Green Homes Grant Scrapped

In a very disappointing turn of events, the Green Homes Grant has been scrapped by the UK government, which had promised £1.5bn of support for homeowners and landlords to help make their homes more energy efficient.

It was only in November last year that Boris Johnson announced an extension to the scheme, which was a fundamental part of his plan to ‘build back greener’ after the devastation of the pandemic. The grant also played a key part in helping to reach the UK’s key target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The initiative was designed to give homeowners a helping hand to make their homes more energy efficient, something not only integral to tackling climate change but, for landlords especially, it also provided a huge benefit to tenants too by helping to make their bills more affordable.

Under the scheme, Landlords could redeem a voucher for up to £5,000 to go against certain improvements but, despite being a heavily promoted campaign by the Government, the take up was low and roll out was beset by issues.

Despite being a very positive idea and great opportunity to help Leeds Landlords, the reality is that the scheme did not deliver what it promised with very few people managing to access the support effectively. We can only hope that a better solution will be forthcoming, because making homes greener and more affordable is so important for tenants, landlords and the environment.

– Neil Dawkin, General Manger, HOP

The scheme was heavily criticised for how difficult it was to use and the number of hoops it required applicants and contractors to jump through. There were delayed payments thanks to the enormous amount of red tape, which put even more pressure on the construction industry, as well as reports of some contractors overcharging for the works.

As a result of its poor implementation and take up, the Green Homes Grant has quickly been axed. Its execution was hampered by numerous issues and it is estimated that the eco initiatives only reached an estimated 10% of the intended 600,000 homes it was hoping to transform, leaving most of the money unspent.

It has been reported that the budget previously allocated for the grant will now go into a programme administered by local authorities, targeted at lower income households.

The good news is that if you applied for a voucher before the end of March 2021, your application will still be processed and may still be successful and any vouchers already issued can still be redeemed if used before the expiry date.  Find out more on Gov.uk.

Back to news