Method, not numbers: how to build a budget, how much to hold back, and how to read three quotes that do not match.
The cap is £10,000 including VAT per property and spending has counted since 1 October 2025. What qualifies, what does not, and the file you need to register a cost cap exemption.
Most homes below C get there for £3,000 to £15,000, and the walls decide where you land. Measure by measure costs for 2026, by property type, and why the new EPC metrics change the cheapest route.
Most renovation budgets fail on scope, not arithmetic. A method: write the whole scope first, price in ranges, keep contingency separate, and time the money as well as counting it.
Hold 10 to 15 per cent of build cost, more for old or opened-up buildings. What contingency is for, what it is not for, and when to release it.
Quotes for the same job differ mostly in what they include, not what they charge. Normalise the scope first, then the money, and read the silences hardest.