UK Increases EV Charger Grants to £500

The UK government has increased grants for installing electric vehicle home chargers to £500 per socket, effective April 1, 2026, targeting renters, flat owners, landlords, and households without driveways to address barriers to EV adoption.

The Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant, previously £350, now applies to a wider range of installations, including cross-pavement chargers for on-street parking and solutions for businesses and schools. Schools qualify for up to £2,000 per socket, building on the 3,700 already funded. The Department for Transport states the grant typically covers about half the average installation cost, estimated at around £1,000. Applications are available through gov.uk, with the scheme extended until March 31, 2027.

This move responds to longstanding inequities in EV infrastructure access. Approximately eight million UK households, or about a third of all homes, lack off-street parking, often relying on more expensive public chargers that cost 70p to 80p per kilowatt-hour compared to 7p to 10p for home charging on off-peak tariffs. Urban renters and residents of terraced housing have faced additional hurdles, such as planning permissions for wall-mounted...