ECO Flex Central Heating Grants are available to pay for the installation of gas central heating in homes which have never had central heating before.

ECO Flex Central Heating Grants allow householders to qualify for a grant to install central heating in their homes even if they don’t receive one of the Qualifying State Benefits.

ECO Flex Central Heating Grants DO NOT require you to receive State Benefits, Tax Credits or Other Allowances.

You may qualify for ECO Flex Central Heating Grants if you satisfy your Local Authority’s own rules regarding central heating grants. Often you will qualify if you spend a reasonably high proportion of your income to heat your home.

You simply complete the form on this page and we will do the rest.

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 even if they don’t receive benefits. ECO Flex Central Heating Grants 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.

Only homes with an EPC rating of D, E, F or G for home owners and E, F or G for private tenants are eligible for Central Heating Grants. You can see the EPC rating of your home by clicking HERE for England and Wales or HERE for Scotland.

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) HERE if you live in England or Wales or  HERE if you live in Scotland.
4. Income. Approximately 20% of low income householders do not receive state benefits and spend a higher proportion of their income heating their home.

There are four separate qualifying routes to identify low income and vulnerable households under ECO Flex Grants Rules. Each Local Authority can choose to adopt one or more of these options. Options 2 and 4 can be used by Energy Suppliers.

ECO Flex Central Heating Grants – Route One – Household Income 

In line with other energy efficiency policies set up by the BEIS (Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Efficiency) a household income cap of £31,000 is used as the first method of identifying low income households who would benefit from ECO Flex Central Heating Grants.

For simplicity, the same amount is used regardless of property size or region but in many cases a household income of £31,000 would include many households who are just above the benefits threshold.

Although a single income cap may not take into account those households with high running costs but there are three other routes which could include those potential applicants.

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

ECO Flex Central Heating Grants – Route Three – NHS Referrals

This route could be used where a householder has a severe and / or long term health condition which could be severely affected by living in a cold home.

The conditions which would be included are cardiovascular, respiratory, limited mobility or immune suppressed conditions.

This option has been added to help those householders who would have qualified due to the receipt of one of the disability benefits included in ECO3 but which are excluded from ECO4 qualifying benefit criteria.

ECO Flex Central Heating Grants – Route Four – Bespoke Targeting

Under this option your energy supplier or Local Authority could submit a proposal explaining how they would identify a high proportion of households suffering from fuel poverty.

The proposal would be submitted to the BEIS (Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Efficiency) for approval and households who qualified via this route may receive slightly higher grants.

ECO Flex Central Heating Grants to install central heating in homes which have never had central heating before.

ECO Flex Central Heating Grants are available without the need to receive benefits.