Can I get a heat pump grant for a terraced house?

Terraced houses make up a large proportion of the housing stock in England and Wales, and many homeowners in terraced properties are asking whether they can access the government's heat pump grant. The short answer is yes — terraced houses are not excluded from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. But there are practical factors specific to terraced properties that affect how straightforward the process is, and it is worth understanding these before you start.

Quick answer

Terraced houses can qualify for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant of up to £7,500. Property type is not itself an eligibility barrier. What matters more is whether your EPC has outstanding insulation recommendations, whether there is a suitable location for the outdoor unit, and whether the property's heat loss is manageable for a heat pump system. Many terraced houses meet these requirements — but some, particularly older properties with solid walls or limited outdoor space, need more careful assessment.

Why terraced houses raise specific questions

Terraced houses share walls with neighbouring properties on at least two sides. This affects heat loss differently compared to detached or semi-detached homes — shared walls lose less heat than exposed external walls, which can actually work in a terraced house's favour for heat pump efficiency. However, terraced properties also tend to be older on average, and older homes often come with challenges around insulation, wall construction, and outdoor space that need careful consideration.

The two most common questions for terraced houses are whether there is space to install the outdoor unit, and whether the walls are solid or cavity construction — both of which affect how the installation proceeds.

The EPC insulation requirement

As with any property type, the key eligibility condition under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is that your EPC must not contain outstanding recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation. For terraced houses this plays out in a few common ways.

Cavity wall terraced houses

Many terraced houses built between the 1930s and 1990s have cavity walls. If your EPC recommends cavity wall insulation and it has not been done, your installer will need to resolve this before the grant application can proceed. Cavity wall insulation is typically straightforward and relatively affordable to have installed, so this is often not a major obstacle — but it does add a step to the process.

Solid wall terraced houses

Pre-1920 terraced houses, and many built up to around 1930, typically have solid brick walls rather than cavity construction. Solid walls cannot be insulated with cavity fill, so the EPC recommendation for cavity wall insulation simply would not appear for these properties. Your installer can usually obtain evidence confirming this, which removes that particular hurdle. Solid-walled properties may have higher heat loss overall, but this is a suitability question rather than an eligibility barrier.

Loft insulation

Many terraced houses have accessible loft spaces, and if your EPC recommends topping up loft insulation this would need to be addressed. Loft insulation is one of the cheapest and most effective home improvements available, and in most cases it is worth doing regardless of the heat pump grant — it reduces heat loss and improves your EPC rating at the same time.

Outdoor unit placement

An air source heat pump requires an outdoor unit roughly the size of a large air conditioning unit. For terraced houses, finding a suitable location can be a practical challenge. Common options include:

• The rear garden or yard — the most common placement for terraced houses
• A side passage if the property has one and it is wide enough
• The front of the property in some cases, though this may require permitted development consideration

Heat pumps installed in most positions on a house fall under permitted development rights, meaning you do not need planning permission as long as the unit meets certain conditions — including not being installed on a wall or roof facing a highway. For terraced houses on a terrace that faces the road, the rear garden is almost always the most practical location. Your installer will assess this during their survey.

Practical examples

1970s mid-terrace, cavity walls, gas boiler

This is probably the most common scenario for terraced houses enquiring about the grant. If the cavity walls have already been insulated and loft insulation is in place, the EPC may well have no outstanding recommendations. Combined with a rear garden for the outdoor unit and a gas boiler being replaced, this property would be a reasonable candidate for an installer's assessment. Heat loss through the party walls is lower than for an end-terrace, which can make the heat pump sizing more manageable.

1900s end-of-terrace, solid walls, oil heating

An older solid-walled end-of-terrace has more exposed external wall area than a mid-terrace, which means higher heat loss. This does not disqualify the property from the scheme, but it does mean the installer needs to look carefully at whether the heat pump can be sized to meet the heating demand efficiently. Some older solid-walled properties have been successfully upgraded with heat pumps, particularly where good loft and floor insulation reduces overall heat loss. An installer survey would be essential to understand the full picture.

1980s terraced house, cavity walls, EPC recommends insulation

If cavity wall insulation has not yet been installed and the EPC flags it, the homeowner would need to arrange this before the grant application can proceed. Once completed, an updated EPC or installer evidence would confirm the recommendation has been addressed. This adds time and some additional cost, but cavity wall insulation typically costs £400–£1,000 for a terraced house and delivers ongoing energy savings.

When a heat pump works well in a terraced house

Terraced houses that tend to be the better candidates for heat pump installations share some common characteristics:

• Cavity walls that have already been insulated
• Good loft insulation already in place
• A rear garden or yard with adequate space for the outdoor unit
• A heating system that already uses radiators — which can often be upgraded or replaced rather than requiring a complete overhaul
• No outstanding EPC insulation recommendations
• A mid-terrace position, which benefits from lower heat loss through shared party walls

When a heat pump may be more challenging

Some terraced houses present more complexity, though none of these are outright disqualifiers:

• Very old solid-walled properties with high heat loss and no floor or wall insulation improvements
• Properties with no rear access or very limited outdoor space for the unit
• Houses with very small radiators throughout that would need replacing at significant cost
• Listed buildings or properties in conservation areas where planning restrictions may apply to external units

If your property falls into one of these categories it is still worth speaking to an installer. Technology and installation techniques continue to improve, and what was not straightforward a few years ago may be more viable now.

Next steps

If you own a terraced house in England or Wales and you are replacing a gas, oil, LPG, or electric heating system, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is worth exploring. Start by checking your current EPC at find-energy-certificate.service.gov.uk to see whether there are any outstanding insulation recommendations. Then use our eligibility checker to get an initial indication, and if the result looks encouraging, take the next step of speaking to a local MCS-certified installer for a no-obligation assessment.

Summary

Terraced houses are not excluded from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Property type is not an eligibility barrier. The key factors for terraced houses are the EPC insulation conditions — particularly around cavity or solid walls — and whether there is a practical location for the outdoor unit. Many terraced houses qualify without major complications. Older properties with solid walls or high heat loss need more careful assessment but are not automatically ruled out.

Final eligibility must always be confirmed by an MCS-certified installer. No online article or checker can guarantee that your property will qualify.

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