Boiler Upgrade Scheme for Landlords and Second Homes: What Qualifies

Quick answer: yes — landlords and second-home owners can claim the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. GOV.UK is explicit that you qualify if you “own the property you’re applying for (including if it’s a business, a second home, or a property you rent out to tenants)”. The grant is £7,500 per property towards an air-to-water or ground source heat pump — rising to £9,000 where that property is currently heated by oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection, for applications between 21 July 2026 and 31 March 2027. Social housing and unfinished new builds are the main exclusions.

What qualifies — the rules that matter for landlords

• The property is in England or Wales and you own it — individual, company or partnership ownership all work (Scotland runs its own scheme; see Home Energy Scotland grants and loans, and Wales also has Nest for low-income households)
• You are replacing a fossil-fuel system — gas, oil, LPG or electric heating
• A valid EPC helps but is no longer strictly required: without one, your installer can send other evidence such as a recent utility bill or photos of the existing heating (Ofgem property owner guidance, para 4.24). Deal with any outstanding loft or cavity insulation recommendations with your installer
• It is not social housing and has not already received public funding for a heat pump
• New builds are excluded — unless a genuine self-build (see the self-build grants guide) or a finished new build that was fitted with a fossil-fuel boiler
• One grant per property — a portfolio landlord can claim on each eligible property separately

The mechanics are installer-led: an MCS-certified installer applies to Ofgem, the grant comes off your invoice, and once the voucher is issued the installer has 3 months to fit, commission and redeem it (6 months for ground source), according to Ofgem. Full scheme detail in our Boiler Upgrade Scheme guide.

Second homes and holiday lets

Second homes qualify on the same ownership test — there is no main-residence requirement. For furnished holiday lets the “business” wording in the eligibility list works in your favour: business-owned property is expressly allowed. The practical constraints are operational: the 3-month voucher window (6 months for ground source) needs to fit around bookings, and rural holiday cottages on oil or LPG with no mains gas should time applications inside the 21 July 2026 – 31 March 2027 uplift window to collect £9,000 rather than £7,500 — our complete uplift guide covers the timing rules.

Why rural landlords are the biggest winners this year

Off-gas rentals cluster at the bottom of the EPC scale, and oil or LPG heating is exactly what the temporary uplift targets. On an oil-heated cottage with no mains gas, a quote between our heat pump cost guide‘s typical £10,684 and DESNZ’s £12,908 median for BUS-funded air source jobs becomes roughly £1,700–£3,900 net inside the window — comparable to the £2,500–£4,500 our oil boiler guide gives for a like-for-like oil boiler swap, while moving the property towards the EPC C standard the government has confirmed for rentals by 1 October 2030. That plan caps what a landlord must spend at £10,000 per property, and some grants count towards the cap, but the government has said BUS funding won’t, so only your own share of the heat pump cost uses up the cap. The wider compliance picture is in our landlord grants and MEES guide.

BUS or the Warm Homes: Local Grant?

You cannot take public money twice for the same heat pump, so per property it is one or the other. Rough rule: WHLG where the tenant qualifies and the property needs fabric work too (its £16,600 + £16,600 structure funds insulation and heating — see WHLG for landlords); BUS where the tenant does not qualify, you want to move quickly, or an oil/LPG property with no mains gas can catch the £9,000 window. Insulation-only funding alongside a BUS heat pump is generally fine — different measure, different scheme.

Practicalities before you commit

• Tenanted installs: plan 2–5 days of disruption, agree access in writing, and brief tenants on running a heat pump — set-and-forget schedules beat on/off blasts
• Running costs land on the tenant: a well-designed system delivering heat at ~7.5p/kWh (SCOP 3.5, October–December 2026 cap) is a genuine letting point against oil, LPG or electric heating
• VAT: heat pump installations are zero-rated until 31 March 2027, for landlords as well as owner-occupiers
• Get the design right: insist on a room-by-room heat-loss calculation; an undersized unit in a draughty rental generates complaints, not compliance

Frequently asked questions

Can a limited company claim?

Yes — the GOV.UK eligibility wording explicitly includes property owned by a business. The installer-led application process is identical; the grant simply comes off the company’s invoice.

Can I claim on several properties at once?

Yes, one grant per eligible property with no stated portfolio limit — each needs its own application, evidence (an EPC or alternatives) and installation. Practically, installer capacity inside the oil/LPG window is the constraint, so sequence your rural properties first.

Do tenants have to agree?

There is no formal tenant-consent step in the scheme itself, though Ofgem requires you to confirm you have told the tenant about the installation. In practice you cannot survey, install and commission without cooperation — and most tenancy agreements require reasonable notice for access. Bring tenants in early; lower heating bills are an easy conversation.

Is there a deadline?

The scheme runs to March 2030. The only hard date is the oil/LPG uplift: applications from 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027 for oil- or LPG-heated properties with no mains gas get £9,000; before and after, it is £7,500.

Estimate costs for a specific property with the free savings calculator or the heat pump cost guide. Want installer quotes? Request a free quote and up to three approved installers who cover your area may contact you.