Is the Affordable Warmth Scheme still open in Northern Ireland?

Yes, and the confusion is understandable because the names keep changing. The old Warm Home Scheme is a legacy name whose role passed to the Affordable Warmth Scheme, and Affordable Warmth is itself due to be replaced under the Warm Healthy Homes Strategy launched in February 2026. But in mid-2026, Affordable Warmth remains the main open government route, run by the NI Housing Executive, and it is due to run until March 2028 while the changeover happens. If someone told you "that scheme is finished", they are a year early.

What it is worth: up to £7,500 toward heating and insulation measures, rising to £10,000 where solid-wall insulation is needed, for owner-occupied and some privately rented homes. The eligibility detail that surprises people, and wrongly puts some off applying: the income test looks at gross household income, and disability benefits such as PIP and DLA have usually been excluded from the count under NI schemes. Families who assume they are over the threshold often are not. Confirm the current criteria and openings directly with the Housing Executive before relying on any figure.

The changeover matters for timing. The successor scheme, the £150 million Warm Healthy Homes Fund, takes a whole-house, fabric-first approach and is expected from April 2027, with its final rules under public consultation until 19 August 2026. Nobody can promise you what its criteria will be. So the practical advice is simple: if you might qualify for Affordable Warmth now, apply now, waiting for the new fund means at least another cold winter and an unknown eligibility test.

Two warnings from the doorstep. First, "I can get you the government grant money if you sign today" is one of the most common rogue trader openers in NI, the real scheme is applied for through the Housing Executive, not through a caller at your door. Second, for any work outside the grant scope, get written quotes and check them against real NI prices before accepting; our free Quote Checker does that in 30 seconds. Our full guide to every open NI scheme, with a printable version for family members who prefer paper, is linked below.