If you are planning work on a Kent home this year, a few things have shifted that affect budgets and grants. Here is the home improvement news that matters most this month.
Heat pump grant rises to £9,000 for oil and LPG homes
From 21 July 2026, off-gas-grid households on oil or LPG will be able to claim £9,000 towards an air-source or ground-source heat pump under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, up from £7,500. Only voucher applications submitted on or after that date qualify, and the uplift is currently confirmed for this financial year. That is significant for rural Kent, where many homes sit off the mains gas grid and heat with oil. Read the detail.
2025 was a record year for UK heat pump installs
Government figures published in March 2026 show 51,886 retrofit heat pumps were installed across the UK in 2025, a 7 per cent rise on 2024 and more than four times the 2020 total. A bigger, busier installer base means more accredited firms to choose from in Kent, but the best ones book up, so get quotes early if you want a heat pump in before next winter. See the figures.
Building material costs are still creeping up
The government’s latest building materials data, published on 3 June 2026, shows the material price index for all work rose 3.2 per cent in the year to April. For roofing, kitchen and extension projects that means quotes can date quickly, so pin down prices in writing and watch for quotes that quietly exclude materials. Read the commentary.
Related guides
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