Central Heating Grants from the ECO Scheme

Central Heating Grants in Scotland from the Government's ECO Scheme

Central Heating Grants in Scotland are available to help install a central heating system in homes which have never had central heating installed before. Grants are available to home owners and private tenants.

Under new rules introduced with the start of ECO4 on 1st April 2022, homes must have an existing mains gas supply to qualify for central heating grants in Scotland.

Central Heating Grant Application Form

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  • 1. Your Details

  • We need this to confirm that you qualify for a central heating grant
Central Heating Grants In Scotland

Central heating grants in Scotland are available to home owners and private tenants and there are two ways to qualify:

For home owners and private tenants:

You or someone who lives permanently with you must receive one of the qualifying benefits (please see the list below),

OR

You may qualify under ‘LA Flex‘ rules where, although you do not receive any of the qualifying benefits, your local council may recommend that you qualify for a grant to install central heating. This may apply if you have to pay a substantial portion of your income to keep your home warm.

Qualifying State Benefits for the Central Heating Grants in Scotland Scheme are:

For home owners and private tenants:

To qualify for Central Heating Grants in Scotland, either you or someone living permanently in your home 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 – Guarantee Credit
  • Universal Credit
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Income-Based Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA)
  • Income Support
  • Child Benefit (subject to maximum household income thresholds)
  • Housing Benefit

ECO Flex Rules allow councils in Scotland to recommend that a householder qualifies for a central heating grant even if they don’t receive one of the qualifying benefits. Funding for the grant still comes from the Government’s ECO Scheme and you can see the qualifying criteria by clicking HERE.

Central Heating Grants in Scotland FAQs

My home has had central heating but it has been removed, will I still qualify?

To qualify for first time central heating grants in Scotland your home must never have had a central heating system fitted before.

If it has had a central heating system fitted but it has been removed, you will not qualify.

My home doesn’t have a mains gas supply, will I still qualify for a central heating grant?

Unfortunately no.

Under new rules introduced with the start of ECO4 on 1st April 2022, homes must now have an existing mains gas supply to qualify for a grant to install central heating for the first time.

Do I need to receive State Benefits to qualify?

There are two ways to qualify for first time central heating grants in Scotland:

You, or someone who lives permanently with you, receives one of the qualifying state benefits, tax credits or other allowances.

You do not receive any benefits but you may qualify if you need to pay a substantial part of your household income to keep your home warm. This is referred to as the ECO Flex or LA Flex scheme where your local council can recommend that you qualify for a grant to install central heating even though you don’t receive benefits.

My home has a heating system but it’s not central heating, will I still qualify?

To qualify for the central heating grants in Scotland scheme your home MUST have no heating at all OR one of the following heating systems:

  1. Electric room heaters, including direct acting room heaters, fan heaters or inefficient electric storage heaters
  2. Gas room heaters; including fixed mains gas room heaters
  3. Gas fire with back boiler
  4. Mains gas warm air system
  5. Solid fossil fuel fire with back boiler
  6. Electric underfloor or ceiling heating (not part of an electric boiler)
  7. Bottled LPG room heating
  8. Solid fossil fuel room heaters
  9. Wood/biomass room heating
  10. Oil room heaters

The heating system used to check your eligibility for Central Heating Grants in Scotland is the one which appears as the ‘Main Heating’ system on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for your home. You can see your EPC HERE by entering your post code.

I would like to apply for a central heating grant, what do I do next?

Firstly, to apply for the Central Heating Grants in Scotland Scheme you need to complete the form on this page of the website and it will be automatically emailed to us.

We will telephone you to confirm all of the information on the form and to arrange a free survey of your home and any heating system it currently has.

If you receive one of the qualifying benefits, with your permission we will carry out an automated check with the DWP that you do qualify. We don’t see any information about your benefits, we simply get a Yes / No answer as to whether you qualify.

If you are a home owner and you don’t receive benefits, we will complete the LA Flex forms with you to apply for approval by your local council.

Once the relevant permissions have been granted, your new central heating system can be installed and the installer won’t be paid until it is complete and you are happy with it.

What does the central heating grant cover?

Central heating grants in Scotland cover the cost of all materials and installation including a new mains gas central heating boiler, central heating radiators, all the necessary pipework and thermostatic heating controls.

If any plasterwork is damaged during the installation it will be repaired but the grant does not cover the cost of redecoration.

Central Heating Grants in Scotland

Apply for Central Heating Grant