London

Thames Water, delivered in partnership with Groundwork London, offers a free in-home visit that fits water-saving devices and checks for leaks in toilets, taps and plumbing.

• Free for Thames Water customers, delivered by Groundwork London on Thames Water's behalf
• Free devices fitted on the spot, such as tap aerators and cistern devices, to cut water use immediately
• Visit includes a leak check on toilets, taps and visible plumbing
• Book by calling 0800 622 6623 or emailing london.shv@groundwork.org.uk
• Applies uniformly across Thames Water's whole supply territory, which spans all London boroughs it serves plus areas outside London (Surrey, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire) — not organized by borough

Thames Water is installing smart water meters at no cost across its London network, letting residents track daily usage and catch leaks before they inflate bills.

• Over 1.2 million smart meters installed across the Thames Water region to date, in partnership with Arqiva
• Around 2 million customers are already metered; the utility expects most customers to be metered by 2030
• Installation is free and scheduled directly by Thames Water
• Metered customers can view daily usage online, which is the main tool for spotting hidden leaks
• Rollout is scheduled by Thames Water's own network logic, not by London borough — no borough-level installation data is published

Thames Water's current Temporary Use Ban restricts hosepipe use across its entire supply area, including all London boroughs it serves, following a record dry spring and summer.

• Restrictions took effect at 00:01 BST on 23 July 2026 across the whole Thames Water supply area
• Hosepipe use for cars, gardens, and paddling pools is banned; buckets and watering cans are still allowed
• Exemptions apply for health/safety needs and customers with mobility needs
• Breaching the ban can result in a fine of up to £1,000
• Bans follow supply-area boundaries, not London boroughs — an earlier 2025 ban applied only to Swindon, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire and explicitly excluded London, showing the ban's footprint can shift between London and non-London areas from one ban to the next

Thames Water's free Priority Services Register gives extra support (bottled water during interruptions, easier-read bills, a dedicated contact) to customers with disabilities, health conditions, or other vulnerabilities.

• Free to join; covers disabilities, chronic health conditions, dementia, mobility constraints, and households with a child under five
• Provides bottled water during supply interruptions such as bursts or ban-related restrictions
• Gives a dedicated support phone number and priority contact during emergencies
• Can be registered by the customer or by a carer/family member on their behalf
• Sign up free via 0800 009 3652 or the Thames Water Priority Services site — identical process regardless of which London borough you live in

ECO4 offers up to £30,000 of free insulation, heating and solar upgrades, and Waltham Forest's own Local Authority Flexible Eligibility (LA Flex) rules make an estimated 55% of homes in the borough eligible — one of the highest rates in London.

• ECO4 funds up to £30,000 of free insulation, heating, and solar improvements; the national scheme closes December 2026
• Waltham Forest's own LA Flex criteria, set locally on top of the national qualifying-benefits route, extend eligibility to an estimated 55% of homes in the borough
• Applies to homes with an EPC rating of D, E, F, or G
• Apply via an accredited ECO4 installer, or check Waltham Forest Council's LA Flex referral route directly

The same ECO4 scheme applies nationally, but Ealing's LA Flex criteria are considerably tighter than Waltham Forest's — only an estimated 15% of homes qualify, showing how sharply ECO4 access depends on which council you live under.

• Same national ECO4 mechanism (up to £30,000, closes December 2026) as every London borough
• Ealing's own LA Flex criteria extend eligibility to an estimated 15% of homes in the borough — far below Waltham Forest's ~55%
• Applies to homes with an EPC rating of D, E, F, or G
• Apply via an accredited ECO4 installer, or check Ealing Council's specific LA Flex criteria before assuming ineligibility

A national grant launched April 2025 to cut fuel poverty and carbon emissions, funding home improvements for lower-income households, renters, and social housing tenants.

• Up to £30,000 of funding per household for insulation, heating and related improvements
• Eligibility: home in England with EPC rating D, E, F or G
• Household income usually £36,000/year or less, or living in one of the most deprived areas, or receiving a means-tested benefit
• Eligibility rules are set nationally by income/EPC criteria, not by borough — every London borough administers the same national rules, unlike ECO4's LA Flex route

A free, Mayor-funded energy advice service for vulnerable and low-income Londoners, helping residents work out what home-improvement grants they qualify for.

