Boiler Upgrade Scheme for landlords: what you can claim on a let property

Landlords can claim, with the installer doing the paperwork

A landlord can claim the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) for a property they own, and that explicitly includes a property let to tenants. The GOV.UK eligibility page says you must own the property you are applying for and be replacing a fossil fuel heating system such as oil, gas, electric or LPG.

You do not fill in the application yourself. Your MCS certified installer applies on your behalf, so the practical first step is to ask for quotes from firms you have checked on the MCS register. This guide is independent: it is not the scheme, not an installer and not government.

The sections below cover what the grant pays, what is excluded, how the 120 day window works, and how it sits alongside the energy efficiency rules for rented homes.

What the grant pays

The amounts below are per property. They are the figures on the GOV.UK “what you can get” page, read on 8 October 2026.

Technology	Grant
Air source heat pump (air to water)	£7,500
Ground source heat pump	£7,500
Air to air heat pump	£2,500
Biomass boiler	£5,000
Oil or LPG uplift on air or ground source	extra £1,500, so £9,000 in total

Two points catch landlords out.

• The £9,000 is narrow. It applies only where the property is heated by oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection. A mains gas let gets £7,500, not £9,000.
• Air to air is grant funded now, but at £2,500, and only where it replaces existing heating. See air to air heat pumps for rental properties.

The oil and LPG uplift is listed from 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027. This page does not state when the main scheme ends. Check GOV.UK on the day you apply.

Who is excluded

Some let properties will not qualify, and it is better to find out before you spend money on a survey.

• Social housing.
• Most new build properties.
• A property that has already been given government funding or support for a heat pump or biomass boiler.
• Hybrid systems, and replacement of an existing low carbon heating system.

The GOV.UK eligibility page also says properties that previously received energy efficiency funding can still apply. The page lists no EPC rating or insulation condition for a standard application. That does not mean the installer will ignore the building: an MCS design has to suit the property, and a poorly insulated one may need work before a heat pump makes sense.

The 120 day install window

The heat pump must be commissioned and installed within 120 days of the application, or it will not be eligible. For a landlord that has practical consequences.

1. Agree the date window with your tenant before the application goes in, not after.
2. Check the installer can supply and fit the equipment inside the window, including any radiator or cylinder work.
3. Keep scheduling slack for access problems, because a missed visit can eat days.

The scheme does not list tenant consent as a condition. Access and disruption are a separate matter between you and your tenant, so read your tenancy agreement and speak to them early. From 1 May 2026 assured shorthold tenancies became periodic assured tenancies in England, which means tenancies roll on with no fixed end date to work around. See the Renters’ Rights Act and energy upgrades.

The grant and the minimum EPC rules

Today’s law and the planned rules are different, and the grant does not change either.

• Today: a let property in England and Wales needs a minimum EPC of E, with a cost cap of £3,500 including VAT for improvements and exemptions that mostly last 5 years.
• Planned: the government response of 21 January 2026 says EPC C by 1 October 2030 with a £10,000 cost cap per property. The regulations have not been laid, with a statutory instrument expected in 2027.

On whether BUS money counts towards the planned cap, the government response of 21 January 2026 says BUS funding will not count and other third-party funding, including other government schemes, can. That is published policy, but the regulations are not yet laid, so the final rule may differ. The full picture is on the cost cap and exemptions page.

Oil and LPG lets: the no-mains-gas test

The £9,000 figure is the best-value case for landlords, so the test matters.

Both conditions must be true: the property is heated by oil or LPG, and it has no mains gas connection. A property on a street with a gas main that simply chooses oil does not obviously pass. Ask your installer how they will evidence the position, and check your own utility records rather than assuming.

Off gas rentals are also where the running-cost case is strongest, because the heat pump is being compared with oil or LPG rather than with 7.97p/kWh mains gas. Oil prices change and are not on this page, so use your own recent delivery invoices.

Several properties

The scheme gives one grant per property. The GOV.UK pages read do not describe a separate cap on the number of properties one owner can claim for, and they do not describe a landlord’s portfolio rules. Before planning several installs, ask the installer to confirm the current wording and any limits. Other schemes do cap landlords: see the Warm Homes: Local Grant page, where the first property is funded in full and the second onwards need a 50% landlord contribution.

The grant also fits alongside the Warm Homes Loan Scheme. Its rules say a borrower applying for a BUS grant can borrow from a participating lender to cover installation costs above the grant. The loan is a lender product with credit checks, not a grant.

Worked example (modelled, not a real project)

A three bedroom semi, let to a family, heated by an oil boiler, with no mains gas connection. Every input is shown so you can swap in your own.

Input	Value	Source
Heat demand	12,000kWh a year	Illustrative house assumption
Heat pump cost before grant	£12,000	Energy Saving Trust, “around £12,000”, updated 23 September 2026
BUS grant (oil, no mains gas)	£9,000	GOV.UK, uplift available to 31 March 2027
Net cost to the landlord	£3,000	£12,000 minus £9,000
Electricity unit rate	26.32p/kWh	Ofgem cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026
Seasonal efficiency (SCOP)	3.0 (low case) or 3.5 (good case)	Assumptions

Electricity use is 12,000 divided by the SCOP: 4,000kWh at 3.0 or about 3,429kWh at 3.5. At 26.32p that is roughly £1,053 or £902 a year in unit costs, before standing charges and before the property’s other electricity use.

What the example does and does not show:

• It shows a net capital cost of about £3,000 if the quote matches the Energy Saving Trust figure. A real quote can be higher for a cylinder, radiators or pipework.
• It does not compare running costs with oil, because no oil price is in this guide. Use your own invoices for 12,000kWh of heat at your boiler’s efficiency.
• The tenant normally pays the electricity. Who benefits from savings depends on your tenancy and your rent, which is a decision for you.

A mains gas version of this house would get £7,500, leaving about £4,500 net on the same quote, and would be compared against gas at 7.97p/kWh, which is a much harder comparison. See the cost guide.

A landlord’s checklist before an installer applies

• Confirm you are the owner named on the title, because the scheme asks for ownership of the property.
• Check the property is not new build, social housing or already funded for a heat pump or biomass boiler.
• Confirm what heating is being replaced: oil, gas, electric or LPG all qualify, but an existing low carbon system does not.
• Work out whether the property has a mains gas connection before anyone quotes the £9,000 figure.
• Ask for a quote that shows the grant deducted, the cylinder, radiator and electrical work, and who applies and when.
• Check the installer on the MCS register yourself.
• Tell your tenant the dates and what access is needed.

When this is not the right answer

Insulation first is often right. A let with an uninsulated loft, single glazing or solid walls and a boiler that still works may gain more from fabric work than from a heat pump. If the tenant is on a low income, a council scheme may pay for more than this grant, so check the Warm Homes: Local Grant first. If the property is modern, small and already on a good gas boiler, a heat pump can raise the tenant’s bills.

If you are unsure, read before you install a heat pump in a rental and is a heat pump worth it for landlords.

Next step

Put your own figures through the heat pump landlord calculator, or send an enquiry on the quote page and relevant independent firms will contact you. There is no charge to you and no obligation.