News from 1 April 2026
Read the EPC guide for England and Wales.
The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles changed its chargepoint grants from 1 April 2026. The changes included a higher residential landlord grant, scheme closures and a new application platform. This report describes the April changes and their transition dates.
What has changed from 1 April
According to the government’s updated guidance, the residential landlord chargepoint grant remains available until 31 March 2027 and the maximum grant rate has increased from £350 to £500 per socket. Eligible landlords can apply for up to 200 sockets across their sites.
The wider grants page also now shows that the landlord scheme sits within a simplified portfolio running through to March 2027. At the same time, three schemes closed to new customer applications on 31 March 2026: the staff and fleets grant, the commercial landlord chargepoint grant, and the residential landlord infrastructure grant.
That distinction matters. Some landlords will still have a live route for direct chargepoint support, but landlords or managers who were relying on one of the closing schemes should not assume the old structure is still in place.
Applications made through the old platform
One of the more practical changes is that the flats and renters grant and the residential landlord chargepoint grant have moved to a new customer application platform. The previous portal closed to customer applications on 31 March 2026.
The guidance explains how existing applications are affected. If you applied before 1 April for the residential landlord chargepoint grant but the chargepoint has not yet been installed, the new guidance says you can register on the new platform and re-apply for the higher £500 rate. The old application would then be cancelled and the new one assessed. If the installation has already happened, that higher-rate reapplication route is not available.
The transition also comes with deadlines for older cases. If a landlord keeps an older application rather than reapplying, installers can still claim on the current portal up to 26 May 2026, but after that the application expires. Installers who submitted claims on the current portal may have until 6 July 2026 to provide further evidence if asked.
Installation and evidence requirements
The updated guidance says installers must now include specific photographic evidence with claims for the flats and renters and landlord chargepoint grants. That includes close-up photos of the installed unit, a view showing the model and serial number, a photo of the associated parking space, and a wider view of the building or area where the chargepoint has been installed.
The accompanying OZEV terms and conditions also repeat a point that is easy to overlook: applicants must not install a chargepoint before applying for a grant or before they are notified that they are eligible. The installation must be carried out by an authorised installer, and the chargepoint model must be eligible under the scheme. Missing those basics can invalidate the grant.
The new system also changes how installers receive updates. The new platform does not provide a portal where they can check claim status, so email notifications matter more. Landlords managing work across several properties may want to make sure responsibility for tracking those messages is clear rather than assuming the installer will simply “sort the grant side”.
