EV charger grant 2026: who can still claim up to £500
Grants and costs. 4 minute read
The grant rose to £500 in April 2026 and is funded until 31 March 2027. Who can claim it, the conditions that catch people out, and how the installer claims it for you. Rules checked on 14 October 2026.
Owners of a house with a driveway cannot claim. That single exclusion settles the question for most people who ask, and it has been in place since the current scheme opened in April 2022. Everyone else should keep reading, because the amount went up this year.
From 1 April 2026 the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) raised the maximum from £350 to £500 per socket, according to its notice of the changes. The grant pays 75% of the cost of buying and installing the charger, capped at that £500. Funding is confirmed until 31 March 2027. Rules in this guide were checked against gov.uk on 14 October 2026.
Who qualifies, by situation
| Your situation | Grant | Where the rules are |
|---|---|---|
| You own a flat, with your own off-street space | 75%, up to £500 | Flat owners and renters grant |
| You rent a flat or a whole house, with off-street parking | 75%, up to £500 | Same grant |
| You own or rent a house and park on the street | 75%, up to £500, only with an approved cross pavement solution | On-street parking grant |
| You let out homes as a business | 75%, up to £500 per socket, up to 200 sockets | Landlord grant |
| You own the house you live in and have a driveway | No grant | |
| You rent a room from a landlord who lives there | No grant |
The flats and renters grant also covers shared ownership homes and houses in multiple occupation. It applies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and not in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
The conditions that trip people up
The parking space has to be yours to use. The grant needs designated, private off-street parking with a legal right to it and access at all times. A space in a shared car park can count. A courtyard where residents park in any free space is not designated parking.
You need the car, or an order for one. Registered keepers qualify, and so do company car drivers, people leasing a car and anyone with an order due within three months. The installer will ask for proof.
Permission comes first. Renters need the landlord's agreement, and flat owners may need the freeholder's or the managing agent's. The gov.uk page says to get it before you apply, and OZEV can ask to see it.
Nothing can be installed yet. A charger fitted before OZEV confirms eligibility gets no grant.
One grant per person. Anyone who already claimed this grant, or its older versions (the EVHS or the Domestic Recharge Scheme), cannot claim again. Nor can anyone in the middle of moving house.
Charger fitted because the rules demanded it. Where a charger is required under Part S of the Building Regulations or by a planning condition, as on most new builds with parking, there is no grant.
How a claim works
- Get permission from the landlord or freeholder, if you need it.
- Get a quote from an OZEV authorised installer, for a charger on the approved list.
- Apply on Find a Grant with your property and car details. Renters upload a signed tenancy agreement, a utility bill less than three months old and the quote. Flat owners upload the bill and the quote.
- OZEV emails you, and the installer, a letter confirming eligibility.
- The installer fits the charger and claims the grant with photos and an invoice that already has the grant taken off.
- OZEV pays the installer.
Ask any installer, before they quote, whether they are OZEV authorised and whether the charger they suggest is on the approved list. If either answer is no, the grant is lost.
For landlords
The landlord grant is for businesses registered at Companies House or for VAT. Landlords living at the property are excluded, and so are holiday lets. The Find a Grant page sets the cap at 200 sockets a year, while the gov.uk guidance page describes it as 200 across all sites. Check with OZEV before planning a large rollout around either reading.
Three schemes closed on 31 March 2026: the staff and fleets grant, the commercial landlord chargepoint grant and the residential landlord infrastructure grant, which used to pay for wiring in shared car parks. The Workplace Charging Scheme is still open at up to £500 a socket for 40 sockets; it is covered on our workplace charging page.
What the grant leaves you paying
Which? put a typical home charger fitted at £500 to £1,200 in February 2026. The government says the £500 grant covers almost half of a typical installation. On a £1,000 job, 75% would be £750, so the £500 cap is what applies and the bill comes to £500. On a £600 job, 75% is £450, and that is the grant.
The catch is the deadline. The scheme is funded to 31 March 2027, and the government has said only that it aims to give four weeks' notice of any change. An application started in March 2027 leaves little room for a landlord's reply, an installer's diary or a delayed delivery.
Consent and shared car parks get their own section in the flats guide, and installers who take on blocks of flats have a directory page of their own. When you request quotes, the form asks if you own or rent, which tells installers to price with the grant in mind.