GUIDE · FOR UK SOLAR INSTALLERS · 11 MIN READ

Warm Homes Loan Eligibility: Which Customers, Homes and Jobs Qualify

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

UK-wide

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Income test: the lender checks affordability

No

Income test: the lender checks affordability

Borrower types: owner-occupiers and private landlords

2

Borrower types: owner-occupiers and private landlords

Required for the installer on every solar and battery job

MCS

Required for the installer on every solar and battery job

Since the scheme opened on 27 October 2026, customers have been asking installers whether they qualify. Getting that answer right on the first visit saves a quote that stalls at the lender. This guide puts the eligibility rules in one place, in the order you'd check them on a job, with the Scheme Rules section for each one.

Last updated 1 November 2026. Rules are from the Scheme Rules (v3, September 2026), GOV.UK's Warm Homes Loan Scheme guide (updated 28 October 2026) and the DESNZ factsheet. Lenders can add their own criteria, so check theirs too.

Eligibility checker

Answer five questions about the job and see whether it is likely to qualify, and which rule decides it.

1. The customer: who can borrow

• Owner-occupiers of existing homes and private rented sector landlords, borrowing on a personal basis (4.4). GOV.UK puts it simply: the borrower must own the property, with or without a mortgage.
• No companies. Lending to business or SPV type structures is not allowed (3.9), so a landlord who holds homes through a limited company can't use it for those homes.
• No income test. The scheme sets no income threshold (3.3, 4.5). The lender runs its normal credit, affordability and eligibility checks (5.18), and can decline.
• Several homes, several loans. Owners of more than one property can take a loan for each (4.8).
• Lenders choose their customers. A lender can serve one or both borrower groups (4.6). Some lend only on mortgaged homes, or only in certain areas: our lender finder filters by both.

GOV.UK lists three ways to apply: directly to a lender, through an installer or retailer when arranging finance for the work, or through the customer's mortgage provider. The government itself takes no applications.

2. The home: which properties qualify

Any domestic property in the UK is eligible (3.7). A domestic property is any building used or suitable for use as a dwelling (4.7), and the scheme sets no restriction by property type (4.5), so houses, bungalows and flats all count at scheme level.

Mixed use is allowed within limits. The installation must be principally meant to meet the household's energy needs, and incidental business use, such as a short-term let, an annexe or converted garage, or someone running a business from home, does not on its own rule a home out (4.7). Business premises are a commercial job. If you also quote for businesses, our sister site sets out how the scheme treats businesses, landlord companies and farms.

3. The measure: what the loan can pay for

Only the measures listed in the rules, and their ancillary work, can be financed (4.13, 4.14). The whole cost of each measure, ancillaries included, must fit under its cap (4.19, 4.20):

Not covered: replacement roofing or structural work before solar (4.16), insulation (4.15), and windows and doors (4.20). A lender can offer a separate ordinary loan for those on its usual terms (4.20). GOV.UK adds that the customer cannot do the improvement work themselves. To test a priced quote against the caps, use the quote checker in our Warm Homes Loan Scheme guide for installers.

4. The installer: MCS, the quote and the certificate

• MCS for that measure. You must be MCS certified for the specific measure at the point of installation (4.24). Certified for solar but not batteries means the battery half of the job doesn't qualify with you as the installer. The ancillary work itself is not covered by that requirement.
• Checked twice. Lenders verify certification with MCS when the customer applies and again after installation (4.24, 5.23).
• A scheme-ready quote. Where the customer applies with a quote, it must be dated within six months, addressed to them, on headed paper, with your MCS number, the full installation address, an itemised breakdown and the system size in kW (5.22).
• The MCS certificate. Lodge the finished job in the MCS Installations Database; the certificate is how the lender verifies it (5.25).
• Audits. GOV.UK says a finished installation may be picked at random for an audit, either by an auditor for DESNZ or a quality check by MCS, with at least 48 hours' notice of any DESNZ visit.

Loan, Local Grant or Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

Customers mix up the Warm Homes schemes. They are separate, and only some can go on the same job:

• Combining them. Only the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the Home Energy Scotland heat pump grant can sit alongside a Warm Homes loan (5.19). GOV.UK says a Warm Homes loan and other government funding cannot pay for the same improvement.
• Heat pumps. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant is £7,500 towards an air or ground source heat pump, plus £1,500 until March 2027 where the home is heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas. The loan can cover the rest, and the cap is measured before the grant comes off (4.11, 4.19).
• Low income. GOV.UK points households on a low income to the Warm Homes: Local Grant, where the council pays for the agreed work, so a customer who may qualify for that shouldn't be steered to a loan first.
• Your own discounts. An installer or retailer discount can sit on top of the scheme's interest rate cut. The scheme's reduction must not replace an extra rate reduction you or a retailer were already offering (6.39).

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The loan is UK-wide (3.7), and designed to run alongside the schemes in the devolved nations. What changes is the grants around it. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers England and Wales. In Scotland, the Home Energy Scotland grant can be combined with a Warm Homes loan for heat pumps (4.11). GOV.UK says Northern Ireland's Boiler Replacement Scheme has closed, and the Warm Homes: Local Grant is England only. Lenders also pick their own areas: when we checked on 30 October, two of the ten lent in England and Wales only, and one only around South Manchester. The lender finder shows which lenders cover each nation.

Before you quote: a checklist

1. 1Confirm the customer owns the home and will borrow in their own name, not a company's.
2. 2Confirm it is a home, and that the system is sized for the household's own use.
3. 3Check each measure is eligible, and price each one, ancillaries included, under its cap.
4. 4Quote roofing, insulation or other work outside the scheme as a separate line.
5. 5Ask whether another public grant is paying for the same measure. Only Boiler Upgrade Scheme and Home Energy Scotland heat pump grants mix with the loan.
6. 6Check you are MCS certified for every measure on the job.
7. 7Use a quote template that meets the scheme's rules, and match the customer to a lender that covers their area and home.

Warm Homes Loan eligibility: FAQ