The short answer: six means-tested benefits qualify a household for the Warm Homes: Local Grant with no income check at all — Universal Credit, Pension Credit (guarantee or savings), Housing Benefit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and income-related Employment and Support Allowance. Anyone in the household can be the claimant, other than a lodger or an adult in full-time education. There is a seventh door — an ECO Flex Route 2 declaration from your council. Disability and carer benefits such as PIP, DLA, Attendance Allowance and Carer’s Allowance do not qualify on their own, but they are stripped out of the income calculation, which often opens the income route instead.
Last verified: 11 September 2026 against the DESNZ Warm Homes: Local Grant policy guidance for local authorities and GOV.UK — Apply for the Warm Homes: Local Grant. The guidance notes the benefit list may be updated over the lifetime of the scheme.
The six qualifying benefits
The Warm Homes: Local Grant uses a closed list. If someone in your household receives one of these, the council can treat you as income-eligible without any further income check, provided the property criteria are also met:
| Qualifying benefit | What it is | Our guide |
|---|---|---|
| Universal Credit | The main working-age means-tested benefit, in or out of work | Grants on Universal Credit |
| Pension Credit | Both parts count — Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit | Grants for pensioners |
| Housing Benefit | Help with rent, now largely replaced by Universal Credit for new claims | Grants on Housing Benefit |
| Income Support | A legacy means-tested benefit still paid to some households | Low-income energy grants |
| Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance | The means-tested form of JSA — not the contribution-based form | Low-income energy grants |
| Income-related Employment and Support Allowance | The means-tested form of ESA — not the contribution-based form | Grants and disability |
Anyone in the household counts. The guidance is explicit: any household member may be the one receiving the benefit — it does not have to be the homeowner or the person who fills in the form. The two exclusions are lodgers and adults in full-time education.
Two nuances catch people out. Pension Credit counts in both its forms — a lot of guidance elsewhere mentions only Guarantee Credit, but the Warm Homes: Local Grant list says “savings and guarantee”. And JSA and ESA only count in their income-based or income-related forms; the contribution-based versions, which are paid on your National Insurance record rather than on means, are not on the list.
The seventh door: an ECO Flex Route 2 declaration
Alongside the six benefits, the guidance allows a second income proxy: a council declaration under Route 2 (“proxy targeting”) of the ECO4 and Great British Insulation Scheme Flex rules. This is the same mechanism behind LA Flex, and it is how councils reach households that are clearly struggling but hold none of the six benefits.
Under Route 2 a household must meet at least two of the recognised proxies, and — because the route has to follow the ECO rules it borrows from — the property must be EPC E, F or G rather than the wider D–G the rest of the scheme allows. The proxies used are:
- living in a listed Lower Layer Super Output Area (a targeted neighbourhood)
- being eligible for council tax reduction
- being vulnerable to living in a cold home
- being eligible for free school meals
- being supported by a local authority scheme
- a referral from Citizens Advice or an energy supplier
- energy supplier debt data
Not every pair works: the guidance publishes a compatibility table showing which proxies can and cannot be combined, and your council applies it. Treat this route as “ask your council” rather than something you can self-assess — and note that, as with every part of the scheme, self-declaration is not accepted as verification.
Benefits that do not qualify on their own
These are the benefits people most often expect to work, and do not — at least not by themselves:
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and contributory Employment and Support Allowance
- Child Benefit
- the State Pension (on its own — Pension Credit is the one that counts)
- Council Tax Reduction and the Warm Home Discount on their own
None of these is a means-tested benefit in the sense the scheme uses, so none of them opens pathway 2 by itself. That is a genuine disappointment for a lot of households — but it is very often not the end of the story.
The disability-benefit twist. Attendance Allowance, DLA, PIP, Armed Forces Independence Payment, Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance and Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit are all excluded from the household income calculation. They do not qualify you through the benefits route — but they also do not count against you on the income route. A household on £32,000 of wages plus PIP is assessed on £32,000. See the £36,000 income limit.
What to do if none of the six apply to you
- Check your postcode first. Pathway 1 needs no benefit and no income evidence at all — just an address in an eligible area. How the postcode check works.
- Then check the income route. Gross household income of £36,000 or less, with an After Housing Costs alternative for households with high rent or mortgage costs. The income limit in detail.
- Ask your council about ECO Flex Route 2. Two proxies, EPC E–G. Start with our LA Flex guide and your council’s own Warm Homes page.
- Use ECO4 while it lasts. ECO4 runs to 31 December 2026 and has its own, wider benefit list — several benefits that do not open the Warm Homes: Local Grant do open ECO4.
- Look at non-means-tested funding. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has no income or benefit test at all: £7,500 towards a heat pump, £9,000 for oil or LPG homes off the mains gas grid between 21 July 2026 and 31 March 2027, and £2,500 for an air-to-air system. Our guide to what replaces ECO4 maps the whole landscape.