• Free advice service, funded by the Mayor of London, has supported more than 24,000 households to date
• Call SHINE London on 0300 555 0195 to check eligibility for grants and support
• Helps residents navigate ECO4, LA Flex, and Warm Homes: Local Grant eligibility in one call, regardless of which borough they live in
• Targeted at vulnerable Londoners and those on low incomes

A national grant giving homeowners £7,500 towards an air source heat pump (or £5,000 for ground source) to replace a fossil-fuel boiler, available to all homeowners in England and Wales.

• £7,500 grant towards an air source heat pump installation
• £5,000 grant towards a ground source heat pump installation
• Available to all homeowners in England and Wales with a valid EPC certificate — not means-tested, and not administered per-borough
• Applied for through an accredited installer, who deducts the grant from the quoted price

A free, no-obligation group-buying scheme run with London councils that uses collective bargaining to secure a lower installed price for solar panels than buying individually.

• Now in its fifth phase; over 3,000 London homes have had solar installed through the scheme to date
• Secures 20-30% discounts versus buying solar individually, per the Greater London Authority — one uniform discount mechanism, not a per-borough rate
• Open to homeowners in participating council areas; most, but not necessarily all 33, London boroughs take part in any given phase — check your borough is currently participating before registering
• Registration is free with no obligation to proceed after receiving a quote
• Process: register, pre-vetted installers bid against each other, resident reviews the recommended offer and decides

A government-mandated scheme requiring large electricity suppliers to pay households for solar electricity they export back to the grid.

• Applies to any home with solar panels (and a smart meter) generating more electricity than it uses
• 2025 supplier rates typically range 4p-15p per kWh; some tariffs pay considerably more at peak times
• A typical 3.5kW solar array generating ~3,000 kWh/year can earn up to several hundred pounds annually depending on tariff chosen
• Requires switching to or opting into a specific SEG tariff with a licensed supplier — set by supplier and national rules, with no borough dimension at all
• Ofgem publishes an annual report on active SEG tariffs and payouts

A tax relief, not a cash grant, that removes VAT entirely from residential solar and battery storage installations, cutting the total project cost by 20%.

• 0% VAT applies to solar panels installed at a UK home until 31 March 2027, under HMRC VAT Notice 708/6
• Covers the full installed package — equipment and labour — not just hardware
• Standalone battery storage and retrofit batteries added to an existing solar system also qualify (rule change from 1 February 2024)
• Applied automatically by the installer on the final invoice — a national tax rule with no borough variation whatsoever
• Rate rises to 5% from 1 April 2027

Tower Hamlets partnered with Ubitricity to install 2,000 on-street residential lamppost EV chargepoints by the end of 2025 — one of the largest borough rollouts in London.

• Target of 2,000 on-street residential chargepoints by end of 2025, delivered with Ubitricity
• Aimed at residents without off-street parking, a large share of the borough's densely-terraced housing stock
• Requires registration with the network and an annual fee (around £48/vehicle) to use Source London-branded points
• Most points offer 3kW (Type 1) or 7.4kW (Type 2) charging — suited to overnight charging, not rapid charging
• Available via TfL's own map and integrated into third-party apps such as Zap-Map

Ubitricity and Bexley Council completed installation of 400 on-street residential lamppost EV chargepoints between November 2025 and March 2026 — a smaller, completed rollout compared to Tower Hamlets' larger, faster one.

• 400 lamppost chargepoints installed across the borough, November 2025-March 2026
• Delivered in partnership with Ubitricity, using the same lamppost-charging model as other London boroughs
• Requires registration with the network and an annual fee (around £48/vehicle) to use Source London-branded points
• Illustrates a mid-size, already-completed rollout, in contrast to Tower Hamlets' larger 2,000-point target and Harrow's still-in-progress rollout

Harrow began rolling out over 100 new on-street EV chargepoints in April 2025, targeting residential areas with limited off-street parking — a smaller, earlier-stage rollout than Bexley's completed 400-point scheme or Tower Hamlets' 2,000-point target.

• Rollout began April 2025, targeting over 100 new chargepoints in residential areas with limited off-street parking
• Installations ongoing throughout 2025-2026, unlike Bexley's already-completed 400-point rollout
• Requires registration with the network and an annual fee (around £48/vehicle) to use Source London-branded points
• Check Harrow Council's own EV charging page for current installation status before assuming a point is available on your street

An OZEV grant covering up to 75% of the cost of installing EV chargepoints at a workplace, letting London employees charge where they park during the day.

