Renters, flat owners, households without driveways and businesses will be able to claim up to £500 towards installing an electric vehicle chargepoint, following a Department for Transport announcement on 25 February 2026. The higher grant applies from 1 April 2026 and runs until March 2027, lifting the cap by over 40 per cent from the previous £350.
The Government says the uplift will cover almost half of a typical installation, widening access to cheaper domestic electricity tariffs for charging at home or work. Ministers describe this as a further, final year of support to extend charging beyond homes with private driveways.
Eligibility spans people in rented accommodation, leaseholders in flats, residential landlords, households with on‑street parking and businesses. Schools are included on separate terms, with grants of up to £2,000 per socket available from April.
According to the department, home charging on lower domestic rates can reduce operating costs to around 2p per mile, with a London to Birmingham journey costing roughly £3.50 in electricity. Government figures also point to potential savings of up to £1,400 in running costs compared with a petrol equivalent when cheaper tariffs are available.
The package also simplifies the support system. Eight grant types will be consolidated into five, a move intended to make it easier for households and organisations to locate the correct route and apply the relevant discount.
A complementary £25 million programme launched in 2025 enables residents without driveways to install discreet cross‑pavement cable channels via their local authority. This sits alongside the expanded chargepoint grant so households with on‑street parking can seek help for both the charger and the pavement channel.
On schools, the Department for Transport reports 3,700 sockets installed to date under earlier support. The new £2,000‑per‑socket ceiling is designed to accelerate provision on education sites and better reflect typical multi‑socket installations.
Alongside household and workplace grants, ministers highlight expansion of the public network, citing about 88,500 public chargepoints nationwide. A £600 million funding package announced in 2025 is intended to accelerate rollout and supports council‑led plans for a further 100,000 chargers in the coming years.
Councils are due to receive funding for the next three years to strengthen local charging infrastructure, backed by a government‑funded advisory service to support site selection and delivery that meets community need.
The decision is presented alongside the £2 billion Electric Car Grant, which the Government says has helped more than 55,000 drivers with up to £3,750 off eligible models, including the Nissan Leaf manufactured in Sunderland. A public information campaign, ‘Get that electric feeling’, launched in January 2026 to highlight benefits and potential savings.
Stakeholder responses referenced in the announcement signal likely take‑up. The Federation of Small Businesses points to interest among small firms where charging availability improves; the National Residential Landlords Association reports that almost nine in ten landlords with suitable properties would install chargepoints if requested by tenants; and BEAMA expects the revised grants to support demand and market confidence.
For policy and finance leads, the headline parameters are the £500 cap per chargepoint for eligible households, landlords and businesses; the £2,000 cap per socket for schools; inclusion of households with on‑street parking; and a scheme window from 1 April 2026 to March 2027. With grant types reduced to five, prospective applicants should review the official guidance to confirm their category before commissioning works.