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Cheap Prepaid Gas & Electricity
Prepaid energy prices are capped by the regulator, but don't be fooled, there are cheaper prepayment…
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Housing & Energy Grants
Find free cash for your home
Updated 14 May 2021
There's free cash available to help increase your home's energy efficiency or pay your energy bills – hundreds of millions of pounds of it. The key is knowing where to look.
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The main energy grants & freebies
Update: If you're concerned about paying your utility bills due to the coronavirus pandemic, help is available from energy and water companies. See full info for energy suppliers and water companies, plus lots more help if you're struggling financially, in our Coronavirus Finance & Bills Help guide.
Energy is one of the main grant-giving areas, as substantial Government funding is available to reduce our impact on the environment. The Government, energy suppliers and local authorities all provide grants to help you save energy.
It's worth everyone checking if they're eligible. Here's some inspiration...
I have been lucky enough to qualify for a brand new boiler. I didn't think I'd meet the criteria but I did, so check and see if you qualify too.
The end result of these grants is an increase in your home's value, warmth and economy. Of course, big savings are available by cutting costs or insuring your boiler against breakdown. Check out our Cheap Gas & Electricity and Boiler Cover guides.
Free insulation and boiler grants
There are wads of freebies and grants on offer from energy providers, from new boilers to loft and cavity wall insulation. It's all part of their efficiency obligations to people in certain groups. It's mainly for those receiving certain benefits, such as universal credit, tax credits, pension credit or income-based benefits. The full Free Insulation & Boilers guide has more, but below's a taster of what you can get:
- Boiler replacement or repair. Heating accounts for around 60% of what you spend in a year on energy bills. Depending on your boiler's age, a shiny new efficient one could save you up to £315/year.
- Cavity wall insulation. Most homes built between 1920 and 1990 have a gap between internal and external walls. Filling the cavity with insulating mineral wool and foam means cold air's kept out, and warm air stays in, which can save an average three-bedroom home up to £280/yr. It's not for everyone, so make sure it's appropriate for your home first.
- Loft insulation. Up to a quarter of your home's heat escapes via the roof, but you can solve this by laying mineral wool under the rafters, saving up to £250/yr.
Can you get up to £300 with the winter fuel payment?
Update: The information below is for last winter's scheme. We'll update this when details for winter 2021/2022 become available.
If you were born on or before 5 October 1954 and live in the UK for at least one day between 21 and 27 September 2020, then regardless of income, you can grab a one-off, tax-free winter fuel payment of between £100 and £300.
You'll receive a letter from the Government telling you how much you will get, based on the following criteria.
Winter fuel payments – how much could you get in 2020/21?
| BETWEEN 21-27 SEPTEMBER 2020 YOU: | BORN BETWEEN 28 SEP 1940 AND 5 OCT 1954 | BORN ON OR BEFORE 27 SEP 1940 |
| Lived alone (or none of the people you lived qualify). | £200 | £300 |
| Lived with someone under 80 who also qualifies. | £100 | £200 |
| Lived with someone 80 or over who also qualifies. | £100 |
£150 |
| Lived in a care home but didn't receive pension credit, income support, jobseeker's allowance or income-related employment and support allowance. | £100 | £150 |
Cold weather payments of £25 for each sub-zero week
The cold weather payment is a separate grant paid by the Government to older people and those on certain benefits, to help cover costs when temperatures hit zero and below in your area.
It applies if the average temperature is – or is forecast to be – 0°C or below for seven days in a row between 1 November and 31 March. You get £25 for each seven-day period. See our full Cold Weather Payment guide for more info.
The Warm Home Discount scheme requires suppliers, by law, to help vulnerable people in the UK pay for their energy. The money isn't paid to you – it's a £140 rebate applied to your electricity bill between September and March. If you're on a prepay meter, you'll usually be sent a top-up voucher.
There are two ways to qualify, with a different application process for each.
- If you get pension credit, it may come automatically. The scheme for winter 2021/22 will open on 18 October 2021. To be eligible for the automatic payment, you or your partner will need to be in receipt of the 'guarantee credit' element of the pension credit, and your name (or your partner's) will need to be on your energy bill as of 4 July 2021.
Provided your energy supplier is part of the scheme (see the full list below), you should receive a letter (usually sent between October and December) confirming when the £140 will be deducted from your electricity bill. The letter may also ask you to contact the Warm Home Discount helpline to confirm your details. The helpline can also be used if you need assistance, or if you've not received your letter. Call 0800 731 0214.
