Guide
The postcode route: is your Liverpool postcode on the list?
One of the three ways a household can qualify for Warm Homes: Local Grant doesn't involve income at all: living in a postcode on the government's list. It's the simplest test to check and the one most often overlooked. Thousands of Liverpool postcodes are on it.
Where you stand
If the home is in a postcode on the government's eligible list, the household meets pathway 1 regardless of income. The 2026 list includes 4,952 postcodes in Liverpool, by our count. The home still needs an EPC of D to G, and the council still decides.
What the list is
Income deciles 1 and 2
The government publishes a spreadsheet of postcodes in England whose small neighbourhood areas fall in the two most income-deprived tenths of the Index of Multiple Deprivation. Households living there meet pathway 1 of Warm Homes: Local Grant. The Combined Authority's page puts it simply: if you live in an eligible postcode area, your household income doesn't matter for qualifying.
The list was rebuilt for 2026. Its introduction explains that the previous version, published in 2024, used 2019 deprivation data; the update to the Index published on 30 October 2025 produced a new set of eligible postcodes, matched using the August 2025 National Statistics Postcode Lookup.
What it isn't
Three cautions
It's about the area, not you. Postcodes are matched to neighbourhood areas by a best fit, and the list notes that postcodes don't map neatly onto those areas.
It's only the household test. The home must still be rated EPC D to G, privately owned or privately rented, and in the council's area.
It isn't a promise. Liverpool City Council says being in an eligible postcode doesn't secure funding. The government's guidance tells councils to be satisfied a household is in genuine need, especially on this route, where there's no income check, and says councils may decline to treat a property.
Liverpool on the list
4,952 Liverpool postcodes, 143 neighbourhoods
We counted the 2026 list's entries for Liverpool: 4,952 postcodes, in 143 of the small areas the statistics use, spread across 24 postcode districts. The districts with the most eligible postcodes are below. A district appearing here doesn't mean every postcode in it is eligible; most districts mix eligible and ineligible streets.
For comparison, the same list has 1,831 postcodes in Knowsley, 1,699 in Sefton, 2,541 in Wirral, 1,497 in St Helens and 1,045 in Halton.
| District | Eligible postcodes |
|---|---|
| L4 | 752 |
| L8 | 599 |
| L11 | 486 |
| L6 | 478 |
| L5 | 430 |
| L13 | 337 |
| L7 | 311 |
| L24 | 298 |
| L25 | 188 |
| L14 | 182 |
How to check
Checking your own postcode
Open the eligible postcodes spreadsheet, linked from Liverpool City Council's Warm Homes: Local Grant page and the Combined Authority's.
Go to the Postcodes sheet. It has a look-up box: type your postcode with one space between the two parts and no space at the end.
The sheet flags whether the postcode is on the list. You can also search the list directly.
Note the result when you register through the GOV.UK portal.
The spreadsheet is large, about 4 MB. If it won't open on your phone, try a computer, or ask the council.
If it's not there
Two other pathways
The list's own notes say households outside it may still be eligible through pathway 2 or pathway 3. Pathway 2 is a qualifying means-tested benefit, such as Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit) or Universal Credit. The third pathway looks at household income: below £36,000, or the after-housing-costs test, which can help households with high rent or mortgage payments. See the income test and who qualifies.
Near the boundary
Which council's list?
The list is national, so it tells you about the postcode, not about which council runs the scheme for it. An L postcode on the list could be in Liverpool, Sefton or Knowsley. Check your council on GOV.UK before registering. See which council.
Be wary
Postcode "checkers" that want your details
Some websites offer to check your postcode for grants in exchange for your name and phone number. The official list is a free download from GOV.UK; you don't need anyone to check it for you. If a site asks for contact details before telling you anything, assume it's collecting leads. See grant scams.
What follows
After you've checked
If your postcode is on the list and the home is rated D to G, register through the GOV.UK referral portal. In Liverpool, registration now is for year three, from 1 April 2027. The council's survey then decides which measures suit the home; solar panels and batteries are among those it may offer. See applying.
New homes and new postcodes
If your postcode is brand new
The 2026 list was built from the August 2025 postcode lookup, so a postcode created after that, on a new development for example, won't appear. New-build homes are also usually rated well above D. If yours is a recently created postcode in an older building, ask the council how it treats it.
Postcode questions
If my postcode is on the list, do I qualify?
You meet the household test through pathway 1, whatever your income. The home still needs an EPC rating of D to G, and the council still assesses the home and decides within its budget.
My postcode isn’t on the list. Is that the end?
No. The list itself says households outside it may still be eligible through the benefits route or the income route.
Was the list changed recently?
Yes. The 2026 list uses the 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation, published on 30 October 2025, replacing a list based on 2019 data. A postcode can have moved on or off.
Can the council turn down a household in an eligible postcode?
The government’s guidance to councils says they should be satisfied a household is in genuine need, particularly on the postcode route, and reserve the right not to treat a property.
Sources for this page
- DESNZ › Warm Homes: Local Grant eligible postcodes, 2026 (XLSX), read 4 November 2026
- Liverpool City Council › Apply for a Warm Homes Local Grant, read 3 November 2026
- Liverpool City Region Combined Authority › Warm Homes Local Grant, read 3 November 2026
- DESNZ › Warm Homes: Local Grant policy guidance for local authorities, July 2026 (PDF), read 4 November 2026
- GOV.UK › Find your local council, read 3 November 2026
- GOV.UK › Apply for the Warm Homes: Local Grant to improve a home, read 3 November 2026
A question about solar funding in Liverpool?
Tell us what you're trying to find out. Your message reaches SEO-DONS LTD, which publishes this guide, and we answer by email. We don't run any grant scheme, decide eligibility or install panels, but we can point you to the scheme and the council that does.
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