Warm Homes Plan - Consumer Protection Reform

Disclaimer
The information set out below is indicative only, provided for early stage market engagement and does not commit the Department to running a procurement. Scope, timelines, routes to market, contract values and duration are subject to change. Reform proposals are also subject to public consultation later in 2026.
Introduction
In January 2026 the Government published the Warm Homes Plan, setting out how it will help households reduce energy bills and transform the existing building stock into comfortable, future proofed low carbon homes. The Plan explains how home upgrades, including microgeneration measures (solar panels, batteries and heat pumps) and energy efficiency measures (insulation), will support bill reductions.
Delivery of the Warm Homes Plan requires consumer confidence that work in homes is high quality. There are three priorities for reforming consumer protection for retrofit:
Simplicity – the consumer protection system should be easy for consumers and installers to navigate.
Right first time – clear accountability and oversight are needed to prevent poor quality installations, particularly insulation measures, and ensure work is delivered correctly in majority of circumstances.
Swift remediation and redress – where issues do arise, consumers must have clear routes to remediation at no personal cost, with decisive action taken against noncompliance.
The reforms propose oversight of consumer protection for energy efficiency and microgeneration installations in government schemes will be brought under closer government control.

Please refer to the Warm Homes Plan for further detail.
The Government is considering how best to reform delivery and assurance arrangements, including where direct government delivery or third‑party delivery is most appropriate. The system will apply to government‑funded schemes and, where appropriate, may also be used voluntarily for non‑government‑funded work.
Delivery Model Assessment
Delivery of consumer protection reforms is subject to an ongoing delivery model assessment within the Department. This assessment is considering a range of delivery models, including in‑house and outsourced approaches, and their implications for quality assurance, consumer protection, pace of delivery, value for money and system resilience.
Understanding the capacity and appetite of the market to deliver a reformed consumer protection regime for government‑funded installations is essential to informing final recommendations.
Scope of services
Summary
The primary objective of the consumer protection regime is to ensure consumers receive high quality, safe installations. Strong protections are essential to building trust in the retrofit market, with the system focused on preventing installation and non-installation issues, including mis-selling. Remediation and redress should be required only in exceptional cases.
The service will deliver a coherent, well-governed and futureproof consumer protection system that supports DESNZ’s wider policy objectives and industry standards. A single system will apply across all retrofit measures, covering both energy efficiency and microgeneration.
The system must operate transparently, resiliently and responsively, enabling DESNZ and other government partners to make informed decisions based on high quality information and clear accountability. Suppliers will be expected to provide the operational, technical and governance capability needed to ensure consistent performance, robust risk management and strong assurance. Contracts or agreements will support tighter government control, continuous improvement, adaptability to emerging policy needs, and alignment with departmental objectives, consumer needs and value for money.
Possible delivery routes
Two delivery models involving market actors are under consideration. In both cases, DESNZ will retain governance, contract management, performance management and intelligent client functions.
The scope of services is broadly consistent across both options. Differences relate to who does what, number of delivery partners, and levels of operational responsibility, commercial risk and system integration. Feedback is sought on implications for capability, scalability, independence and delivery risk.
Option 1: Inhouse hybrid model
Core functions of the consumer protection service will be delivered inhouse by DESNZ or the Warm Homes Agency. This service would be supported by targeted select outsourcing of specific technical or specialist services. Integration will be managed by DESNZ.
Option 2: Majority outsourced model
The majority of the consumer protection service will be outsourced, via a contract or agreement to a prime supplier or a consortium of suppliers. The supplier will be responsible for administering the whole consumer protection service for government retrofit schemes, appointing, organising and managing their own supply chain to do so. Integration will be provided by the supplier.
Scope of Serv