OZEV Grant Explained: Who Qualifies in 2026?

The government will pay up to £500 towards your home EV charger installation. From April 2026, that's a £150 increase on the previous cap.

But there's a catch that most articles bury halfway down the page: if you own your house, you don't qualify. That's been the case since 2022 and hasn't changed.

Here's who does qualify, how much you'll actually get, and how to claim it.

Who qualifies

If you own a house with a driveway, you're on your own. The government removed homeowners from the scheme in 2022. The thinking: homeowners benefit from the property value increase a charger brings, so they can fund it themselves.

Agree with that or not, it's the rule.

Additional requirements for renters and flat owners

• You must own an eligible EV or have placed an order for one
• You must have private off street parking (or your building must have)
• The charger must be an OZEV approved model
• The installer must be OZEV approved

How much is the grant?

The grant covers 75% of the total installation cost, capped at £500. So if your installation costs £600, you'd get £450 (75%), not the full £500. If it costs £1,000, you'd get the maximum £500.

For most installations in the £800 to £1,200 range, the grant will cover £500. That leaves you paying £300 to £700 out of pocket.

How to claim (it's changed)

The process changed from 1 April 2026. Previously, your installer claimed the grant on your behalf through a separate OZEV portal. You never saw the application. The installer deducted the grant from your bill.

Now, renters and flat owners apply directly through the government's Find a Grant platform.

The new process

1. Register on Find a Grant (find-government-grants.service.gov.uk)
2. Apply for the grant before your installation. You'll need proof of EV ownership (or an order confirmation) and details of your property
3. Choose an OZEV approved installer and an approved chargepoint model
4. Get the charger installed. The installer completes the work and submits photos and invoice
5. Receive the grant. It's paid after the installation is verified

The key difference: you apply first, install second. Under the old system it was the other way round.

Landlord grant

The landlord route still goes through the installer, not Find a Grant. Landlords can claim up to 30 grants per financial year, each for a different property. There's also a separate infrastructure grant for shared car parks in residential blocks, which covers cabling and groundwork.

Approved installers and chargers

Both the installer and the charger model must be OZEV approved. This isn't a formality. Use a non approved installer or a charger that's not on the list, and you won't get the grant. No exceptions, no appeals.

Most mainstream installers are approved. Most mainstream chargers are too (Ohme, Easee, Hypervolt, Andersen, Zappi, Pod Point). But check before you commit. The approved lists are on the GOV.UK website.

The Workplace Charging Scheme

Separate from the home grant. If you're a business owner and want to install chargers for staff, the Workplace Charging Scheme covers up to £350 per socket, up to 40 sockets. Same principle: OZEV approved installer and charger. Worth knowing about if your employer is considering it.

What the grant doesn't cover

• Consumer unit upgrades (if your fuse board needs replacing, that's on you)
• Additional groundwork (burying cables across a garden, for example)
• A second charger at the same property (one socket per application)
• Chargers installed before the grant application is approved (under the new process)

If you don't qualify

Most homeowners don't. That doesn't mean you're stuck paying full price.

Getting multiple quotes is the obvious first step. Prices vary by several hundred pounds between installers for the same job. Keeping the cable run short (charger close to your consumer unit) reduces labour cost.

The other option is group buying. When an installer can do several jobs in the same area on the same day, the per installation cost drops. That's the model behind Cheaper Charger: we group homeowners by postcode and negotiate from there.

Quick reference