New builds and the heat pump grant
Ofgem’s property owner guidance says most new-build properties are not eligible, with a self-build exception. This page stops at that sourced line.
Key takeaways
- Most new builds: not eligible.
- Some self-builds: possible, and the installer has to evidence it.
- Biomass is not funded in a self-build.
- The checker returns “check first” and no grant amount.
What Ofgem says
The April 2026 property owner guidance says most new-build properties are not eligible, except certain self-build properties that meet specific criteria. It also says heat pumps may be eligible in a self-build where the other rules are met, and biomass boilers are not eligible in a self-build. Those sentences are the whole of our new-build position.
A show home, a developer plot, and a house you are building yourself are not the same case. The checker does not try to tell them apart. It asks you to check first.
Why this page is short
The scheme rules for self-build sit in an appendix and they turn on dates, planning and who commissioned the build. Copying that appendix badly would be worse than linking to it. Ask the installer to show how your project meets the definition, using Ofgem’s guidance.
We will extend this page only after that appendix is re-checked line by line. Until then, do not treat a forum post as the rule.
If it is not a new build
Untick new build on the eligibility checker. An older house with a new extension is not automatically a new build. Describe the dwelling the heating system serves and let the installer classify it.
This is a guide, not a decision. Your installer applies and Ofgem decides.
Sources
- Ofgem: Boiler Upgrade Scheme for property owners
- Ofgem: Boiler Upgrade Scheme for installers
- Ofgem: Boiler Upgrade Scheme property owner guidance (April 2026)
- GOV.UK: Notice of approved grant categories and values (updated 29 September 2026)
- GOV.UK: Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme — what you can get
- GOV.UK: Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
Reviewed by
UK Heat Pump & Funding Specialist
MCIBSE and MCS certified retrofit specialist. Director of Thomson and Sons Low Carbon Consulting Firm Ltd, specialising in heat pump retrofits since 2005.