Central Heating Grants in Wales 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 a grant to install central heating for the first time.

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.

To qualify for Central Heating Grants in Wales, 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:

Before the Government’s ECO Scheme rules were updated in 2017 householders would only qualify for central heating grants if they received one of the qualifying State Benefits.

ECO Flex changed this.

Now, home owners and private tenants may qualify for ECO Flex Central Heating Grants in Wales even if they don’t receive benefits. ECO Flex Central Heating Grants in Wales help householders who, although they do not receive benefits, are living on a low income and spend a high proportion of income on heating their home.

Local Authorities

Under ECO Flexible Eligibility scheme rules, local authorities can set their own rules to decide who should qualify for a central heating grant. A number of aspects are considered:

1. Health. Householders with long term health conditions such as heart or respiratory disease, cancer, diabetes or other permanent health problems can often need warmer homes.
2. Age. Older householders can often be more adversely affected by living in a cold home.
3. Type of property. Homes with very poor insulation properties such as those with solid walls which are expensive to insulate are often the most expensive to heat. Properties with an EPC rating of E, F or G may qualify and you can check your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) by clicking HERE.
4. Income. Approximately 20% of low income householders do not receive state benefits and spend a higher proportion of their income heating their home.

Central Heating Grants in Wales

Who can apply for central heating grants in Wales?

To qualify under ECO Scheme rules or LA Flex rules you must be a home owner or a tenant in a privately rented home.

Householders who live in council owned homes, shared ownership homes and homes owned by a housing association do not qualify for central heating grants in Wales.

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

First Time Central Heating Grants are their purely to help pay for the installation of central heating systems in homes which ‘do not have and have not previously had any kind of central heating system’ fitted before, even if it has been removed.

Do I need to receive benefits to qualify for central heating grants in Wales?

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

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 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.

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

To qualify for the central heating grants in Wales 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 Wales 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 should I do next?

Firstly, to apply for the Central Heating Grants in Wales 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 Wales 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.