If you live in a residential park home and pay for your electricity through the site owner, you can register now for this winter's £150 Warm Home Discount.
The 2025/26 scheme has closed. The Park Homes Warm Home Discount reopens in September 2026, and Charis is taking registrations of interest today so you hear the moment applications go live.
Register your interest for the September 2026 scheme
Why registering early matters
Funding is limited and applications are handled first-come, first-served. Every year people who would have qualified miss out because they hear about it in December, once the money has gone.
The park homes scheme also opens ahead of the mainstream one. Gov.uk confirms the general Warm Home Discount reopens in October 2026, so registering in September puts park home residents at the front of the queue rather than the back.
Why park home residents need a separate scheme at all
Most park homeowners pay the site owner for electricity rather than holding an account with an energy supplier. The mainstream Warm Home Discount is applied automatically by suppliers to their own customers, so park residents fall outside it through no fault of their own.
Charis runs this scheme with Ofgem to close that gap. It is the same £150, reaching the same households, by a different route.
Are you likely to qualify?
Charis has not published the 2026/27 criteria yet. Last winter you qualified if you:
- Lived permanently in a park home in England, Wales or Scotland
- Paid the site owner for your electricity
- Paid council tax, or received a council tax bill
- Received a means-tested benefit, or had a household income under £20,328 before tax
Qualifying benefits included Pension Credit, Universal Credit with monthly earnings under £1,694, Income Support, Housing Benefit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, and Child or Working Tax Credit.
Treat those as a guide rather than this year's rules. If you were eligible last winter, register.
What you'll need when applications open
- An email address, for confirmation and any follow-up
- Your bank details, for the payment
- Supporting documents if Charis asks, such as proof of benefits or income
Watch your junk folder once you have applied. Applications get turned down every year because a document request went unanswered. Charis takes calls Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, on 01733 797543.
The bigger money: what your site owner can legally charge you
The £150 is worth having. What your site owner charges you for electricity all year is worth more, and far fewer residents know the rules.
Under Ofgem's maximum resale price rules, a site owner reselling electricity or gas to residents can only charge what they paid for it, including their share of the standing charge. They cannot add a margin. They cannot pass on the energy the site itself uses, such as the site office or the street lighting.
There is one permitted extra. A site owner may charge an administration fee for meter reading and invoicing, but only where that fee is written into your agreement. If it does not appear in your written statement, it should not be on your bill.
Water works differently again. Metered residents pay for what they use plus a share of the standing charge. Unmetered sites may divide the cost equally, proportionally, or by a mix of the two. An administration fee of around £5 a year metered, or £10 unmetered, is treated as reasonable.
LPG is the exception. There is no price cap on bottled or bulk gas, though a site owner should still be able to justify what they charge.
How to check whether you are being overcharged
- Ask for the unit rate. You are entitled to know the rate per kWh you are being charged.
- Ask to see the bills and the contract between the site owner and their energy supplier. That is what the maximum resale price is measured against.
- Compare the two. If your rate is higher than the park's, or there are charges your agreement does not mention, you have a case.
- Raise it in writing with the site owner first.
Ofgem sets the rules but does not arbitrate individual disputes, so an unresolved case goes to the civil courts. That sounds heavier than it usually is: most overcharging is settled once a resident shows they know the rule exists. If several homes on your park are affected, a residents' association carries far more weight than one household.
The rest of the winter support you can claim
The Warm Home Discount is one of four. Park home residents qualify for the others on the same terms as anyone else.
Winter Fuel Payment. Between £100 and £300 for those born on or before 27 June 1960. There is now a £35,000 income limit, and HMRC reclaims the payment above it. Letters go out in October or November, with most payments landing in November or December 2026. Scotland runs its own equivalent.
Cold Weather Payment. £25 for each seven-day period where the average temperature in your area is at or below zero, between 1 November and 31 March. Paid automatically to those on qualifying benefits. Scotland pays an annual Winter Heating Payment instead, regardless of the weather.
Household Support Fund. Run by your local council rather than central government, so the amount and the rules vary by area. Worth a call to the council if the winter is tight.
Winter 2026/27 at a glance
Key takeaways
- The Park Homes Warm Home Discount reopens in September 2026, a month before the mainstream scheme.
- Funding is limited and first-come, first-served, so register your interest now.
- Your site owner can only charge you what they paid for electricity and gas, including standing charges, with no margin added.
- An administration fee is only legitimate if it appears in your written statement.
- Ask for the unit rate and the park's own bills if the numbers look wrong.
£150 off a winter electricity bill is worth ten minutes. Checking your unit rate against what the park actually pays could be worth considerably more. Pass both to any neighbour who might need them.
Sources: Charis Grants (Park Homes Warm Home Discount), Ofgem (maximum resale price guidance for park home residents), gov.uk (Winter Fuel Payment, Cold Weather Payment), LEASE Park Homes advice service.
September 2026. The 2025/26 scheme has closed. Charis is taking registrations of interest now so applicants are notified as soon as it opens, and because funding is limited and first-come, first-served, registering early matters.
Yes, and that is exactly who this scheme is for. The mainstream discount is applied by energy suppliers to their own customers, which leaves out park home residents who buy electricity through the site. The park homes scheme pays the same £150 by a different route.
Only what the site owner paid for it, including their share of the standing charge. They cannot add a margin, and they cannot charge you for energy the site itself uses. An administration fee for meter reading and invoicing is allowed only where your written agreement says so.
Ask for the unit rate you are being charged, then ask to see the bills and contract between the park and its energy supplier. If your rate is higher, raise it in writing. Ofgem sets the maximum resale price but does not settle individual disputes, so an unresolved case goes to the civil courts.
No. The scheme is for people living permanently in a residential park home. A holiday caravan or lodge is not your main residence, so it falls outside both this scheme and the mainstream Warm Home Discount.
Not for 2025/26, which has closed. Register your interest for the September 2026 scheme and you will be told when applications open.