Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and EPC C

Wave 3 of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund provides £1.29bn for 2025–2028 to bring social homes in England up to EPC C, and it is closed to new applications. Separately, social landlords in England must reach EPC C on one reformed EPC metric by 1 April 2030, so retrofit planning continues beyond the grant.

Wave 3 of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund provides £1.29bn for 2025–2028 to bring social homes in England up to EPC C, and it is now closed to new applications. Whether or not you hold Wave 3 funding, you must reach EPC C on one reformed EPC metric by 1 April 2030, with ECO4 ending on 31 December 2026 and the Great British Insulation Scheme already closed.

What is Wave 3 and who received it?

Funding: £1.29bn for 2025–2028, announced 21 November 2024.
Applications: ran from 2 October to 25 November 2024. Successful landlords were published on 11 March 2025 (144 projects). The fund is closed to new applications.
Eligibility: councils, combined authorities, registered providers and charities that own social housing in England. Greater Manchester and the West Midlands are funded separately.
Extra funding: up to £295m more for 2026/27 (parliamentary answer of 13 February 2026, and the scheme addendum).

What are the two routes?

Strategic Partnerships: for landlords with a proven track record of delivering at scale.
Challenge Fund: open to all providers.

What are the cost caps and deadlines?

Home and measure	Grant cap per home	Co-funding
Standard	£7,500	At least £7,500 (minimum 50% co-funding overall)
Low-carbon heating off the gas grid	An extra £7,500	Minimum 50% co-funding overall
Low-carbon heating on the gas grid, in up to 10% of homes	Up to £20,000	Not required

The caps include non-recoverable VAT. Homes below EPC C must reach EPC C; homes starting at E–G that cannot reach C within the caps must reach the best grade possible.

Grant must be spent by 31 March 2028, and delivery runs to 30 September 2028. Under the addendum, co-funded delivery can continue to March 2030.

What certification do installers need?

Wave 3 expects a whole-house, "least regrets" approach under PAS 2035/2030:2023. Mandatory "fabric first" is not a formal condition. Installers must be:

TrustMark registered;
PAS 2030 certified for energy-efficiency measures;
MCS certified for heat pumps and solar, using products in the MCS Product Directory. Since the June 2026 addendum, no equivalent is accepted.

Measures are lodged on TrustMark within about 20 working days. Ask for certificate details for each measure before work starts, and check them against the scheme registers.

Who does what under PAS 2035?

PAS 2035:2023 replaced PAS 2035:2019+A1:2022 on 30 March 2025 and is now required on government-backed schemes. Its roles are:

Retrofit Assessor: assesses the home;
Retrofit Coordinator: holds overall project responsibility;
Retrofit Designer: designs the measures;
Retrofit Installer: installs, commissions and hands over under PAS 2030:2023, working to a design that conforms to PAS 2035;
Retrofit Evaluator: evaluates the outcome.

A Main Contractor role applies on multi-measure projects. "Retrofit Advisor" is often cited, but the BSI text has advice delivered by the qualified roles. Keep roles independent where possible to avoid conflicts of interest.

What replaces ECO4 and GBIS?

ECO4 was extended by 9 months to 31 December 2026.
The Great British Insulation Scheme ended on 31 March 2026 and was not extended.
No successor obligation has been set up. Support moves to taxpayer-funded grants, including £1.5bn of extra low-income grant from 2027/28.

The Warm Homes Plan (21 January 2026) sets out £15bn of public investment, including £5bn for low-income households. The design of the single low-income scheme planned from 2027/28 has not been confirmed.

What does EPC C by 2030 require?

The government's response on improving the energy efficiency of socially rented homes sets the standard:

EPC C on any one reformed metric (fabric, smart readiness or heating) by 1 April 2030, and on a second metric by 1 April 2039;
a £10,000 spend exemption per metric for each property;
a current EER of C reached before 2030, with a valid EPC, counts while that EPC remains valid;
the Regulator of Social Housing enforces it through criterion D of the reformed Decent Homes Standard.

What does retrofit cost?

Published benchmarks vary widely with the starting EPC band, wall type and heating. The sources below do not state a VAT basis.

Benchmark	Figure	Source and year
Whole-house retrofit, bid-stage mean	£23,610 per home (median £22,559; range £3,427–£73,737)	SHDF Wave 1 process evaluation, Dec 2024
Actual cost, homes starting at EPC D	About £13,531 per home	SHDF Wave 1 process evaluation, Dec 2024
Actual cost, homes starting at other bands	£20,590–£22,006 per home	SHDF Wave 1 process evaluation, Dec 2024
External wall insulation	£18,395 per install actual, against £14,658 planned	SHDF Wave 1 process evaluation, Dec 2024
Expected landlord spend	£14,600 per home	Housemark, 2023
Air source heat pump	£13,041 median installed cost	Boiler Upgrade Scheme data via Nesta, 2025/26

The main cost drivers are the starting EPC band, wall type (solid walls need external wall insulation), whether low-carbon heat is included, and PAS 2035 overheads. See guide prices for more ranges.

What applies in Wales and Scotland?

Wave 3 covers England only.

Wales: under the Welsh Housing Quality Standard 2023, which applies from 1 April 2024, landlords must set Target Energy Pathways by 31 March 2027, informed by a Whole Stock Assessment, with all stock compliant by 31 March 2034. The target is SAP 92 (EPC A), with an interim minimum of SAP 75 (EPC C); no date for the interim minimum was found. See Wales standards.

Scotland: EESSH2 is under review, with interim guidance issued on 20 March 2026. The Social Housing Net Zero Standard was consulted on from November 2023 to March 2024. Final decisions are expected by spring 2027, with the first reporting year to the Scottish Housing Regulator from April 2028. See Scotland standards.

Funding rules and addenda change often. Check the current scheme guidance for your own project.

How we help

We deliver fabric, heating and associated works as part of your PAS 2035 project, working to your Retrofit Coordinator's design. We confirm in writing, before appointment, who will carry out each measure and what certification they hold. Ask for a quote with your measures and stock list.

Common questions

Is Wave 3 still open to new applications?

No. Applications closed on 25 November 2024 and successful landlords were published on 11 March 2025. Up to £295m extra for 2026/27 has been allocated to Wave 3, which remains closed to new applications.

Does Wave 3 require a fabric first approach?

Not as a formal condition. The guidance asks for a whole-house, 'least regrets' approach under PAS 2035/2030:2023.

What VAT applies to retrofit measures?

Energy-saving materials such as insulation, heat pumps, solar PV, batteries and heating controls are zero-rated in residential accommodation until 31 March 2027, then 5% (HMRC Notice 708/6). Windows, doors and gas boilers are standard-rated, and ancillary works may be too.

Can landlords plan on ECO funding after 2026?

No. ECO4 ends on 31 December 2026 and no successor obligation has been set up. Future support is due to come through taxpayer-funded Warm Homes Plan grants.

Sources

Checked 31 October 2026. This guide summarises the rules for planning purposes and is not legal advice; check the current legislation or take advice for your own case.

Add Social Housing Contractors as a preferred source on Google

Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3 and the path to EPC C