GBIS Has Closed: What Replaced the Insulation Scheme

GBIS closed on 31 March 2026

The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) closed to new applications on 31 March 2026. It ran from 30 March 2023 to 31 March 2026, and the gov.uk eligibility checker that people used to see if they qualified has now been shut. It has not been extended and there is no direct successor. If a website or a cold caller is still telling you that you can apply for GBIS, that information is out of date.

This guide explains what GBIS actually was, why so much of the web still gets its status wrong, and — most importantly — which insulation grants are genuinely open now, broken down by nation so you do not waste time on a scheme that does not run where you live.

What GBIS was (and was not)

GBIS, originally announced as “ECO+”, was a Great Britain scheme (England, Scotland and Wales — never Northern Ireland). It was designed to help a broader group of households than ECO4, including some people in council tax bands A–D who were not on benefits, insulate their homes.

One point matters for setting expectations: the government was explicit that GBIS was not a grant scheme in the “everything paid for” sense. Many households received a single insulation measure, most often loft or cavity wall insulation, and some were asked for a contribution. So if you remember GBIS as “free insulation for everyone”, the reality was more limited — a useful lesson now that it has closed and you are weighing up the replacements.

Why the web still says it is open

Two things get repeated wrongly across the internet. The first is that GBIS is still open — it is not. The second is the mirror-image error: sites claiming there is a brand-new “ECO5” or a wave of “new free grants from April 2026”. There is no ECO5 and no new supplier obligation — the government confirmed this in the November 2025 Budget. Anyone advertising those schemes is inventing them.

The honest picture is narrower but real. GBIS has gone; ECO4 continues for now; and the nation-specific schemes below are the substance of what is available. For more on separating genuine help from marketing, see our guides on whether insulation grants are really free and common insulation grant scams.

The live alternatives by nation

Insulation funding in the UK is devolved, so the right scheme depends entirely on where your home is. Never apply for an England scheme in Scotland, or the reverse — a wrong-nation application is an instant dead end.

Nation	Main open schemes	Where you apply
England	ECO4 (to 31 Dec 2026); Warm Homes: Local Grant	Obligated supplier / accredited installer; your council
Scotland	Home Energy Scotland Grant & Loan; Warmer Homes Scotland; ECO4	Home Energy Scotland, 0808 808 2282
Wales	Warm Homes Nest; ECO4	nest.gov.wales
Northern Ireland	Affordable Warmth Scheme; NISEP	NI Housing Executive / NIEAS, 0800 111 44 55

England: ECO4 and the Warm Homes: Local Grant

ECO4 is still open. It was extended by nine months, from 31 March 2026 to 31 December 2026, in a government response published on 23 January 2026. It is a whole-house, “fabric first” scheme delivered by obligated energy suppliers, not something you apply to Ofgem for directly. You reach it either through an obligated supplier or accredited installer, or through your council’s ECO4 Flex (LA Flex) route. Be aware that suppliers may stop taking new referrals before the end date, so it is worth acting rather than waiting. Our dedicated ECO4 grant page explains eligibility in full, and ECO4 vs GBIS compares the two side by side.

The newer route is the Warm Homes: Local Grant (England only), running from April 2025 to around 31 March 2028 and delivered by your local council at no cost to the occupant. To qualify your home needs an EPC of D–G, plus one of: a household income usually at or below £36,000 a year; a qualifying means-tested benefit; or an eligible low-income postcode. It covers both on-gas and off-gas homes and can fund wall, loft and underfloor insulation as well as heat pumps and controls. Reported figures go up to around £30,000 per home, though the official apply page states no maximum, so treat that as indicative — check current gov.uk guidance for your council.

Scotland: Home Energy Scotland and Warmer Homes Scotland

Scotland has its own single gateway, Home Energy Scotland (0808 808 2282). The HES Grant & Loan has no benefits test and offers up to £7,500 (75% of cost) for energy efficiency measures, with a £1,500 rural and island uplift, plus up to £7,500 for clean heating — so up to £15,000, or £18,000 in rural areas. You must own and live in the home, and the measure must be recommended in an EPC or home energy report. Warmer Homes Scotland is effectively free but tightly gated, typically on being 75 or over with no working central heating, terminally ill, or on a passport benefit. See our Scotland insulation grants page for the per-measure caps.

Wales: Warm Homes Nest

In Wales the fuel-poverty scheme is Warm Homes Nest, run by the Welsh Government, covering insulation and heating. ECO4 also applies in Wales. Because Nest’s eligibility and figures change, confirm the current details at nest.gov.wales before relying on any number. Our Wales page points you to the right starting place.

Northern Ireland: Affordable Warmth

Neither ECO4 nor GBIS ever operated in Northern Ireland. The main scheme there is the Affordable Warmth Scheme, delivered via the NI Housing Executive for households with total gross income under £23,000, offering a grant up to £7,500 (or £10,000 where solid-wall insulation is needed), for owner-occupiers and private tenants with landlord consent, approved to March 2028. NISEP is a separate route with varying income thresholds. See our Northern Ireland page for how to apply.

What to do now that GBIS has gone

1. Check your EPC first. Nearly every insulation grant is gated on a poor EPC, typically D–G. If you do not know yours, look it up before applying anywhere.
2. Use the right nation’s scheme. Start from our grants and funding hub or run the eligibility checker to see which live schemes fit your home and income.
3. Insist on TrustMark and PAS 2035/2030. Grant-funded work must be TrustMark registered and follow the retrofit standards, beginning with a proper retrofit assessment. If an installer skips the assessment and just sells you a measure, that is a red flag.
4. Do not pay upfront. Real schemes are applied for through gov.uk, Home Energy Scotland, your council, or the NI Housing Executive — never through a doorstep seller. Never start work before you have written grant approval.

Even if you do not qualify for a grant, installing qualifying insulation has been at 0% VAT in Great Britain under the Energy-Saving Materials relief — a genuine saving worth checking against HMRC’s current guidance.

Official sources

• GBIS apply page (now closed){rel=“noopener” target=“_blank”} — confirms the scheme is shut
• ECO4 end-date extension response{rel=“noopener” target=“_blank”}
• Warm Homes: Local Grant{rel=“noopener” target=“_blank”} (England)
• Home Energy Scotland Grant & Loan{rel=“noopener” target=“_blank”}

GBIS is gone, but it was never the only option — and the schemes that remain are, for many households, more generous. Start with your nation, check your eligibility honestly, and apply only through official channels.