Loft Insulation After ECO4 Ends: 2027 and Beyond
Updated 29 September 2026 · Free Insulation Loft
Loft insulation funding in the UK is in the middle of a handover. The supplier-funded schemes that paid for most free loft insulation over the last decade are ending, and government-funded schemes are taking their place. If you are wondering whether to apply now or wait, this is what the published plans say, as of 29 September 2026.
What is ending
The Great British Insulation Scheme ended on 31 March 2026. It was the one recent route that qualified homes by council tax band without a means test, and GOV.UK’s eligibility service now shows a closure notice.
ECO4 runs until 31 December 2026, following a nine-month extension. Ofgem says suppliers must deliver their obligations in full by then, and council LA Flex installations must also be complete by that date.
What the Warm Homes Plan says comes next
The Warm Homes Plan, published in January 2026 and updated on 18 March 2026, commits about £15 billion to upgrade up to 5 million homes by 2030. On the supplier schemes it says the Energy Company Obligation “will be coming to an end”.
For lower-income households, it puts over £5 billion into support through 2030. It will be delivered first through the existing Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant, then consolidated into a single low-income scheme with area-based delivery from 2027/28. For homeowners regardless of income, it plans low and zero-interest loans, rolled out in phases, with eligibility details still to be set out.
| Period | Main loft insulation routes (Great Britain) |
|---|---|
| Until 31 December 2026 | ECO4 (benefits and LA Flex); Warm Homes: Local Grant (England); devolved schemes |
| 2027 | Warm Homes: Local Grant (England, to 31 March 2028); devolved schemes; loans as they launch |
| From 2027/28 | A single low-income scheme with area-based delivery (England), per the Warm Homes Plan |
What that means for you
- If you qualify for ECO4 now, there is no advantage in waiting. Installations have to be completed by 31 December 2026, and nobody outside the suppliers knows how much capacity each has left.
- If you are in England and on a lower income, the Warm Homes: Local Grant continues to 31 March 2028 where your council takes part, with household income usually £36,000 or less and EPC D to G. GOV.UK says the council organises and pays for the agreed work.
- If you are not on a low income, there is no free scheme coming that we can point to. The planned loans may help once details are published. In the meantime, a bare loft pays back in roughly three to five years on Energy Saving Trust figures.
- If you are paying anyway, installed insulation carries 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, then 5%.
- In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the devolved schemes are separate from ECO4 and continue. See Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
What we do not know yet
We do not know the eligibility rules for the single low-income scheme from 2027/28, the launch dates for the homeowner loans, or how area-based delivery will choose which streets and households are offered help. Anyone who tells you precisely what “ECO5” will look like is guessing: the published plan describes government-funded schemes, not a fifth supplier obligation. We will update this page when those details are published.
For the full list of what is open today, see government loft insulation schemes compared, and to check your own route, use the checker on who qualifies.
Why the handover matters for lofts in particular
Loft insulation has been the backbone of the supplier schemes because it is cheap, quick and delivers a large saving in a bare loft: the Energy Saving Trust puts a bare semi-detached loft at about £750, saving about £190 a year. ECO4’s fabric-first rules also require the roof to be insulated before a poorly rated home can receive heating measures, so lofts have been the first job in many ECO4 packages.
Under the Warm Homes Plan, lofts do not disappear from funded work. The Warm Homes: Local Grant already lists loft insulation among the improvements councils can fund, and GOV.UK says the council pays for the agreed work. What changes is the route in: from an energy supplier or its installer, to your council and, from 2027/28, an area-based scheme that may approach whole streets rather than individual households.
For Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the picture is different again: their schemes are run by the devolved governments and the Housing Executive, not by the UK Warm Homes Plan’s England programmes, so ECO4’s end does not close them, although each can change its own budget and rules at any time, so check the scheme’s page before applying.
A sensible plan, whatever happens next
- Check whether you qualify now, using the checker on who qualifies. If ECO4 fits, apply this autumn.
- In England, ask your council whether it is delivering the Warm Homes: Local Grant, and keep an eye on its housing pages for the area-based scheme.
- Measure your loft. If it already has 200mm or more, the question is mostly settled: a top-up saves little.
- If you will pay anyway, a professional job before 31 March 2027 avoids VAT on the installation.
Sources: Warm Homes Plan · Ofgem ECO · Ofgem LA Flex guidance v3.0 · GOV.UK GBIS · GOV.UK Warm Homes: Local Grant · HMRC Notice 708/6 — read 29 September 2026.