If your home has no central heating a First Time Central Heating Grant help to pay for the installation of a full central heating system including an A rated boiler, central heating radiators, all of the necessary pipework and a thermostatic control panel.

As with all Government schemes, there are a few conditions which you and your home must meet:

1. Your home must have never had any type of central heating system fitted before. If your home has had central heating before but it has been removed, I’m afraid that you won’t qualify.
2. You must be a home owner or a tenant in a privately owned property. Council , housing association and shared ownership homes are excluded.
3. From 1st June 2022 your home must have an existing mains gas supply, even if you don’t have a gas meter.
4. You or some one living permanently in your home must receive one of the qualifying benefits or allowances (please see the list below) OR
5. Your local council may be able to approve your application under ECO Flex rules (again, please see below).

If your home has no central heating system and you think you may qualify for a grant to install one, apply for a grant today.

To qualify for First Time Central Heating Grants, either you or someone living permanently with you, must receive at least one of the following State Benefits, Tax Credits or Other Allowances unless you qualify under ECO Flex Rules:

• Pension Credit – Guarantee Credit
• Pension Credit – Savings Credit
• Universal Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit
• Income Support
• Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income-Based Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Child Benefit (subject to maximum household income
• Housing benefit

The following benefits were included in ECO3 which ended on 31st March 2022 but are still allowable under ECO4 until 30th June 2022 as part of a transition period:

• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Industrial Injury Disablement Allowance
• War Pension Mobility Supplement
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• Armed Forces Independence Payment

If your home has no central heating system and you think you may qualify for a grant to install one, apply for a grant today.

ECO Flex Rules allow local councils to recommend that a householder qualifies for a grant even if they don’t receive one of the qualifying benefits.

There are four ways in which you can qualify under ECO Flex rules but it has to be first approved by your Local Authority:

1. Your total household income is below £31,000

2. Your home has an EPC rating of E, F or G AND one of the following applies:

a.  You receive a Council Tax rebate (other than single person rebate);

b.  a member of your household is vulnerable to living in a cold home;

c.  a member of your household is referred under a Local Authority run scheme which supports low income and vulnerable households,

d.  a householder receives free school meals or

e.  your household is identified as struggling with sustained debt on utility bills and mortgage payments and has been referred to the Local Authority for support by Citizens Advice, your energy supplier or your mortgage lender.

You can see the EPC for your home HERE if you live in England or Wales and HERE if you live in Scotland.

3. You are referred to your Local Authority by the NHS because you could be severely impacted by living in a cold home. The conditions which normally apply are respiratory problems, cardiovascular problems, limited mobility or immune suppressed conditions.

4. This is a wide ranging option which allows Local Authorities to devise their own scheme to target a high proportion of households suffering from fuel poverty. Your Local Authority would need to submit their proposals to the Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for approval.

If your home has no central heating system and you think you may qualify for a grant to install one, apply for a grant today.