Background to the proposals
The Department for Communities has consulted on the design of a new fund to replace the Affordable Warmth Scheme. The Warm Healthy Homes Fund is expected to launch in 2027 and aims to deliver £150 million of investment over its first five years.
The existing Scheme has funded more than 56,000 energy-efficiency measures in over 31,000 low-income homes since 2014. However, the Department wants the new Fund to offer a simpler application process, higher grant limits, and a wider range of improvements.
The proposals form part of the Warm Healthy Homes Strategy 2026–2036. The most recent modelled estimate suggests that 24% of Northern Ireland households are in fuel poverty.
Who could qualify?
The fund would be available to eligible owner-occupiers and private tenants. It would not cover social housing, holiday homes, short-term lets, or commercial premises.
Households could qualify if they receive the personal allowance element of Universal Credit or Pension Credit, or if their total household income is no higher than £29,741.40 after tax and National Insurance. The income limit is based on the National Living Wage and would rise alongside it each year.
A whole-house approach
Because funding is limited, the Department proposes prioritising eligible homes rated EPC E or below. Every eligible property would receive a technical home assessment to identify the most suitable improvements.
The fund would use a fabric-first approach, with insulation, ventilation, and draught proofing addressed before new heating systems or renewable technology. Depending on the property, support could include:
- loft, cavity wall, and solid wall insulation
- draught proofing and ventilation
- replacement of single-glazed or irreparable windows
- air source heat pumps or another suitable heating system
- radiators, heating controls, and thermostatic valves
- solar photovoltaic panels and battery storage
There would be no customer contribution towards measures provided through the scheme.
The standard grant limit would be £35,000, rising to £45,000 for hard-to-treat properties that may need work such as solid wall insulation or asbestos removal. Up to £500 could be used for maintenance or remedial work needed before energy-efficiency measures can be installed.
Proposed support for landlords
Under the existing Affordable Warmth Scheme, eligible private tenants can apply if their landlord agrees to pay half the cost of improvements. The Department acknowledges that this has made the scheme unattractive to landlords and contributed to low take-up in the private rented sector.
Under the new proposals, landlords could access fully funded cavity and loft insulation, draught proofing, and ventilation where their tenant meets the fund’s eligibility rules. The consultation also considered the inclusion of replacement windows, solar panels, and battery storage.
Landlord consent would be required, and the landlord would need to be registered through the Northern Ireland Landlord Registration Scheme.
Eligibility must reflect the condition of the property
The average energy-efficiency score in Northern Ireland’s private rented sector is 61, compared with 67 in England and 65 in Wales. If minimum energy-efficiency standards are set at EPC Band C, many Northern Ireland landlords could face greater costs relative to the value of their property and the rent they receive.
Most landlords in Northern Ireland own only one or two properties. Without accessible support, some may decide to sell, move their property into the short-term rental market, or leave it empty rather than meet the cost of the work. This could reduce the supply of long-term rented homes.
We have recommended that the Department:
- add an eligibility route based on the energy efficiency of the property
- allows landlords to apply directly instead of relying on tenants to begin the process
- creates further grant support for particularly inefficient homes that do not qualify for the main fund.
A property-based route would also allow work to take place while a home is empty. This may be necessary where extensive improvements would make it impractical for a tenant to remain in the property.
Broad support for the proposed measures
We agree that the least energy-efficient homes should be prioritised. This would direct funding towards households most likely to face high energy costs and poor thermal comfort while helping landlords with the most expensive properties to improve.
We also support the range of fully funded measures and the higher grant limit for hard-to-treat homes. Properties have different needs, and providing a broad choice will help ensure that improvements are effective, suitable and as undisruptive as possible for tenants.
However, we do not support limiting applicants to one application. Applicants should be able to reapply where an earlier application was rejected but the household later becomes eligible, if an application was only unsuccessful because funding had to be prioritised elsewhere, or if funded work proves unsafe or ineffective and further improvements are required. We are also concerned that linking support for rented properties solely to the tenant’s income could exclude many homes that will need substantial investment.
Quality control will be essential
We support the planned use of registered contractors to improve quality control and protect households from unsuitable or ineffective products. However, the Department must ensure there is enough contractor capacity, particularly if minimum energy-efficiency standards create a sharp rise in demand.
Importantly, where a landlord has arranged suitable work, but an approved contractor cannot complete it before a regulatory deadline, we believe the landlord should be exempt from enforcement if they can show that the planned measures would bring the property up to the required standard.
The Department will now consider consultation responses before finalising the design of the fund. We will continue to engage with policymakers to ensure that financial support and any future minimum standards work together, improve homes, and protect the supply of property in Northern Ireland’s private rented sector.
