Roof repair grants
Can you get a grant to repair your roof?
The short answer
Usually not. No national grant in England pays for roof repairs or re-roofing in 2026. What does exist pays for insulation and heating in low-income homes, and the main scheme, ECO4, ends on 31 December 2026. Households with a low income or a disability can still ask Arun District Council, or the council for their own district, about local help.
Which grant schemes are open in 2026, what each one pays for, and why a leaking roof falls outside all of them.
Why roof repairs fall outside the grant schemes
In 2026 government money for housing is aimed at energy use rather than upkeep. Cutting fuel bills and fuel poverty is the purpose, so what gets funded is insulation and heating. Slipped tiles, a leaking valley or a tired flat roof count as maintenance, and no national scheme names them. The Great British Insulation Scheme is finished as well: it closed on 31 March 2026, the deadline for completing installations.
That is hard news when the bill is big and money is short. It also explains why a stranger offering a "free government roof" should worry you. A real scheme opens with an assessment of the property and of who lives there, never with a roofer at the door. Should anybody say a grant will pay for your roof, ask which scheme they mean, search for it on gov.uk, and hold off signing or paying a deposit until you have.
ECO4 pays for insulation, not the roof over it
ECO4 stands for the Energy Company Obligation, a fuel-poverty scheme with Ofgem in charge of it. It covers measures fitted from 1 April 2022 up to 31 December 2026, following a nine-month extension. A retrofit assessment of the property decides the work. The applicant has to own the home or hold the landlord's consent, and the Flex route sets a household income below £31,000. Ofgem stresses that qualifying is no promise of an installation.
Where ECO4 touches a roof, it is through insulation such as loft insulation. It does not pay for the tiles, slates or felt above. If the roof is leaking, the leak needs fixing first, and that repair is yours to fund. The Energy Saving Trust, for one, does not recommend spraying foam insulation onto a leaking roof without fixing it. A dry roof is the starting point for any insulation job, funded or not.
Warm Homes grants once ECO4 closes
The latest version of the Warm Homes Plan, dated March 2026, commits £15 billion of public investment and says the Energy Company Obligation is coming to an end. Its fabric upgrades include wall and loft insulation. Under the Warm Homes: Local Grant, wall, loft and underfloor insulation is paid for in homes with an energy performance certificate rating anywhere from D down to G, and the household income should usually be no more than £36,000 a year.
In Arun, the council page lists the Warmer Homes Scheme, run by Portsmouth City Council together with a consortium covering all of West Sussex's district and borough councils. The same £36,000 limit applies, or a means-tested benefit, along with a D to G rating, and Arun marks the scheme oversubscribed at present. Its grants list carries an April 2024 date, so ask the council what is open today. None of these schemes names roof repairs as something it funds.
What Arun District Council offers owners in need
The Safe, Suitable, Warm grant from Arun mends or replaces heating for homeowners in fuel poverty who receive means-tested benefits, and heating is all it covers. A Disabled Facilities Grant funds adaptations, to a present maximum of £30,000, once an occupational therapist has assessed the need through West Sussex County Council. Means-testing applies, except for a disabled child. Approval cannot be given by the council after the works are finished. The examples it gives are adaptations, not roof repairs.
Still, if money is short or a household member is disabled and the roof is putting the home at risk, phone Arun District Council, or the council for your area if you live outside the district, and ask what support exists. Call before any work begins. The Disabled Facilities Grant shows the pattern: councils will not approve a job that is already complete.
Storm damage, insurance and keeping the repair small
If a storm caused the damage rather than age, the first call may be your insurer, not a grant body. Which? says to tell your insurer as early as you can, to save the receipts for emergency repairs and to keep any damaged items. It also warns that rain coming in through a neglected roof is classed as wear and tear, which is why a policy is no substitute for upkeep. Our answer on whether to call a roofer or your insurer first sets out the order, and why the photographs matter.
With no grant on offer, the biggest saving is to pay only for the repair the fault needs. We survey the roof, take pictures of each problem and price the least work that will actually cure it, and the written figure comes as one sum. The typical figures in our answer on repair costs per square metre show what to budget, and our roof repairs page explains the work.
Related questions
Roof grant questions
Can I still apply for ECO4 roof insulation in 2027?
No. Ofgem says ECO4 runs until 31 December 2026. After that, insulation help sits under the Warm Homes Plan, which includes the Warm Homes: Local Grant that councils deliver. Check gov.uk for what is open when you apply.
Is insulation added during roof work charged at zero VAT?
It can be. HMRC zero-rates the fitting of insulation for roofs and lofts, among other energy-saving materials, until 31 March 2027, after which the rate reverts to 5%. Whether yours qualifies turns on how it is billed, on its own or inside one standard-rated job, and the quote states which applies.