If your Kent home runs on heating oil or you are planning upgrades this year, the funding picture just improved. Here are the changes worth knowing before you commit to any work.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant rises to £9,000 for oil homes
On 26 June 2026 the government announced that the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant for a heat pump rises by 20%, from £7,500 to £9,000, for homes on heating oil in England and Wales, effective from 21 July 2026. Leaflets are going to around 200,000 eligible homes, and the uplift runs until 31 March 2027. Rural Kent has a lot of off-gas properties on oil, so this is a direct saving for anyone who has been weighing up an air source heat pump. Full details are on GOV.UK.
Do the fabric first to get the most from a heat pump
Current guidance is clear that a heat pump performs best in a home that has already dealt with the basics. If the roof is poorly insulated, the cavity walls are empty or the radiators are undersized, the system has to work harder and costs more to run. Spending on insulation and draught-proofing first can reduce the size of heat pump you need and improve comfort, which often makes the grant go further. It is worth getting a whole-house assessment rather than treating the heat pump as a straight boiler swap.
Wider grants beyond the heat pump itself
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is not the only route. The Warm Homes Local Grant can fund broader improvements for eligible households in England, including insulation, smart controls, solar panels and heat pumps, so lower-income and lower-EPC homes may cover more than one measure. It is means-tested and council-administered, so eligibility varies, but it is worth checking alongside the national scheme before you pay for anything out of pocket.
New build standards are changing too
The Future Homes Standard was published on 24 March 2026, and the 2026 edition of Approved Document L comes into force for new building work in England from 24 March 2027, tightening the energy and insulation requirements for new homes and extensions. If you are planning an extension or a larger project in Kent, design to the new standard now rather than the old one, so the work does not date the moment it is finished. Leekes has a plain-English summary of the Future Homes Standard.
The short version: if you are on oil, the numbers for a heat pump just got better. Sort the fabric of the house first, then claim the grant that fits.
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