Quick answer
Yes — you may still get a fully funded boiler in 2026 through ECO4, which has been extended and now runs until 31 December 2026. You typically qualify if your household receives a qualifying means-tested benefit (or you meet your council's ECO4 Flex criteria) and your home has an EPC rating of D, E, F or G with an old or inefficient heating system.
The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) has closed — applications ended on 31 January 2026 and the scheme finished on 31 March 2026. Note that ECO4 increasingly steers eligible homes toward heat pumps and insulation rather than a like-for-like gas-boiler swap, so a "free new gas boiler" is no longer guaranteed even when you qualify. This is general information, not financial or eligibility advice — always confirm your own position with your council or an accredited installer.
The honest version: A "free boiler" is not the government handing out cash. It is help funded by energy suppliers and aimed at low-income households in inefficient homes. Most people reading this will not qualify — so this guide also covers the practical "plan B" if you don't, which is where a one-off repair or boiler cover may make more sense than waiting.
1. Can you still get a free boiler in 2026?
Yes, but the picture has changed and is winding down. Here is the live status of the main UK schemes, last checked in 2026 — always confirm current status on the official GOV.UK or Ofgem pages.
| Scheme | Status (2026) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| ECO4 | Open — extended to 31 Dec 2026 | Heating (boiler/heat pump) + insulation for low-income, inefficient homes |
| Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) | Closed — ended 31 Mar 2026 | (Was) insulation for less-efficient homes; no longer available |
| Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) | Open | £7,500 toward a heat pump (not a gas boiler) |
| Warm Home Discount | Open seasonally | £150 off your energy bill (not a boiler) |
The key thing to understand: ECO4 was extended in early 2026 by nine months. The extension gives energy suppliers more time to finish existing obligations and to remediate non-compliant installations — it did not add new funding or widen the scheme.
By the back end of 2026, most of the budget is allocated and new applications are very limited. If you think you qualify, applying sooner is far better than later.
2. What is the ECO4 scheme?
ECO4 stands for the fourth phase of the Energy Company Obligation. It is overseen by the regulator Ofgem but funded by the larger energy suppliers, who are legally obliged to help improve the worst-performing homes.
It is not "free government money" in the way scam adverts imply. The money comes from supplier obligations, recovered across everyone's energy bills.
ECO4 takes a "whole-house" approach. That means you usually can't get just a boiler — the home normally has to be insulated alongside any heating upgrade, so the property reaches a meaningful efficiency improvement.
Who runs it vs who installs it: Ofgem sets the rules and energy suppliers fund it, but the actual survey and installation are done by accredited private installers. A legitimate ECO4 installer will never ask you for an upfront payment.
3. ECO4 eligibility: the benefits route
The most common way to qualify is by receiving a qualifying means-tested benefit. The household must receive at least one of the following.
| Qualifying benefit | Notes |
|---|---|
| Universal Credit | Any amount |
| Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit) | Strong qualifier for pensioners |
| Pension Credit (Savings Credit) | Qualifies |
| Income Support | Qualifies |
| Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) | Qualifies |
| Income-related Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) | Qualifies |
| Working Tax Credit | Qualifies (legacy benefit) |
| Child Tax Credit | Subject to income cap (see below) |
| Housing Benefit | Qualifies |
| Child Benefit | Subject to income caps by household type |
For Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit and Child Benefit, there are income thresholds that rise with household size. As a rough guide for the Child Benefit route, the relevant gross-income caps are around £19,800 (single, one child), £24,600 (single, two children), £27,300 (couple, one child) and £32,100 (couple, two children), increasing further with each additional child. These figures are indicative — your installer or council confirms the exact thresholds that apply.
On top of the benefit, your property must have an EPC rating of D, E, F or G. The scheme works "worst first" — homes rated E, F or G are prioritised. If your home is EPC C or better, it is generally already too efficient to qualify.
4. ECO4 Flex / LA Flex: how to qualify without benefits
If no one in the home claims a qualifying benefit, you may still get help through ECO4 Flex (also called LA Flex). This route is run by your local council, which sets its own criteria in a published document called a "Statement of Intent".
Common Flex routes include:
- Low income — gross household income generally under about £31,000 a year, though councils set their own figure (some use £30,000, others £32,000).
- Health — someone in the home has a cold-aggravated condition, such as a respiratory or cardiovascular illness, made worse by a cold home.
