The Green Home Grant Scheme Explained

The Government has recently announced its new initiative where over 600,000 homeowners in England will be able to claim up to £5,000 each to help reduce household energy bills (and up to £10,000 when meeting low income and benefit criteria). Working alongside Trust Mark the scheme is being put in place to support the jobs of thousands of tradespeople in England, whilst benefiting homeowners and landlords to get vital work done to their properties.  

All tradespeople participating in the scheme will need a government-backed seal of approval to provide their services. This gives homeowners the peace of mind knowing that their installers are fully qualified to provide their services, having either a Trust Mark or MCS accreditation to their name. Government will provide a list of approved installers, which can be filtered, to help homeowners choose the correct trades people to carry out the work. This also ensures there is a level of consumer protection and ensures the highest standards of work are met.

The Green Homes Grant will cover anything from insulation and heat pumps, to windows and doors and provide vital energy saving measures to reduce energy bills and CO2 admissions. This also means reasonable enabling work is covered by the grant to support the retrofit work. This includes structural improvements, damp treatment and repairing and improving controlled ventilation.

This extra work covered is vital to the scheme! Although the energy efficient measures are essential, they also risk houses becoming airtight and increasing their indoor air pollution levels. It is vital that any insulation retrofits are partnered with improved ventilation measures to ensure that occupant’s exposure to pollutants is minimised.

Overall, it is great to see the Government supporting the thousands of jobs in England and investing into the improvement of the housing stock we hold. This scheme will ensure thousands of energy efficient measures are implemented and hopefully see ventilation standards met and improved. Thus, improving the indoor air quality of thousands of homes.

To find out more about the scheme or apply for your Green Homes Grant, please use the links below.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-the-green-homes-grant-scheme

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/quality-assurance-at-heart-of-new-2-billion-green-homes-grants