Can a Hotel Get a Grant for EV Chargers in 2026?

Yes — but probably not the grant you have read about, and possibly not for guest charging. The government changed its electric vehicle chargepoint grants on 1 April 2026. One scheme that suits hotels remains open, the grant most often quoted in older guides has closed, and the rules on who may use grant-funded chargers depend on the category a hotel applies under.

This post covers the position in September 2026. Grant schemes change, so confirm the details on the scheme’s official page before you apply.

The grant that is still open: the Workplace Charging Scheme

The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) is the main government grant a hotel can use for EV chargers. From 1 April 2026 the government raised its maximum rate from £350 to £500 per socket. As listed on the government’s Find a Grant service, it pays:

• up to 75% of the total costs of buying and installing eligible chargepoints
• capped at £500 per socket
• for up to 40 sockets across all of an applicant’s sites

It is open until 31 March 2027. The chargers must serve dedicated off-road parking that is clearly associated with the premises, so spaces on the street outside a hotel do not qualify.

Can guests use WCS-funded chargers?

This is the question that decides whether WCS suits a hotel’s guest-charging plans. The scheme names four kinds of eligible applicant — businesses, charities, public sector organisations and small accommodation businesses — and it does not treat them the same way.

If the hotel applies as…	Who may use the funded chargers
A business	Staff and fleet vehicles only. Local residents may use them outside office hours.
A small accommodation business	No restriction on who uses the parking — customers, guests, visitors, staff or others.

So an independent hotel, inn or guesthouse that qualifies as a small accommodation business can use WCS to fund chargers its guests use. A larger hotel that applies as a business can use WCS for staff and fleet charging, but it should not build a guest amenity around the grant. Check the scheme’s own definition of a small accommodation business before you decide which category you are in.

The grants that have closed

Two schemes that older articles and supplier brochures still mention are no longer available:

• The EV infrastructure grant for staff and fleets closed to customer applications on 31 March 2026. It previously offered up to £15,000 per installation, and it is the grant most often misquoted as current.
• The commercial landlord chargepoint grant also closed on 31 March 2026.

If a quote you have been given deducts a £15,000 grant, it was prepared before April 2026. Ask for it to be re-costed against WCS.

What this means for planning your chargers

The grant rules should shape the design, not follow it:

1. Decide who the chargers are for. If they are mainly a guest amenity, check first whether the hotel qualifies as a small accommodation business. If it does not, WCS is a staff-and-fleet grant for you.
2. Count sockets across the whole group. The 40-socket limit applies across all of an applicant’s sites, so a multi-property operator has to choose where the funded sockets go.
3. Use off-road parking. Only dedicated off-road parking associated with the premises is eligible.
4. Plan for the scheme’s end date. WCS runs to 31 March 2027. If the grant matters to your business case, allow time for surveys, quotes and the application well before then.

For the wider picture — how many chargers a hotel typically needs, how overnight charging fits with on-site solar, and pay-as-you-go options for visitors — read our guide to EV chargers for hotels.

Sources

• Changes to electric vehicle chargepoint grant schemes from 1 April 2026 — GOV.UK (published 25 February 2026, updated 7 July 2026)
• Workplace Charging Scheme — Find a Grant, GOV.UK

Planning chargers alongside solar? See how the two work together in our guide to EV chargers for hotels.