the current rules, because this guide does not restate the eligibility tests in detail.

Treat the end date as a fact to plan around, not as a reason to rush. A scheme closing does not mean a measure can be installed in time: surveys, paperwork and installer capacity all take time, and nobody can promise a place.

Who it helps

ECO4 targets lower-income and vulnerable households, and that includes people who rent. For a landlord, the practical point is that the property must be one where the work is allowed. GOV.UK says a private tenant must have the owner’s permission to do the work, and that a privately rented home must be rated E, F or G to be eligible, so the landlord’s consent is part of the process.

If you are	What to do now
A tenant on a low income	Read Ofgem’s page for homeowners and tenants, then ask your landlord and contact a supplier or installer. Do not sign anything that commits you to costs.
A landlord with a lower-income tenant	Ask the tenant whether they have already approached a supplier, and check Ofgem for the current rules before agreeing to work.
A landlord with no such tenant	ECO4 is probably not your route. Look at the Boiler Upgrade Scheme or the Warm Homes Local Grant instead.

How to ask

For a tenant: begin with Ofgem’s guidance for homeowners and tenants, then speak to an energy supplier or a registered installer working under the scheme. Ask for the eligibility test in writing and what the work would involve in your home. Ask your landlord early, because the work needs their agreement.

For a landlord: if a tenant raises ECO4, read the Ofgem pages yourself and ask what you are agreeing to. Check what the installer will leave behind, whether the work affects the EPC, and whether you are being asked to pay anything. Nobody can say in advance whether a particular home will qualify, so do not tell a tenant it will.

Keep records. A dated message saying what was agreed, the installer’s name and the measures done is useful if the rating or a dispute comes up later.

Warm Homes: Local Grant as the main successor

The Warm Homes: Local Grant is the main successor route, in England only. It is delivered through local authorities, so the first step is to find what your council is offering. According to the DESNZ policy guidance, it is for lower-income households living in homes rated EPC D to G, whether privately owned or privately rented.

For landlords the rules include:

• A landlord’s first property can be fully funded; from the second property the landlord contributes 50%.
• The landlord declares they will not raise the rent because of the funded work.
• Rentals rated EPC F or G need a registered exemption first, because public money cannot be used to meet the legal minimum.
• The window closes on 31 March 2028.

The caps are £16,600 for energy performance measures and £16,600 for low carbon heat, applied as project averages, not a per-home entitlement. That is a long way from a guaranteed sum for any one rental. Read Warm Homes Local Grant for landlords for the detail.

When this is not the right route

Do not plan around funding that depends on a tenant’s income, a council’s local programme or a supplier’s decision. If the tenant does not qualify, or the council has no scheme running, none of this applies. In that case compare the options on grants and funding, including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme at £7,500 for an air to water heat pump on a property you own, and the loan route.

Also remember that the rent declaration and the EPC range in the Local Grant are conditions, not a formality. A landlord who intends to raise rent after the work should not sign the declaration.

Where this fits with the law on rentals

Today the legal minimum for a let is EPC E. A rating of C by 1 October 2030 is planned, not law, and the regulations have not yet been laid. Funding that improves the rating can help with either standard, but the grant rules about public money mean you cannot count on it to cover work you must do anyway. For tenant security after 1 May 2026, see Renters’ Rights Act and energy upgrades.

Next step

Check the Ofgem ECO page and your council’s Warm Homes: Local Grant page, and keep the dates in view. If you want to see how a heat pump compares with insulation first, the heat pump landlord calculator is a light starting point. All details here come from Ofgem and GOV.UK pages read in October 2026; verify them there before acting.