IMAF Fund
Eligibility, Costs Covered & How to Apply
The IMAF fund pays for a common fire alarm system in residential buildings in England that are waiting for remediation, so they can stop paying for a waking watch. This guide covers who qualifies, what the grant pays for and how the application works, written by an installer on the Homes England supplier panel.
What is the IMAF fund?
The IMAF fund (Interim Measures Alarm Fund) is a £62.7 million government grant, run by Homes England, that pays to install a common fire alarm in residential and student buildings in England. The building owner or managing agent applies, and only firms on the Homes England supplier panel can quote for the work.
The fund opened on 1 April 2026. It covers the upfront cost of the alarm, so a building with fire safety defects can move off a waking watch while it waits for remediation work. Homes England delivers it through the Cladding Safety Scheme platform.
It took over from the Waking Watch Replacement Fund, which closed to new applications on 31 March 2026 after approving around £71.7 million for alarms in 801 buildings.1 No closing date has been published for the IMAF. The government has tied it to its remediation schemes, which run up to 2035.
If you're still paying for patrols, our waking watch replacement page covers the switch itself. This page is about the funding.
Waking watch vs a fire alarm: the cost over a year.
A waking watch is a bill that arrives every month and leaves nothing behind. At the median cost per building, it passes £136,000 within a year.
An alarm is paid for once. Take an installation costing £20,000. A waking watch has cost more than that within eight weeks, and it keeps climbing.
With IMAF funding, the grant pays the installation cost. The building is left with servicing, twice a year.
Is my building eligible for the IMAF fund?
The test is shorter than most people expect. It comes down to where the building is, what it's used for, and whether a fire safety professional has put the need for an interim alarm in writing.
Who can apply. The application has to come from the Responsible Entity or Responsible Person for the building, or someone they've authorised in writing. In practice that's the freeholder, the building owner, a housing association, or the managing agent acting for them.
The evidence that matters. Homes England wants a document that identifies the need for an interim alarm. That can be a Fire Risk Assessment, a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW), or a notice from the fire and rescue service or local authority. If you have one of those and it says the building needs an alarm, you're most of the way there.
Height. The published guidance for England doesn't set a minimum building height. Don't rule a building out because it's under 18 metres.
I'm a leaseholder. What can I do?
You can't apply for IMAF funding yourself, and neither can a residents' group. Ask your building owner or managing agent, in writing, whether they've applied. If they haven't, send them this page. The grant exists so alarm costs don't land on your service charge.
IMAF eligibility checklist
Based on the GOV.UK guidance
- The building is in England
- It's residential or student accommodation
- An FRA, FRAEW or regulator's notice identifies the need for an interim alarm
- The Responsible Entity, Responsible Person or their authorised representative applies
- Hotels are not eligible
- Alarms that are already installed can't be claimed for
What does IMAF funding cover?
The grant pays the reasonable capital cost of the alarm and nothing else. Homes England checks every quote against its own benchmarks, so there's no fixed figure per building.
| Covered by the IMAF fund | Not covered |
|---|---|
| Equipment: detectors, sounders, control panels and wiring | Waking watch costs, past or ongoing |
| Labour and installation work | Project management and administration fees |
| Commissioning and testing | Maintenance, repair, removal or conversion of the system |
| VAT, where you can't recover it | Fire wardens or evacuation staff kept on after the alarm goes in |
| An alarm that can be upgraded later to BS 8629 | An alarm that was installed before you applied |
The grant is paid at the end
Homes England pays once the work is complete and you've sent the evidence, which includes the final invoice showing what was paid to the installer. Whoever appoints the contractor needs to fund the installation until the grant lands. Agree that with your installer before you sign.
Two conditions worth knowing
Maintenance isn't funded, so budget for six-monthly servicing from day one. And if the building receives a Prohibition Notice within a year of installation because agreed safety measures weren't completed on time, the grant may have to be repaid.
How to apply for the IMAF fund, step by step.
The application runs in four stages. The first is a short online form. The rest is evidence, a quote and a signature.
Apply online
The form on GOV.UK takes around 30 minutes and has to be completed in one sitting, because it doesn't save your progress. Afterwards you email your supporting evidence to Homes England with the building name as the subject.
Eligibility check, then a panel quote
Homes England checks the building, its ownership and the people signing. Once you're confirmed as eligible, you instruct a supplier panel firm to survey and quote. Homes England reviews that quote against its benchmarks and may challenge it.
Sign the grant funding agreement
When the costs are agreed, Homes England issues a grant funding agreement. It isn't negotiable, and the Responsible Entity has to sign it even if an agent ran the application. After that you can place the order with your installer.
Install, send the evidence, get paid
Once the alarm is in, you send the commissioning certificate, an updated Fire Risk Assessment, the final invoice and proof that you kept residents informed. Homes England reviews it and pays the grant to your nominated account.