- On certain benefits? You may qualify, but you must apply. If you don't qualify for the above, you can still apply providing you get certain benefits (see full eligibility criteria below), under what's known as the 'broader group' criteria. If you're eligible, you'll need to apply directly to a participating supplier (see the full list below). Applications haven't yet opened for next winter's scheme – we'll update this guide when they are.
Warm home discount FAQs
Free cash to help pay for utility arrears
Some utility companies also offer help if you have large arrears on your gas, electricity or water bills. Please let us know if you have success with any of these schemes.
Energy suppliers offer help if you have arrears
To apply for help with energy arrears, you'll need to be an account holder and complete a full income and expenditure budget sheet. You'll also need to provide proof of your income, plus give details on how your arrears have built up, eg, due to illness or redundancy, and say how the grant will help you. It can take several weeks to process your claim.
Exact requirements vary – some say you need to be in receipt of certain benefits for example – but those with the greatest need are prioritised on a case-by-case basis.
Water suppliers also offer help if you're in arrears
If you're having trouble paying your water bill and have fallen into debt, contact your water company to see what help it can offer. All companies offer some kind of help – this can be anything from providing repayment plans, discounts or even a cap on how much you pay.
What's available varies from company to company. Don't worry if you're unsure which scheme is best for you. Call your provider and it will assess your circumstances and decide which one will save you the most money. For more, including a full company-by-company breakdown, see Get help if you're struggling to pay your bills
The Turn2us website also has info on all the water company schemes.
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The top home help schemes and grants
There's more home help available depending on your circumstances. Here are five more schemes and grants.
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If you are elderly, disabled or on a low income, your local Home Improvement Agency (HIA) may help you to repair, improve, maintain or adapt your home. There are around 200 HIA services around the country that can help in varying ways.
Assistance can include providing a list of reliable local builders and contractors, checking if you can get financial help or helping to make your home more energy efficient. Search for your nearest HIA on the Foundations website (or Care and Repair Cymru in Wales).
Alternatively, independent charity Turn2Us has a grant search to help you check for any charities that might be able to help with things such as furniture, decorating or bills and household expenses. The grants usually depend on an individual's circumstances, maybe any illnesses or their nationality, occupation, age or income.
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Local councils can provide emergency financial support under the local welfare assistance scheme.
Support is available for people in short-term crises, for things such as a sudden bereavement, a broken boiler or if you're forced to move out of a rented home.
However, it's a postcode lottery. Each council can choose whether to offer financial help or not, or who is eligible. For example, some may give furniture or food grants, while others may give cash. Ask your council for more info.
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![Smoke detector. Isolated on white background]( "Smoke detector. Isolated on white background")
Many local fire stations offer free home fire risk assessments, to check for potential fire risks and give fire safety advice.
The check will help you plan what to do if a fire starts in your home and you'll usually be given a free smoke alarm if you don't already have one.
The scheme's open to anyone, but it's aimed at the elderly, families with young children or any homes which may carry a high fire risk.
The Chief Fire Officers Association has put together a list of what each brigade offers and you can find out more about the assessments on the Fire Service website. If your local brigade isn't listed, you could ring it to see what it offers.
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A disabled facilities grant is available from your council to help towards the cost of adapting your home if you, or someone living in your property, is disabled.
You can get up to £30,000 in England, £36,000 in Wales and up to £25,000 in Northern Ireland. Disabled facilities grants aren't available in Scotland.
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The grant is for work that is essential to help a disabled person live an independent life. Here's an example...
I had a disabled facilities grant to remove my bath and put in a level access shower.
Contact your council's housing or environmental health department and ask it to send you an application form before you start work. If work begins before the council's approved your application, you won't normally get anything. Find more info on the grant on the Gov.uk website, as well as your council's details.
In Wales, an additional scheme provided by Care and Repair is the Rapid Response Adaptations Programme, which helps with small-scale alterations to your home (such as grab rail instalments). You need to be referred by a health or social services professional such as an occupational therapist, so speak to your doctor to see if you qualify.
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Age UK runs a local handyperson service in over 80% of the country. This involves security-checked individuals visiting elderly people's homes (though anyone over 50 can apply) to do small repairs, grab rail instalments and security improvements to doors and windows.
Charges for handyperson services are set at local levels, so call your local Age UK. Costs are around £5-£25 per hour dependent on the work being undertaken. For info, call Age UK on 0800 678 1602.
Spotted out of date info/broken links? Email: brokenlink@moneysavingexpert.com
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