Three checks that still apply after the benefit
Qualifying on the benefits route settles the income question and nothing else. Three separate tests sit alongside it, and each has ended applications that sailed through the benefit check:
- Your EPC band. The home must be rated D, E, F or G. Bands A, B and C are ineligible in all circumstances — there is no discretion for councils here. If you are going through ECO Flex Route 2 rather than one of the six benefits, the band has to be E, F or G, because that route follows the ECO rules it borrows. Look your certificate up free on GOV.UK, and see how EPC bands decide grant eligibility.
- Your tenure. The property must be privately owned — owner-occupied or privately rented. Social housing is out of scope except as rare infill within an area-based project. Private tenants need the landlord’s agreement and a landlord declaration, and rentals rated F or G need a registered MEES exemption. See tenants and landlords. Park homes are eligible where they are a permanent residence.
- Your council. Funding was allocated project by project, and not every area is in the national scheme — Greater Manchester and West Midlands councils are funded through their combined authorities instead. Check before you count on it: how to apply, step by step.
New builds and self-builds that have never been occupied are excluded too, and councils retain a discretion to decline a household with substantial savings or assets even where a benefit is in payment, because the money is targeted at households genuinely in or at risk of fuel poverty.
Why this list is shorter than ECO4’s
Households who have looked at ECO4 often arrive here expecting the same rules and find the door narrower. ECO4 uses a wider qualifying-benefit list than the Warm Homes: Local Grant — it reaches some households through benefits that do not appear among the six above — so it is genuinely worth checking both while ECO4 is still open. Our ECO4 eligibility guide sets out that scheme’s own criteria.
The timing is what makes this urgent rather than academic. ECO4 closes on 31 December 2026, and the Great British Insulation Scheme closed to new applicants on 31 March 2026. After that, the Warm Homes: Local Grant is the main funded route for low-income households in England, and it runs to 31 March 2028. If a benefit you hold opens ECO4 but not the Warm Homes: Local Grant, the sensible move is to use ECO4 now rather than wait. Our guide to what replaces ECO4 sets out the sequencing.
If you are a carer, a pensioner, or claiming for a disability
Three household types ask us about this constantly, so it is worth being blunt about each.
Carers. Carer’s Allowance is not on the list. But many carers’ households receive Universal Credit or Pension Credit alongside it, and a carer’s own earnings are often low enough for the income route. Start with energy grants for carers.
Pensioners. The State Pension alone does not qualify; Pension Credit does, in either form. Pension Credit is widely under-claimed, so a household that assumes it does not qualify sometimes qualifies for both the benefit and the grant. See energy grants for pensioners and boiler grants for pensioners.
Disabled households. PIP, DLA and Attendance Allowance do not qualify you, but income-related ESA does, Universal Credit does, and all the disability benefits above are excluded from the income test. See energy grants for people with a disability and boiler grants and Attendance Allowance.
Evidence and next step
Because self-declaration is not accepted, expect the council to want a recent award letter or benefit statement for whoever in the household holds the qualifying benefit, along with photo ID, proof that you live at the property, proof of ownership or a tenancy agreement, and your EPC band. Your home must be EPC D–G (E–G if you are going through ECO Flex Route 2) and privately owned or privately rented.
Start with the official GOV.UK Warm Homes: Local Grant service, which refers you to your council — it should contact you within 10 working days. Our step-by-step guide covers what happens next, and our eligibility checker compares the benefit and income routes against ECO4 and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in one pass.
Common questions about qualifying benefits
Does Universal Credit qualify for the Warm Homes: Local Grant?
Yes. Universal Credit is one of the six means-tested benefits on the scheme’s authorised list, and anyone in the household can be the claimant.
Does PIP qualify?
Not on its own. PIP is not a means-tested benefit, so it does not open the benefits route. It is, however, excluded from the household income calculation, which often makes the £36,000 income route work instead.
Does Attendance Allowance or Carer’s Allowance qualify?
No, not by themselves. Both are outside the six-benefit list. Check the postcode route, the income route, and whether anyone in the household also receives Pension Credit or Universal Credit.
Is the State Pension enough?
No. The State Pension on its own is not a qualifying benefit. Pension Credit is — and both Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit count.
Does contribution-based ESA or JSA count?
No. Only the income-related form of ESA and the income-based form of JSA appear on the list.
Does the benefit have to be in my name?
No. Any member of the household may hold the benefit, other than a lodger or an adult in full-time education.
What is ECO Flex Route 2?
A council declaration route borrowed from the ECO4 and Great British Insulation Scheme Flex rules. A household must meet at least two recognised low-income or vulnerability proxies, and the property must be EPC E–G. Your council decides, not you.
Will the list of benefits change?
It might. The guidance says the list reflects the benefits in use at the time of delivery and may be updated over the lifespan of the scheme, which runs to 31 March 2028.