Home energy grants for landlords

Yes, landlords can claim

SEAI are unambiguous about it: the individual energy upgrade grants are open to private and commercial landlords of tenanted properties, at the same amounts as owner-occupiers. The whole-house One Stop Shop route is open to private landlords. Only the free upgrades scheme is closed to you — that one requires you to live in the home.

Amounts, last checked 2026-09-07: attic insulation €1,100 to €2,000, external wall insulation €3,000 to €8,000, all new windows €1,500 to €4,000, heat pump €4,500 to €6,500 for the unit with pipework and fossil-fuel bonus grants on top.

The same conditions apply as to anyone else. Built and lived in before 2011 for insulation, windows, doors and controls; before 2021 for heat pumps and solar. A registered contractor. Approval before work starts. A new rating at the end.

We found no cap on how many properties you can claim grants for. There is a cap on the loan scheme and on the tax relief — both below.

Revenue's retrofit deduction

This is the part most landlords miss, and it is worth real money.

Revenue allow a deduction against rental income for retrofitting spend: the lesser of €10,000 or what you spent, after the SEAI grant is taken off. Spend €20,000, get €13,000 in grants, claim €7,000. It is treated as a running cost, not as capital, so it reduces the tax, USC and PRSI on your rental income in the year you claim it.

The conditions, from Revenue's page of 13 March 2026: work done between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2028, the property is in the State and let to a residential tenant throughout the works, the tenancy is registered with the RTB, you received an approved SEAI grant, your property tax is in order, and you hold a valid tax clearance certificate.

Three properties from 2026, up from two for 2023 to 2025.

Revenue, "Deduction for retrofitting expenditure", published 13 March 2026, read 2026-09-08: Finance Act 2025 increased the number of qualifying premises to three for 2026, 2027 and 2028. SEAI's own landlords page still says two properties and a 2025 end date — it is out of date. Follow Revenue.

Rent: what changed on 1 March 2026

Rent Pressure Zones as a concept are gone. From 1 March 2026 a national rent control applies to all private tenancies: rent can be increased once a year, by 2% or inflation, whichever is lower.

There is still an exemption for a substantial change to the property, and a deep retrofit can meet it. The RTB's test, read on 8 September 2026, is a rating improvement of at least seven levels — or three of a list of changes, two of which are rating improvements of two or three levels depending on where you started.

We are not going to work an example for you, and here is why. The RTB's test is written in the old rating labels — D1, C3, "levels" — and SEAI replaced that 15-point scale with an 8-point one on 24 May 2026. How the old "levels" map onto the new grades is not resolved on the RTB's page. Check with the RTB before you rely on the exemption.

Two procedural points that are settled: an exemption applies only to the first rent setting or review after you claim it, not permanently; and the notice must go to the tenant and the RTB on the same day or it is invalid.

Borrowing, and the tenant conversation

The government-backed loan. The Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme is open to private landlords for up to three properties, €5,000 to €75,000 each, one to ten years, unsecured, with rates advertised from 2.99%. The catches: the work must attract an SEAI grant, it must be done by a registered One Stop Shop or community co-ordinator, at least 75% of the loan must be the energy work itself, and the upgrade must improve the home's energy performance by at least 20%. The scheme is due to close on 31 December 2026 unless the money runs out first. Short-term-let properties are excluded; long-term letting is not.

The interest is deductible against rental income like any other borrowing.

Tell the tenant early. External wall insulation means scaffolding for weeks. Internal insulation means rooms emptied and redecorated. A heat pump means days without heat and, often, bigger radiators. None of that is a reason not to do it, but a tenant who hears it first from a scaffolder is a tenant who starts looking.

Get the paperwork in one folder as you go: grant offer, invoices, the grant payment, the new certificate, RTB registration, tax clearance. Revenue's deduction needs most of it, and so does the RTB if you claim an exemption.