- Vulnerability — a vulnerable occupant, such as a young child, an older resident or someone with a relevant condition.
Because criteria vary by council, two households in identical circumstances can get different answers depending on where they live. Always check your own council's Statement of Intent.
5. Does your boiler qualify?
Even where the household and EPC qualify, the heating system itself has to meet the rules. Broadly, the existing boiler must be inefficient — typically non-condensing or low-efficiency (often older systems, commonly 10–15 years old or more) — or no longer working. There is no single fixed "age" cut-off; eligibility turns on the boiler's efficiency and condition rather than its age alone.
Two important nuances catch people out:
- Broken/condemned boilers are capped. Replacing a broken or condemned gas boiler with another gas boiler is allowed only in limited cases, and this route is capped at around 5,000 homes under the scheme. It is not a guaranteed route.
- First-Time Central Heating sits outside that cap. If a home has never had a full central-heating system, installing one for the first time is treated separately and is not limited by the 5,000-home cap.
The gas-vs-heat-pump reality: ECO4 increasingly steers eligible homes toward heat pumps and insulation rather than a like-for-like gas-boiler replacement. So "free boiler" in 2026 may in practice mean a heat pump, insulation, or a first-time system — not a brand-new combi. If you want to understand the trade-offs, see heat pump vs gas boiler costs.
6. Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS): what it was and why it ended
GBIS (originally announced as "ECO+") was a separate, broader insulation scheme. It offered measures like loft and cavity-wall insulation to a wider range of homes than ECO4, including some households not on benefits.
GBIS is closed. Applications closed on 31 January 2026 and the scheme ended on 31 March 2026. You can no longer apply. Many installer websites still blur GBIS and ECO4 together — if a page is offering GBIS in mid-2026, treat it with caution.
If you were hoping for insulation help, the main routes now are ECO4 (if eligible) and, in some areas, the council-run Warm Homes: Local Grant.
7. How to apply, step by step
The genuine process is simple and free at the point of application:
- Check eligibility — confirm a qualifying benefit (or an ECO4 Flex route via your council).
- Check your EPC — find your home's rating on the official EPC register; it should be D, E, F or G.
- Find an accredited installer — they must be TrustMark-registered and work to the relevant standards (PAS 2035:2019 for the whole-house retrofit process and PAS 2030:2019 for installation). You can verify a firm on the TrustMark website.
- Have a survey/assessment — the installer assesses the property and the recommended measures (often insulation plus heating).
- Installation — if approved, the funded work is carried out. The total package can be worth £10,000 or more.
You can also approach an obligated energy supplier directly — you do not have to be their existing customer.
8. Is the free boiler scheme a scam?
ECO4 itself is real. But the space around it is full of aggressive lead-generation and outright scams. Watch for these red flags:
- Any request for upfront payment. A genuine ECO4 grant never asks you to pay first.
- "You definitely qualify" cold calls or texts before anyone has checked your benefits or EPC.
- Pressure to sign on the spot or to hand over bank details to "release" a grant.
- No TrustMark registration. If a firm isn't TrustMark-registered, it cannot legitimately do ECO4 work — check the register yourself.
If something feels off, stop and verify the installer independently before sharing any personal or financial details.
9. What if you don't qualify?
Most households won't qualify — and that is the honest reality competitors' lead-gen pages tend to skip. If you're not eligible, you still have sensible options, especially if your boiler is old.
An older boiler is often the point at which the repair-vs-replace maths gets interesting. The decision usually comes down to three paths:
- Repair the existing boiler. See typical boiler repair costs to gauge whether a one-off fix is worth it.
- Replace it. Read how much a new boiler costs in 2026 and weigh it against repair with our guide to whether to repair or replace your boiler. Many installers also offer a new boiler on finance.
- Protect against breakdowns while you decide. If your boiler is ageing but still working, boiler cover for older boilers can cap the cost of the next failure — though it isn't right for everyone, so check is boiler cover worth it? first.
It also helps to know what's realistic: how long a boiler should last and some quick wins in ways to make your boiler more efficient. When you're ready to weigh protection plans side by side, you can compare boiler cover plans from our selected panel of providers — this is not the whole market.
