£100 Household Energy Payment Coming to Most West Kent Homes From January

Most households across West Kent are in line for a one-off £100 payment this winter, after the government confirmed a new Household Energy Payment as part of the 2026 Autumn Budget. The payment goes to properties in council tax bands A to D - which between them cover the large majority of homes in England - with councils expected to start paying it out from January 2027.

According to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the £100 is a one-off payment for this financial year, targeted at properties in council tax bands A to D that are occupied as someone's sole or main residence. Delivering it through the council tax system means it should reach more than 20 million households in England this winter. If you pay your Council Tax by Direct Debit, the payment should land in your bank account automatically - you won't need to do anything. If you don't pay by Direct Debit, you'll be able to apply, but the government and local councils haven't yet announced how that application process will work.

The government has acknowledged that some households outside bands A to D will still need help, and is giving councils a £100 million discretionary fund on top of the main scheme to support those most acutely affected by rising bills - including some in higher bands. It's being left to individual councils to decide who in their area most needs that extra help, rather than setting national criteria for it.

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, which published the first local notice about the scheme on 29 October, is explicit that residents don't need to contact the council at this stage. The department is still finalising detailed guidance covering eligibility criteria, payment arrangements, and how the discretionary fund will work, and says it will publish further information once that's ready - expect the other three West Kent councils to put up their own versions of the same notice shortly. If you're not sure which council tax band your home is in, you can check it for free on the government's own council tax bands checker.

Don't be thrown if you see this called by two different names: the government's own official correspondence to councils calls it the "Household Energy Payment," while Tunbridge Wells Borough Council's own announcement refers to it as the "Energy Support Payment." Both are describing the same £100, same-bands, same-timeline scheme - just inconsistent branding between the department and (at least) one local council.

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Council tax information letter 6/2026: Household Energy Payment 2027, 28 October 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Also: Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.