Guide · renting
Solar and heating funding for renters and landlords in Wales
Most guidance on solar funding assumes you own your home. In Wales, renting changes which schemes apply and who has to agree. Here is each route from the point of view of a private tenant, a social tenant and a landlord.
In brief
Private tenants can get a Nest package, which can include solar, if their household meets a Nest route and the landlord agrees. Landlords can use the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for heat pumps but not, as the government describes it, the Warm Homes Loan Scheme. Council and housing association tenants are covered through their landlord, not Nest.
Checked at source on 3 November 2026 · An independent guide from SEO-DONS LTD, not the Welsh Government, Nest or a council
By tenure
Every route, by who you are
| Route | Owner-occupier | Private tenant | Private landlord | Social tenant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm Homes Nest | Yes, if eligible | Yes, if eligible, with landlord's agreement | Through the tenant's eligibility | No; landlord's own programme |
| Boiler Upgrade Scheme | Yes | No; the owner applies | Yes | No; social housing excluded |
| Warm Homes Loan Scheme | Yes | No | Not described as eligible | No |
| 0% VAT on installed solar | Yes | Applies to the work | Yes, for homes | Applies to the work |
| SEG export payments | Yes | By agreement with the landlord | By agreement with the tenant | Landlord's arrangement |
Private tenants
If you rent from a private landlord
Nest covers privately rented homes as well as owner-occupied ones. It's the tenant household that's assessed: a means-tested benefit and a home rated E, F or G on the benefit route, or a qualifying health condition, income below the thresholds and a home rated D or lower on the health route. Because the work is to the landlord's property, the landlord has to agree before anything is fitted.
A Nest package costs eligible households nothing, which can make the conversation with a landlord easier: the property gets improved and its energy rating usually goes up. If your landlord is hesitant, it may help to show them the scheme's own description on gov.wales.
As a tenant, you can't use the Boiler Upgrade Scheme yourself (the owner applies) or borrow through the loan scheme for the landlord's property.
Social tenants
If you rent from a council or housing association
Nest doesn't cover social housing, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme excludes it. Improvements to council and housing association homes are planned and paid for by the landlord. If you'd like solar or better heating, ask your landlord whether your home is in a programme of work, and how you can raise it.
Any work on a social home is arranged by the landlord. If a firm contacts you directly offering grant-funded solar, check with your landlord before agreeing to anything.
Landlords
If you let a home in North Wales
You can't apply to Nest on your own account; eligibility rests on the tenant household. If your tenant is eligible, Nest will need your agreement for the work.
For heat pumps, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is open to property owners, including landlords, through an MCS certified installer: £7,500 towards an air-to-water or ground source heat pump for most eligible homes, or £9,000 for off-gas homes replacing oil or LPG until March 2027. With 21.6% of Anglesey households and 16.9% in Gwynedd heating with oil alone, that's relevant to many lets in the west of the region.
Installing solar in a home you let is zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027. The loan scheme, as the government describes it, is for owner-occupied homes.
Who benefits
Bills and export payments in a rented home
In a rented home the tenant usually pays the electricity bill, so the tenant gains most from electricity the panels generate and the household uses. Export payments under the SEG go to whoever holds the export tariff, so agree that between landlord and tenant before the panels go up, and write it down.
A short written agreement covering who owns the panels, who maintains them, who holds the export tariff and what happens when the tenancy ends prevents most disputes. Keep the MCS certificate with the property's documents.
Where to start
Your first step, by situation
Private tenant: check Nest's routes, then talk to your landlord.
Social tenant: ask your landlord about planned work.
Landlord: if your tenant may be eligible, help them contact Nest; for heat pumps, see the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Not sure which applies: use the finder on the home page.
Agreements
What to agree in writing
Before any panels go up on a rented home, agree who owns them, who maintains and insures them, who holds the export tariff, and what happens at the end of the tenancy. If the work comes through Nest, ask Nest what it needs from the landlord.
Keep the agreement with the tenancy documents, and make sure the MCS certificate and handover pack stay with the property.
Energy ratings
Why landlords may welcome the work
Improvements usually raise a home’s energy rating, which matters to landlords as well as tenants. A Nest package for an eligible tenant improves the property at no cost to either, which is why it’s often worth a tenant raising it with the landlord.
For heat pumps, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is open to landlords as owners, including the higher amount for oil and LPG homes until March 2027.
Disputes
If landlord and tenant disagree
If a tenant wants improvements and the landlord won't agree, there's no scheme that can override the landlord's consent for work to the property. A conversation that starts with what the landlord gains, a better-rated home improved at no cost through Nest, often goes further than one about rights. For disputes about the tenancy itself, Citizens Advice can explain the position.
Social tenants with a disagreement about repairs or heating should use their landlord's complaints process first.
Checked against
- Warm Homes Nest scheme annual report 2024 to 2025 (Welsh Government), read 3 November 2026
- Boiler Upgrade Scheme: what you can get (GOV.UK), read 3 November 2026
- Warm Homes Loan Scheme factsheet (27 October 2026) (GOV.UK), read 3 November 2026
- VAT Notice 708/6, energy-saving materials (HMRC), read 3 November 2026
- SEG guidance for generators (PDF) (Ofgem), read 2 November 2026
Not sure which scheme, if any, fits your home?
Tell us which council area you're in and what you're looking into. Your message reaches SEO-DONS LTD, the publisher of this guide, and we answer by email. We're not a scheme and can't approve anything, but we can point you to the right one.
What happens next
- Your message reaches SEO-DONS LTD, which publishes this guide.
- We reply by email with the scheme page that fits, if there is one.
- Any application is between you and that scheme.