Heating Grants Reading: Warm Homes Local Grant & BUS

Reading Borough Council runs the Warm Homes: Local Grant in partnership with Portsmouth City Council and 31 other councils, from 2025 to 2028. Agility Eco manages it locally under the Warmer Homes name. For eligible homes, the council says homeowners pay nothing and there's nothing to repay.

Reading at a glance

Private renting: 31.9% of Reading households (21,623) rented privately in 2021, and 16.1% socially. Source
How homes are heated: 71.9% of Reading households heat with mains gas only and 15.7% with electricity only. 441 homes (0.7%) use tank or bottled gas only and 90 use oil only. Source
Local grant: Reading Borough Council offers the Warm Homes: Local Grant with Portsmouth City Council and 31 other councils: up to £15,000 for energy saving measures plus up to £15,000 for low-carbon heating, for homes rated EPC D or below. Source
Energy ratings: About 45% of homes with an EPC in Reading are rated band D or below (median score 70, band C), against 47% across England. Based on certificates lodged in the 10 years to March 2025. Source

How much and for what

Up to £15,000 per home for energy saving measures, plus up to £15,000 for low-carbon heating where suitable. Measures include insulation, ventilation, air source heat pumps, heating controls, efficient hot water, solar panels and lighting. A free survey decides what suits the home.

Who qualifies

Gross household income under £36,000, certain means-tested benefits, or living in a pre-qualified postcode. The home must be rated EPC D or below, though homes without an EPC can still apply. Savings over £100,000 rule you out.

In a privately rented home, the tenant must meet the income test and both landlord and tenant must agree. Landlords can have one home fully funded; further homes need a 50% contribution.

How to apply

Register through the Warmer Homes website, and Agility Eco will contact you. Funding is limited and allocated first come, first served across the partner councils, and Warmer Homes says it is oversubscribed, so register early. Questions go to [email protected].

National schemes

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives £7,500 off a heat pump with no income test. ECO4, funded by energy suppliers, runs to 31 December 2026; the Great British Insulation Scheme has closed.

Reading homes and what they need

Victorian brick terraces in the town's older streets

Solid-walled terraces often rate D or E, well inside the local scheme. Internal wall or loft insulation usually comes first.

Interwar and post-war semis in the suburbs

Semis with empty cavities and a garden are good candidates for both insulation and a heat pump.

Estates and apartments built from the 1970s onwards

Leaseholders in flats need the freeholder's consent for anything external.

Areas covered

Engineers who cover Reading work across areas including Caversham, Tilehurst, Earley, Woodley, Whitley, Emmer Green, Lower Earley, Southcote, Calcot and Theale.

View Reading on Google Maps

Questions people in Reading ask

Someone called offering a free boiler. Is it the council scheme?

The local grant doesn't fund gas boilers, and genuine schemes never charge to check eligibility. Contact Reading Borough Council directly to check.

I rent from the council. Can I apply?

No. Council and housing association homes are excluded from the local grant; ask your landlord about its own improvement programme.

Sources

Also nearby: Heating grants in Oxford, Heating grants in Swindon, Heating grants in London, Heating grants in Southampton

All heating grants locations →