What to have ready before you start the form
- Building details, and details of the Responsible Entity and anyone else involved in owning or managing it
- A letter of authority, if you're applying on the owner's behalf
- Your evidence of need: a Fire Risk Assessment to BS 9792:2025, an FRAEW to PAS 9980:2022, or a regulator's notice
- Bank details for whoever will appoint and pay the installer
- Evidence that you've been keeping leaseholders and residents informed
Start here: Apply to the Interim Measures Alarm Fund on GOV.UK
How long does it take? Homes England doesn't publish a timescale for its checks. Once the funding is agreed, the installation itself typically takes two to five days on site.
What kind of fire alarm does the IMAF fund pay for?
The guidance asks for a common alarm system designed to BS 5839-1 for a Category L5 system. Category L5 means the system is designed around a specific fire risk in a specific building. Here the risk is a fire spreading faster than the building's original "stay put" plan allowed for, so the alarm has to warn every resident at once and support a simultaneous evacuation.
It has to be designed, installed and commissioned by a third-party accredited competent person, and it should follow the National Fire Chiefs Council's simultaneous evacuation guidance. Our guide to British Standards explains how the BS 5839 categories fit together.
In an occupied block, the practical question is how you fit it. We use the Hyfire Taurus wireless system for this work. There's no cable to run through flats, the devices arrive programmed, and a typical block is done in two to five days with residents at home throughout. You can see how that went in practice in our London waking watch case study.
- 1A detector and sounder inside every flat, so each household is warned directly
- 2Detection in the stairs and corridors, where the design calls for it
- 3A control panel at the entrance for the fire and rescue service
- 4Wireless links between devices, with no cabling through flats
Why the supplier panel matters, and where Triple Star fits.
You can't use any fire alarm company for IMAF work. Only firms on the Homes England IMAF supplier panel can quote for and carry out a funded installation, and a quote from anyone else won't be accepted.
Triple Star Fire and Security is on that panel. We're BAFE and SSAIB accredited and we've been installing fire alarm systems from Orpington since 2006.
Survey and evidence check. We look at the building and your existing Fire Risk Assessment or FRAEW, and tell you plainly whether it supports an application.
Application guidance. We guide you through the Homes England application: what the form asks for, which evidence to send and what happens at each stage.
The panel quote. We design the Category L5 system and produce the quote and scope of work that Homes England reviews.
Installation and commissioning. Wireless installation in two to five days on a typical block, then the commissioning certificate you need to claim the grant.
Maintenance afterwards. Six-monthly servicing to BS 5839-1, with a digital report after every visit. The grant doesn't cover this, so we quote it separately and up front.
IMAF fund: your questions answered.
The questions building owners and managing agents ask us most often about IMAF funding.
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Can leaseholders apply for the IMAF fund?
No. Leaseholders and residents can't apply. The application has to come from the Responsible Entity or Responsible Person for the building, or a representative they've authorised. If you're a leaseholder, contact your building owner or managing agent and ask whether they've applied.
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Is there a deadline to apply for IMAF funding?
No closing date has been published. The government has linked the fund to its remediation schemes, which run up to 2035. That said, every month on a waking watch is a month of cost the grant won't refund, so there's no benefit in waiting.
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How much IMAF funding can one building get?
There's no published cap per building. The grant covers the reasonable capital cost of the alarm system, and Homes England checks each quote against its own programme benchmarks before approving it. The size and layout of the building drive the figure.
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Can I claim IMAF funding for an alarm that's already installed?
No. The fund doesn't pay retrospectively for alarms that are already in. You need to apply, be confirmed as eligible and have your quote approved before the work goes ahead.
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Can I use any fire alarm company for IMAF work?
No. Only firms on the Homes England IMAF supplier panel can quote for and carry out funded work. Triple Star Fire and Security is on the panel and covers London, Kent and the South East.
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Does the IMAF fund pay for waking watch costs?
No. Waking watch costs aren't eligible, whether they're past or ongoing. The fund pays for the alarm that lets you stand the waking watch down. It also doesn't cover any wardens or evacuation staff you keep on after the alarm is installed.
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What happened to the Waking Watch Replacement Fund?
It closed to new applications on 31 March 2026. Since 1 April 2026, all new applications to replace or reduce a waking watch go to the IMAF fund instead. The IMAF is a separate scheme that builds on the earlier Waking Watch Relief Fund and Waking Watch Replacement Fund.
Not sure whether your building qualifies for the IMAF fund?
Send us the building address and your latest Fire Risk Assessment and we'll tell you where you stand. Call Triple Star Fire and Security on 0203 189 1960, email info@tsfands.com, or use our contact page. Triple Star Fire and Security, Unit 2, Murray Business Centre, Murray Road, Orpington, BR5 3RE.
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