Warm Homes: Local Grant

This funding is to provide our most vulnerable residents and homes with the support they need to keep their bills low as energy prices rise.

Following the success of the Home Upgrade Grant, in March 2025 Sheffield City Council secured £3.4 million pounds of funding in a bid to provide energy efficiency improvements to houses across Sheffield. This is the Warm Homes: Local Grant.

Through this funding, we’ll be able to provide vital upgrades to over 220 homes across Sheffield, including: 

  • insulation
  • heat pumps
  • heating controls

This funding is to provide our most vulnerable residents and homes with the support they need to keep their bills low as energy prices rise.

What you could receive through the scheme

Through the Local Grant, receive upgrades such as, and not limited to: 

  • insulation (floor, loft and wall)
  • air or ground source heat pump
  • smart heating controls
  • low energy lighting
  • solar PV
  • energy efficient doors and windows

You cannot receive a new boiler through the scheme. The Local Grant is prioritising installing highly energy efficient heating systems, instead of boilers powered by fossil fuels.

Improvements to your heating system will typically be through a heat pump.

Eligibility and how we prioritise applications in Sheffield

We’re working with the Warm Homes: Local Grant (WHLG) scheme to help residents improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Support is focused on those most in need, based on national eligibility criteria and additional local priorities.

Who can apply

To qualify for support through the WHLG, you must meet all of the following national criteria:

  • tenure: you live in a privately owned home (either owner occupied or privately rented)
  • property condition: your home has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D to G
  • income: you meet at least one of the following:

o your gross annual household income is £36,000 or less

o you receive a means tested benefit (such as Universal Credit or Housing Benefit)

o you live in a postcode within the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) deciles 1 or 2 (the most disadvantaged areas in England)

How we prioritise applications in Sheffield

Due to high demand, we will also be applying local priorities to help us provide direct support to the households most in need.

1. Local priority groups

We will give priority to households that include:

  • children aged 16 and under
  • someone aged 65 or older
  • someone with a long term health condition
  • someone with a disability

These groups are more vulnerable to the effects of cold or energy inefficient homes.

2. Income

Priority will also be given to households with a gross annual income of less than £36,000.

3. Household savings (owner occupier only)

We will consider the level of household savings for owner occupiers. Households with savings under £23,250 will be prioritised.

Please note: we cannot exclude households with savings over £23,250 if they meet the national criteria, but they will be placed in a lower priority group.

Priority banding system

To manage demand fairly, we will assess applications using the following priority bands:

Band 1: highest priority:

  • income under £36,000 or receiving means tested benefits
  • household savings under £23,250 (owner occupier only)
  • meets one or more of the local priority group criteria

Band 2:

  • income under £36,000 or receiving means tested benefits
  • household savings under £23,250 (owner occupier only)
  • does not meet any local priority group criteria

Band 3:

  • income over £36,000
  • living in an IMD 1 or 2 postcode
  • household savings under £23,250 (owner occupier only)
  • does not meet any local priority group criteria

Band 4: lowest priority:

  • income under £36,000 or receiving means tested benefits or living in an IMD 1 or 2 postcode
  • household savings over £23,250 (owner occupier only)
  • does not meet any local priority group criteria

Please note: Households in Band 3 and Band 4 remain eligible under the national criteria. However, they will be deprioritised locally as they do not meet the income or local priority criteria.

Register your interest

If you wish to express your interest in applying for the Local Grant, contact us expressing your interest and we will contact you as soon as possible to begin the application process.