The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles has increased its home charging grant to £500 for households without driveways, up from the previous £350, and extended the scheme until March 2027.
The grants help cover the cost of installing electric vehicle charge points across the UK, essentially acting as free handouts to encourage take-up of EVs and help drivers with the cost of switching. The rule began on April 1, and Andy Burnham has also announced a six-month VAT cut on electricity that will run in tandem with the grant to make home charging cheaper.
Two grants available
One grant is for people who own or rent a flat and have private off-street parking, such as a driveway or a private car park where they have permission to install a point. The other is for households with only on-street parking who fit a cross-pavement solution, such as a charging gully.
The on-street parking grant has also been boosted to £500 and extended to March. Applicants must live in a property they own or rent, be installing a cross-pavement solution, and have no driveway. As OZEV said: “You would not be allowed to get this grant if you have a driveway.”
Leaseholder changes and cheaper charging
A consultation is exploring new rules that would require leaseholders to install charge points in covered car parks. Planning permission for pavement charging points would also be scrapped, saving drivers £250 in application fees and giving them access to standard domestic electricity prices.
The Department for Transport said running an EV on a cheap home tariff could cost 2p per mile, or the equivalent of London to Birmingham for £2.50. Public charger growth outside London rose 24.3%, compared with 21.7% within the capital.
In a consultation released in November, the government said its cross-pavement charging plan would open up the cheap 2p rates to more homes and drivers.
