ECO4 Ends on 31 December 2026: What That Means for Boiler Replacement Help and What Comes Next for Low-Income Households

Anyone hoping for subsidised heating help through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) now has a fixed end date to plan around. This guide summarises the government’s January 2026 response on extending the ECO4 end date, Ofgem’s pages for ECO4 and its consumer FAQs, and the Warm Homes Plan. ECO operates across Great Britain. It is general information, not advice on eligibility, which only a supplier or installer can assess.

The end date and what is not replacing it

The government’s response, published on 23 January 2026, says ECO4 will be extended by nine months so that it ends on 31 December 2026. The purpose is to give suppliers extra time to meet existing targets and to remediate non-compliant installations, and the targets are not being increased. Ofgem’s ECO page confirms ECO4 applies to measures installed from 1 April 2022 and will run until 31 December 2026.

The same response states that, as announced in the November 2025 Budget, there will be no successor supplier obligation to ECO4, and that the government has instead committed additional grant funding of £1.5 billion directed at upgrading low-income households. The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) ended as planned, and Ofgem says it is now closed to new installations after running from April 2023 to 31 March 2026. The scheme basics are in the guide to ECO4 and GBIS.

How boiler replacement is treated

Ofgem says it is possible to have a boiler repaired, replaced or upgraded under ECO4. For a broken boiler replacement to be eligible, the home must have an efficient boiler that has broken down and cannot be economically repaired immediately before installation, and ECO4 includes a cap on the replacement of efficient broken heating systems. Measures that sit outside the cap include first time central heating, a heating system upgrade, a renewable heating system, a district heating connection, an innovation measure and heating controls. A heating system upgrade, which is not capped, can only happen where the existing boiler is inefficient and non-condensing; otherwise a replacement is subject to the cap.

Ofgem adds that boilers or electric storage heaters replaced or upgraded under ECO must come with a warranty of at least two years supplied by the installer (one year for repairs), and that installers repairing or replacing a gas boiler must be Gas Safe registered, as the guide to checking a Gas Safe engineer explains.

Who the scheme is for

Ofgem states that ECO is not a grant scheme. Energy companies decide which retrofit projects to fund, the level of funding and which installers to use, and the householder may be asked to contribute. Only homes in Energy Performance Certificate bands D to G can be treated. Householders qualify mainly through the Help to Heat Group, which means receiving one of the listed means-tested benefits within the relevant income requirements, through living in social housing with a poor efficiency rating let below the market rate, or through the local authority route known as ECO4 Flex. To benefit, the household must own the home or have the landlord’s permission.

Private rented homes

The eligibility of the tenant, not the landlord, is what counts. Ofgem says that, in general, replacing or repairing a boiler, central heating system or electric storage heater is not eligible in private rented properties under ECO4 as part of the package upgrade, except where the replacement is first time central heating, a renewable heating measure or a district heating connection. A tenant needs the landlord’s consent for measures. Landlord and tenant duties around boilers are described in the guide to boiler problems in a rented home.

What the Warm Homes Plan says follows

The Warm Homes Plan, published in January 2026, says low-income and fuel-poor households will benefit from around £5 billion of investment to 2030. It states that this will be delivered initially through the existing Warm Homes Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant, before the government consolidates and integrates its investment into a single scheme for low-income households, which it intends to do from 2027/28. The plan also describes the expanded Boiler Upgrade Scheme, with £7,500 grants for hydronic heat pumps in England and Wales and new £2,500 grants for air-to-air heat pumps and heat batteries. Ofgem notes that ECO4 funding must not be blended with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme or other government grants. See the guides to Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Protections during the closing period

The government states that consumer protection during the extension relies on strengthened compliance measures already introduced, including stricter audits, independent inspections and enhanced supplier processes. Ofgem advises that consumers should only agree to measures on receipt of a contract, that several companies may approach a household, and that a consumer need not sign for works they do not consider suitable.

FAQs

Can I still get a boiler replaced under ECO4?

Possibly, until 31 December 2026, if the household and home meet Ofgem’s eligibility rules and the supplier agrees to fund it. The broken-boiler route is capped.

Is GBIS still open?

No. Ofgem says the Great British Insulation Scheme is closed to new installations and ended on 31 March 2026.

Does ECO4 give me a boiler for free?

Not by right. Ofgem says ECO is not a grant scheme and that support, and any householder contribution, depends on the company and the installer.

The bottom line

ECO4 ends on 31 December 2026 with no successor supplier obligation, and GBIS has already closed. Boiler replacement remains possible under strict conditions and a cap on broken-boiler replacements, and is generally not available for private rented homes except for first time central heating or renewable and district heating. The Warm Homes Plan says low-income support will continue through existing schemes and then a single scheme from 2027/28. Eligibility is decided by the supplier and installer, so a contract should be seen before agreeing to any work. This is general information, not personalised advice.

Sources

This guide draws on the following primary sources, current as of 9 October 2026:

• Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Extending the ECO4 end date: government response, 23 January 2026 (gov.uk)
• Ofgem, Energy Company Obligation (ECO); FAQs for domestic consumers and landlords; Great British Insulation Scheme (ofgem.gov.uk)
• Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Warm Homes Plan, January 2026 (gov.uk)

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Best Boiler Deals is an independent guide. We may earn a fee from some links; this never affects what we write. This article is general information, not regulated advice on any specific installation; always confirm the details with a Gas Safe registered engineer.