The short answer
The national schemes we know of fund putting insulation in or adapting a home, not taking spray foam out. ECO4 runs to 31 December 2026, the Great British Insulation Scheme has finished, with its last installations due by 31 March 2026, and Warm Homes: Local Grant is for insulation. Eligibility is never guaranteed, so read each scheme's own rules before relying on it.
What the current schemes pay for
Three schemes are worth knowing. The Energy Company Obligation, called ECO4, is run through Ofgem and, according to Ofgem, will run until 31 December 2026. It funds energy-saving measures in eligible homes. The Great British Insulation Scheme is over. Its rules gave a deadline of 31 March 2026 for completed installations, and no new work can be claimed under it now.
Warm Homes: Local Grant is one current route for insulation. On its GOV.UK page, the household income test is usually £36,000 a year or less, so the scheme is aimed at lower-income households. The wider Warm Homes Plan carries a headline figure of £15 billion. That is a total for the programme, not a sum set aside for any one householder, and it says nothing about foam.
The fourth scheme worth knowing is the Disabled Facilities Grant, which pays for adaptations to a home for a disabled occupant. None of these four is described by its own rules as paying for the removal of spray foam. They pay for installing insulation, or adapting a property, and removal is a separate piece of work.
Why a promise of a grant needs checking
There is no national grant for a new roof either, and the same caution applies to anyone who tells you a grant will cover taking foam out, however confident they sound on the doorstep. Ask them to name the scheme, give you the page that sets out its rules, and say in writing who pays and under what conditions. A genuine scheme will have all three.
Eligibility is the second test. Every scheme has conditions: income, benefits, the home's energy rating, the type of measure. Being told you qualify by someone who has not looked at your circumstances is a warning sign, and nobody can promise a grant on your behalf. Only the scheme administrator decides.
Insulation is sometimes sold at the door, with promises of savings and support attached. If a visitor arrives unprompted and offers to remove or replace foam under a grant, take their details and say you will think about it. Our guide to spray foam doorstep sales explains your rights if you have already signed something.
Paying for new insulation afterwards
Once the foam is out, the loft needs insulating again. That is where a scheme may come in. Warm Homes: Local Grant is for insulation, and ECO4 funds measures in eligible homes until its end date, so a household that meets the rules may be able to get help towards the replacement. We cannot say whether you would, because it depends on your income, your home and the scheme.
Timing matters a good deal. Schemes have deadlines and application routes, and some require work to be arranged through a particular installer before it starts. If you are thinking of applying, do so before you commission any insulation, and check whether foam already in the loft would affect your application.
VAT is the other money point. Energy-saving materials fitted by a contractor carry no VAT until 31 March 2027, after which the rate becomes 5%. That relates to installing insulation, not to the removal of foam, which is charged differently. Our guide to insulation after spray foam removal looks at the choices, and our answer on VAT on spray foam removal covers the rate.
Where to check and who to ask
Go to the source. Ofgem's pages describe ECO4 and who may take part. GOV.UK sets out the local grant for warmer homes and the Disabled Facilities Grant, with their eligibility rules in plain terms. Both are free to read, and neither will ask you for money to look at your case.
Should you doubt a contract you have already signed, Citizens Advice runs the consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133. A contract signed away from the trader's premises, such as one agreed at your home after a survey, usually carries a 14-day right to cancel, with different rules for urgent repairs you asked for.
For our part, we are roofers, and the grant side belongs to the scheme. We look over the loft, take pictures of the foam and timbers, describe them simply, and give you a single written total for removal, so you know the cost before anything starts. If a scheme is open to you for the insulation that follows, you apply to it yourself or through the scheme's own route. The full process is on our spray foam removal page.
