Affordable Warmth Scheme explained: who qualifies and how to apply

Published 13 September 2026 · 4 min read · Reviewed against official sources

Affordable Warmth is the single most valuable home energy grant available in Northern Ireland, and it is chronically under-claimed. The reasons are familiar: people assume they earn too much, they assume it is a loan, or they have heard it was ending. None of those is right for most of the households it was designed for. Here is how it actually works.

What it is

A Department for Communities scheme, delivered by the Housing Executive, that pays for energy-efficiency improvements to the homes of people on a low income. The work is worth up to £7,500 — or up to £10,000 where the property needs solid wall insulation — and it is a grant, not a loan. The Housing Executive pays approved contractors directly. You do not repay it, and there is no charge registered against your home.

The income test, properly explained

The headline figure is gross household income under £23,000 a year. Two things about that figure are widely misunderstood.

First, it is household income — everyone living in the home — but it is assessed against a set of rules about what counts. Not all income is included.

Second, and more importantly, if anyone in the household receives a disability benefit, the threshold rises to £35,000. And when that higher threshold is applied, the disability benefits themselves — Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and Carer's Allowance — are not counted as income. A household with £30,000 of earnings and a member on PIP is inside the scheme, not outside it. This is the rule that brings in a large number of households who have ruled themselves out.

Who can apply

The scheme is for owner-occupiers: you own the home and live in it as your main residence. Housing Executive and housing association tenants are excluded — they have their own improvement programmes through their landlord.

Private tenants occupy a grey area. Current Housing Executive guidance describes the scheme in terms of owner-occupiers, but private tenants have been able to apply in the past with their landlord's written consent to the works. If you rent privately and meet the income test, ask the NI Energy Advice Service directly about your position rather than assuming either way.

What it pays for

The scheme works through a survey of the property that identifies the measures that would make the biggest difference to warmth and running costs. From that, it can fund:

  • Loft insulation, including topping up inadequate existing insulation
  • Cavity wall insulation where the construction allows
  • Solid wall insulation, internal or external, where cavity insulation is not possible — this is where the £10,000 ceiling applies
  • Draught-proofing of doors and windows
  • A replacement oil or gas boiler with modern heating controls, where the existing one is inefficient or failing
  • Window replacement in some circumstances where single glazing is the main source of heat loss

It does not currently fund heat pumps, solar panels or battery storage. Those remain outside the scheme, which is worth knowing before you plan around it.

How the application works

You do not apply to the Housing Executive directly. The route is:

  1. Call the NI Energy Advice Service on 0800 111 4455. They run through your circumstances and confirm whether you appear to meet the criteria.
  2. If you do, they send you an application form. You complete it and return it, with proof of income, to your local Housing Executive grants office.
  3. The Housing Executive verifies eligibility and arranges a technical survey of the property.
  4. The survey determines which measures the scheme will fund. You receive a written offer.
  5. Approved contractors carry out the work. The Housing Executive pays them.

Timescales vary with demand and the availability of surveyors and contractors in your area. It is not instant, which is one more reason to apply before winter rather than during it.

Is it still open?

Yes. The scheme was scheduled to close in March 2026 and has been extended while the Department for Communities finalises its successor, the Warm Healthy Homes Fund, expected from April 2027. The practical advice is unambiguous: if you qualify now, apply now. Do not wait for a fund whose criteria have not been published, and do not assume the new fund will be more generous.

Common reasons applications stall

  • Income evidence. The Housing Executive needs to verify income for everyone in the household. Gather payslips, benefit letters and pension statements before you apply.
  • Ownership evidence. You may be asked to demonstrate that you own the property. If the deeds are with a mortgage lender, a mortgage statement usually suffices.
  • Property condition. Some measures depend on the state of the building. A damp problem, for instance, may need to be addressed before insulation can be installed.
  • Assuming it is a loan. It is not. Several households decline to apply on this basis every year.

What if you are just over the threshold?

If household income is above £23,000 and nobody receives a disability benefit, Affordable Warmth is closed to you — but NISEP is not. Its priority group extends to £28,000 for a single person and £35,000 for a couple or family, and its schemes cover much of the same ground. The two are complementary, not alternatives, and a household just outside Affordable Warmth is often squarely inside NISEP's priority group.

Sources

Related guides

Energy grantsThe complete guide to Northern Ireland home energy grants in 2026Every heating and insulation scheme actually open to NI households right now — Affordable Warmth, NISEP, Winter Fuel Payment, Cold Weather Payment — plus the widely advertised GB schemes that do not apply here, and the one free call that unlocks the rest.Energy grantsHeat pumps in Northern Ireland: what funding actually existsThe £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme does not apply in NI, whatever the adverts say. Here's what does — and why the 61% of NI homes on oil heating are the ones most likely to find it.RatesHow to challenge your Northern Ireland rates valuationThink your capital value is too high? Here's the difference between a review and an appeal, the 28-day rule that decides which you can use, the grounds that actually succeed, and how to check comparable homes first.