The Warm Home Discount, cold homes and your tenant rights

If you are struggling with energy bills in a poorly heated rented home, the Warm Home Discount scheme may help with immediate costs, but it does not replace your landlord's duty to maintain adequate heating. We cover the discount, who is eligible, and how it sits alongside your rights as a tenant.

Key facts

• The 2024 to 2025 English Housing Survey found about 2% of homes in England had excess cold as a category 1 (most serious) hazard, rising to 3% of privately rented homes. English Housing Survey 2024-25, GOV.UK
• The same survey found about 9% of homes in England, around 2.3 million, had a category 1 (most serious) hazard under the HHSRS. In the private rented sector the figure was 10%. English Housing Survey 2024-25, GOV.UK

What is the Warm Home Discount?

The Warm Home Discount is a government scheme that provides a one-off annual discount on electricity bills for eligible households. It is paid directly to your energy supplier, who applies it to your electricity account. It does not reduce your gas bill or your rent, it is a reduction on your electricity account only.

The amount changes each year. In recent years it has been around £150. Eligibility is determined by the government and applied automatically for most qualifying households, or through an application process for others.

Who is eligible?

Eligibility falls into two groups:

Core group (automatically eligible): Households receiving the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit are automatically eligible and do not need to apply. The discount is applied automatically by your energy supplier.

Broader group: Households with lower income and high energy costs may also be eligible. Eligibility in this group is assessed automatically by the government using data about income (Universal Credit, income-related benefits) and energy costs. You do not generally need to apply, if you are eligible, your energy supplier will write to you.

If you believe you should be eligible but have not received the discount, contact your energy supplier to check.

What the Warm Home Discount does NOT do

The Warm Home Discount is a temporary financial measure. It does not:

• Fix a broken boiler or heating system
• Address damp or mould
• compensate for months of inadequate heating in a poorly maintained property
• Replace your landlord's legal duty to maintain the heating

Many landlords respond to tenants who raise high energy bills by pointing to the Warm Home Discount or other support schemes. While these can help in the short term, they do not reduce your landlord's repair obligations.

Your landlord's duty to maintain heating

Your landlord must keep the installation for space heating in repair and proper working order under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, your home must be fit to live in throughout the tenancy.

If your heating system is inadequate, a broken boiler, radiators that do not work, or a system that cannot keep the property warm enough, this is your landlord's problem to fix. A cold home that cannot be adequately heated, even with electric heaters, may be a Category 1 hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).

If you cannot afford to heat your home because of a faulty system

Contact your landlord in writing immediately, stating that the heating is inadequate or broken and that you are struggling to keep warm. If you rent from a council or housing association, Awaab's Law requires them to act within 24 hours for an emergency risk to health (which inadequate heating in winter for a vulnerable household can be).

If they do not act, contact the environmental health team at your council for an HHSRS inspection. They can issue an Improvement Notice requiring the landlord to fix the heating.

Cold homes and fuel poverty: other support available

Alongside the Warm Home Discount, other support may be available:

• The Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners (eligibility criteria changed from 2024)
• Cold Weather Payments during periods of very cold weather (7 consecutive days below 0°C) for households receiving certain benefits
• The Energy Ombudsman for billing disputes with your energy supplier
• Citizens Advice for advice on energy debt and fuel poverty

None of these substitute for proper heating in the home, which remains your landlord's responsibility.

High energy bills caused by disrepair: recovering costs

If you have been forced to use expensive plug-in electric heaters because your landlord failed to maintain the central heating, the additional energy costs you have incurred compared to your normal usage may be recoverable as special damages in a disrepair claim. Keep your energy bills and records of what you spent on temporary heating.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

If your landlord is not maintaining adequate heating in your home, call us on 0800 030 4669.

No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (legislation.gov.uk)
• The Warm Home Discount Scheme (GOV.UK)

Related articles

• How long can a landlord leave you without heating?
• My home is too cold
• Help with rent arrears and housing benefit