• Covers up to 75% of purchase and installation costs (incl. VAT), capped at £350 per socket (rising to £500 from 1 April 2026)
• Maximum of 40 sockets across all sites per applicant business
• Scheme extended for a final year, now closing 31 March 2027
• In 2025, businesses redeemed 7,506 vouchers, funding 69,439 sockets nationally to date at £25.6m in grants
• Applies to any business, charity or public sector body with off-street parking, anywhere in London — eligibility rules are national, not borough-set

A government grant covering most of the cost of installing a home EV chargepoint for Londoners who rent or own a flat with a private off-street parking space.

• Covers 75% of cost to buy and install a socket, up to £500 (£350 if applied for before 1 April 2026)
• Applicant must own or live in a flat, or rent any residential property, and own an eligible EV
• Requires a private off-street parking space at the property
• Landlord, freeholder, or managing agent permission must be obtained before applying
• National eligibility rules apply identically in every London borough; landlords can separately claim up to 200 grants per year across their properties

Fully electric vehicles are 100% exempt from London's Ultra Low Emission Zone daily charge, a direct and ongoing financial incentive for EV ownership across the whole of Greater London.

• ULEZ covers the whole of Greater London (since 2023) and operates 24/7, every day except Christmas Day — uniform across every borough by design
• Fully electric vehicles pay £0 ULEZ charge, versus up to £12.50/day for non-compliant petrol/diesel vehicles
• Separate from the Congestion Charge, where the EV discount ended in December 2025 — EVs now pay the Congestion Charge (with a 25% Auto Pay discount)
• No registration needed for the ULEZ exemption itself; it applies automatically based on vehicle emissions data

A free membership network run by the charity Sustain, connecting anyone growing food in London — at home, on an allotment, or in a community garden — to discounts, advice, and events.

• Free membership, takes about 5 minutes to join, open to over 2,000 existing members across London
• Members get discounts, growing advice, and a monthly e-newsletter, identical regardless of which borough they live in
• Publishes a public map of Capital Growth food-growing spaces across London
• Runs an annual food-growing festival (Good to Grow) each April
• Contact: capitalgrowth@sustainweb.org or via the Capital Growth website

The route into an allotment plot in Hackney, run by the resident allotment society rather than the council directly — a still-open, multi-year waiting list, in contrast to Lambeth's fully closed one.

• Plot rent for 2025: £31/year for a full plot (£15.50 concession), £15.50/year for a half plot
• £4/year admin fee to join the waiting list
• Around 70 people were on the waiting list as of the 2025 AGM
• Wait time is described as likely several years, varying by chosen site
• The list is currently open to new applicants — unlike Lambeth's three allotment sites, where all waiting lists are closed

Lambeth Council's allotment waiting lists across all three of its sites are closed to new applications — a starker outcome than Hackney's still-open, multi-year list, and a concrete example of how allotment access varies severely by borough.

• 2025-26 fees range from £105 (no water) to £226 (shed and water access) per plot
• Waiting lists for all three Lambeth allotment sites were closed to new applications as of this check
• Borough allotment data is published via the Lambeth Data Hub
• Illustrates that in some London boroughs there is currently no route onto a waiting list at all, not just a long wait — the opposite end of the spectrum from Hackney's open (if slow) list

A charity that plants and supports community orchards on under-used urban land across London, giving residents without allotment access another way to grow food locally and build community.

• Has planted and cared for over 720 community orchards across England, Scotland and Wales since 2009, with a strong concentration in London
• Partners with local authorities, housing associations, schools, and community groups to find and plant sites in any borough
• Community groups plan, plant and maintain their orchard with support from a team of expert orchardists
• Publishes an interactive directory of existing London orchard profiles

A Groundwork London grant of £500 to £5,000 to help residents and community groups create or improve a shared green space, including community gardens.

• Grants range from £500 up to £5,000, with standard grants typically £2,000-£5,000
• Non-constituted (informal) community groups are eligible to apply, not just registered charities
• Aimed at active community participation in greening neighbourhoods across London, open to any borough
• Apply and check current funding rounds via Groundwork's London grants page