Home Upgrade Grant amongst opportunities available for local authorities this summer Apr 15, 2021

The Home Upgrade Grant will open for applications from local authorities in the next few months, with the funding available in conjunction with a phase three of Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery.

Local authorities looking to take advantage of the funding will be required to complete a single application to submit proposals for both schemes.

The schemes represent a £300m pledge from government to help low income households living in energy inefficient homes across England.

Funding will become available later in the year to upgrade the energy efficiency of social housing, with the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) expected to open in the Autumn.

The Home Upgrade Grant (HUG)

£150m has been committed to support low income households by upgrading the energy efficiency of properties off the gas network in England.

The funding intends to enable the installation of multiple measures in these homes to substantially improve performance.

Local Authority Delivery Phase 3 (LAD3)

Around £200m of new funding will be made available for new projects delivering to low income households in the most inefficient homes on the gas network.

The main criteria for on gas properties should remain the same as those in the first two phases of the LAD initiative, including the cost caps for owner occupier and rented properties, along with landlord contributions.

The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF)

The new social housing fund will offer the potential for social landlords to apply more impactful retrofit measures to their housing stock due to a higher cost cap than that of the LAD scheme.

A figure of £160m total funding has been announced for the first wave of the programme in 2021-22 with the bidding window to open in Autumn 2021.

Delivery will run until March 2023, hoping to achieve substantial carbon savings, warmer energy-efficient homes, and reduced bills for low income households.

Local authorities are being asked to consider how best they can utilise the opportunities by developing progressive projects.

Further details are expected to be announced soon, sign up to our newsletter to never miss an update.

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