How we're funded: We may earn a commission if you take out a plan through links on this site, at no extra cost to you. This never changes the order of our panel or the information we give. Some plans are FCA-regulated insurance and others are unregulated service or breakdown-care plans — these are not the same thing, so always read each provider's terms. Prices shown elsewhere on the site are indicative ("from £X"), last checked in 2026; confirm the current price and what's covered on the provider's own page before you buy.
A note on safety: Anything involving gas, the burner, the flue, the sealed circuit, the gas valve, the PCB or the pressure-relief valve must be handled by a Gas Safe registered engineer only — never attempt these yourself. If you ever smell gas or suspect carbon monoxide, leave the property and call the National Gas Emergency line on 0800 111 999.
10. Other grants and dead schemes
A few other routes are worth knowing — and several widely-Googled schemes are gone for good.
- Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) — offers £7,500 toward an air-source or ground-source heat pump and £5,000 toward a biomass boiler in England and Wales. From 21 July 2026, an uplift takes the grant to £9,000 for off-gas-grid homes (currently heated by oil or LPG), and a separate £2,500 grant covers air-to-air heat pumps. It does not fund a gas boiler. See our guide to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
- Warm Home Discount — a £150 one-off discount on your energy bill for eligible low-income households; usually applied automatically each winter. It is not a boiler grant.
- Warm Homes: Local Grant — a council-run scheme in some areas, running to 2028, that can fund insulation and heating.
Dead schemes you may still see online: the Green Homes Grant (closed in 2021), any "boiler scrappage scheme" (long gone), and GBIS (ended March 2026). If a page is advertising these as live in 2026, it's out of date or untrustworthy.
Is the ECO4 free boiler grant still available in 2026?
Yes. ECO4 was extended and now runs to 31 December 2026. However, the extension added time for suppliers to finish existing work and remediate non-compliant installs rather than new funding, so by late 2026 most of the budget is allocated and new applications are very limited. Apply as early as possible if you think you qualify.
Can I still apply for the Great British Insulation Scheme?
No. GBIS closed to new applications on 31 January 2026 and the scheme ended on 31 March 2026. Any website still offering GBIS in mid-2026 is out of date. The main remaining routes are ECO4 (if eligible) and, in some areas, a council-run Warm Homes: Local Grant.
What benefits qualify me for an ECO4 free boiler?
Qualifying benefits include Universal Credit, Pension Credit (Guarantee or Savings Credit), Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Working Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, and — subject to income caps — Child Tax Credit and Child Benefit. Your home must also have an EPC rating of D, E, F or G. This is general information; confirm your own eligibility with an accredited installer or your council.
Can I get a grant if I'm not on benefits?
Possibly, via ECO4 Flex (LA Flex). Your local council sets its own criteria in a "Statement of Intent", commonly covering households with gross income under around £31,000 (councils vary), a cold-aggravated health condition, or a vulnerable occupant. Criteria vary by council, so check yours directly.
Will I definitely get a new gas boiler?
Not necessarily. ECO4 takes a whole-house approach and increasingly favours insulation and heat pumps over a like-for-like gas-boiler swap. Replacing a broken gas boiler with another gas boiler is capped at around 5,000 homes and only allowed in limited cases, though First-Time Central Heating sits outside that cap. "Free boiler" in practice may mean a heat pump or a first-time system.
How do I avoid free boiler grant scams?
A genuine ECO4 grant never asks for upfront payment. Be wary of "you definitely qualify" cold calls, pressure to sign immediately, and requests for bank details to "release" a grant. Always confirm the installer is TrustMark-registered (and works to PAS 2035:2019 / PAS 2030:2019) by checking the TrustMark register yourself.
What should I do if I don't qualify for a free boiler?
If your boiler is old, weigh up repairing it, replacing it (sometimes on finance), or taking out boiler cover to cap the cost of the next breakdown while you decide. Our repair-cost, replacement-cost and repair-or-replace guides walk through the maths, and you can compare cover plans from our selected panel of providers (not the whole market). This is information, not financial advice — note that some plans are FCA-regulated insurance and others are unregulated service plans, and you should confirm prices and terms on each provider's own page. We may earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you.
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Compare boiler coverThis article is general information, not financial or gas-safety advice. We compare a selected panel of providers, not the whole market, and may earn a commission if you buy through our links. Always have gas appliances checked and repaired by a Gas Safe registered engineer; in a gas emergency call 0800 111 999. Prices are indicative UK guides for 2026 — confirm current prices on the provider's own site.