Brighton & Hove landlord grants come with a housing deal

Up to £7,500 is available to eligible Brighton & Hove landlords who improve poorly rated rental homes and then lease them to the council for three years. The pilot links energy-efficiency funding directly to the city’s need for more temporary accommodation.

Under the Energy Performance Grant Scheme for Landlords, participating properties must be upgraded to at least an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C. The grant is not released when the work begins or finishes: payment follows only after the landlord signs the required three-year council lease.

The scheme was announced by Brighton & Hove City Council on 11 August 2026. The council says rising homelessness has increased demand for temporary and emergency accommodation, although it has not published a funding total, application deadline or target for the number of homes the pilot could add.

Homes rated D or below can be considered

The pilot is open to landlords with properties in Brighton & Hove that currently have an EPC rating of D or lower. Each landlord may seek funding for up to three properties.

Eligibility depends on more than the property’s existing energy rating. The landlord must agree to complete approved improvements that bring the home to EPC C or above. The property must also pass a council inspection before it can enter the temporary accommodation portfolio.

An EPC grades a property’s energy performance. For this scheme, the relevant threshold is the change from D or below to a minimum C rating; the council announcement does not specify which individual improvements will be approved for each home.

The grant carries a three-year lease condition

Landlords who complete the agreed work must sign a three-year lease with the council. Grant funding is released as soon as that lease has been signed, rather than being paid automatically at the registration stage.

The lease is a binding condition of the award. If it ends before the full three-year term, the landlord must repay the grant to Brighton & Hove City Council. Prospective applicants therefore need to consider both the improvement work and the longer commitment to make the property available for council-arranged temporary accommodation.

The maximum grant is £7,500, but the source announcement does not say that every successful property will receive the full amount. It also does not provide a schedule of eligible measures or explain how awards below the ceiling will be calculated.

The policy links private upgrades to temporary housing

The scheme is designed to produce two outcomes from the same agreement: improve energy performance in the private rented sector and expand the supply of homes the council can use for temporary accommodation.

Councillor Gill Williams, the council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, described Brighton & Hove as facing an acute housing crisis, with homelessness increasing demand for temporary and emergency placements. She said the grants would make tangible improvements to privately rented homes while helping the council secure additional accommodation.

The pilot’s eventual effect cannot yet be quantified from the published details. Its contribution will depend on how many landlords register, how many properties qualify, whether the required upgrades are completed and how many three-year leases are ultimately signed.

Registration is only the first application stage

Landlords begin by completing a short Registration of Interest form. This allows the council to assess whether a property appears suitable for the Energy Performance Grant Scheme for Landlords.

Owners whose properties pass that initial check will be invited to submit a full application. Funding remains conditional on completing the agreed energy-efficiency work, passing the property inspection and signing the three-year lease.

Source: Brighton and Hove City Council