In January 2026, the UK government published its Warm Homes Plan. The plan sets out the government’s vision and ambition for making homes warmer, healthier, and cheaper to heat. It also describes the details of specific policies the government is putting into place to support all tenures, including social housing, to carry out home upgrades.
The sections that follow summarise the main parts of the Warm Homes Plan that are relevant to housing professionals and the wider sector. These are:
- The overarching vision and headlines of the Warm Homes Plan.
- The final design of updated Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) in the private rented sector.
- Funding allocations and the future of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant schemes.
- Heat networks, including further funding for heat network upgrades, zoning policy, and the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS).
- Policies for expanding the retrofit supply chain.
- Other important information included in the plan, especially on heat adaptation, consumer protection, and Distribution Network Operators (DNOs).
The sections do not cover all of the detail included in the plan and its associated documents, which together run to several hundred pages.
The structure of the Warm Homes Plan and its headlines
Find out more about the Warm Homes Plan in general, with some top level oversight into all the various matters for housing in the plan.
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Private rented sector MEES
Read how MEES in the private rented sector are also being updated with the Warm Homes Plan announcements extending the previous regulation.
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Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant schemes
The Warm Homes SHF and LG schemes are the government’s main capital programmes for upgrading low-income homes, learn more on these changes.
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Heat networks
The Warm Homes Plan reiterates the government’s ambition for heat networks to provide one fifth of all heat demand by 2050.
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Skills and the supply chain
The Warm Homes Plan recognises that to deliver upgrades to up to five million homes this parliament, a larger workforce will be required.
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Other information
The Warm Homes Plan announced several other important policies and initiatives that are relevant for housing professionals.
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