Grants available for homes improvements & energy efficiency

emilystar02

hi l have just found his site and am not sure what to do.. l am trying to find a grant that helps get central heating for my house we have a morgage and 3 kids hubby works but not the best pay so we cant afford central heating we have a big old eletric heater about 30 years old lol blow heater in a 3 bed room house costs a fortune to run l hate it ...is there any grants for this thanks also one of my sons has disablity thanks again

harryhound

AllNancy wrote: »

I am a pensioner
Nancy

Not in receipt of any qualifying benefits?

Not yet over 70?

What sort of rental agreement?
(New rental agreements have to supply the new tenant with an energy assessment of the dwelling - I think it will be only a matter of time before landlords are forced to upgrade their tenancies - but at the moment bankrupting landlords is not high on the government agenda )

Who is your landlord ie what sort of landlord?

pacer007

Junglewood wrote: »

Hi Pete, I had a similar problem. I had a home improvements grant from the council for a new roof. The council approved contractor did the work as his quote was within the grant amount. I was very unhappy with the quality of work so I complained to the Officer who was dealing with my grant who (reluctantly - had a bit of attitude from her that they were helping me and I was complaining) said they would get the Building Control Officer to come and inspect the work to make sure it was being done right. He found that building regulations were not being adhered to and the roofing firm had to make the necessary alterations (who also weren't happy). It was never a very tidy job but at least I didn't have water running onto my bed anymore! So, although you may have to live with shody workmanship the job does have to comply with necessary Building Regulations. I later found out that the council stopped using that roofing firm Oh, don't rely on the council coming and checking automatically because thats the whole point of them using a 'council approved contractor' it negates alot of work as they are supposed to be trusted to do the work adequately and follow all building regs.

Hope this helps you.

Thanks for that. things have moved on a bit now, I got the local counciler involved. we are now haveing a 2nd new front door and the concrete ramp is being dug up and relaid. Buy another contractor (at the expense of the 1st contractor) :-)

pacer007

emilystar02 wrote: »

hi l have just found his site and am not sure what to do.. l am trying to find a grant that helps get central heating for my house we have a morgage and 3 kids hubby works but not the best pay so we cant afford central heating we have a big old eletric heater about 30 years old lol blow heater in a 3 bed room house costs a fortune to run l hate it ...is there any grants for this thanks also one of my sons has disablity thanks again

Hi, try this link. You can see if you qualify for a heating grant. http://www.warmfront.co.uk/do-i-qualify.htm
good luck

hungrynurse_2

can anyone advide me where I can look for insulation grants? We only have about 2 1/2 inches of loft insulation on 2/3 of the house. Our family recieves no benefits other that child allowance for our baby and I earn more than the 15K which seems to be the benefit line, but as this supports baby, dw & myself, this is only just enough.

pacer007

try warmfront.

audrey_hayes

Just a word of warning to those of you claiming for the warmfront central heating grant.I have recently applied for this as the night storage heaters i have are totally inadequate ,particularly in the recent cold snap.They have declined my application because last year i had loft insulation and cavity wall insulation and apparantly that makes me inelligable for any further grant.Added to that ,it seems you need to only have a maximum of 3 heaters to qualify.!!! There is no mention of this in their application forms so please be aware. Meanwhile if anyone of you lovely people know of any way around this situation to avoid my son and i suffering from frostbite i would love to hear from you.regards, Audrey

harryhound

pacer007 wrote: »

try warmfront.

The largest subsidies are probably given by the power companies, in exchange for the amount of carbon they are still dumping into the atmosphere.
Local authorities also give grants.
You need to check out all the leads on here.
It has become a bit of a mine field.

Suzkin

Junglewood wrote: »

Hi Pete, I had a similar problem. I had a home improvements grant from the council for a new roof. The council approved contractor did the work as his quote was within the grant amount. I was very unhappy with the quality of work so I complained to the Officer who was dealing with my grant who (reluctantly - had a bit of attitude from her that they were helping me and I was complaining) said they would get the Building Control Officer to come and inspect the work to make sure it was being done right. He found that building regulations were not being adhered to and the roofing firm had to make the necessary alterations (who also weren't happy). It was never a very tidy job but at least I didn't have water running onto my bed anymore! So, although you may have to live with shody workmanship the job does have to comply with necessary Building Regulations. I later found out that the council stopped using that roofing firm Oh, don't rely on the council coming and checking automatically because thats the whole point of them using a 'council approved contractor' it negates alot of work as they are supposed to be trusted to do the work adequately and follow all building regs.

Hope this helps you.

I've been liaising with 'In Touch' / Council and have been astonished by their poor attitude: putting neighbours (e.g. me) under pressure to go with their surveyor rather than exercise ones legal right to appoint an independent surveyor (and thereby protect ones property from potentially poor workmanship).

When I DID appoint my own (for which the neighbour would be paying), I received a snotty phone call loaded with emotional blackmail from the Council telling me I should treat people in the same way I would wish to be treated myself! The other neighbour received a threatening letter from the councils appointed solicitor about going with the Councils/In Touch's appointed surveyor rather than appointing their own.

I also got blamed for holding the neighbours work up!

When it came to looking at my own property, In Touch simply gave me the fees schedule and advised me to sort it out myself! Rubbish, I say. Not to be wholly trusted.

BTW: Never forget - In Touch / Council give LOANS which MUST be repaid by the homwowner either by sale of property or by taking out another loan and 'buying them out'. These are NOT only grants, which are 'free'.

Also, their terms and conditions are VERY VERY stringent, with hefty penalties: I was only given a draft copy after TWO YEARS of liaising with the Council / In Touch about essential repairs to my house - interesting how they kept that quiet...........The contract is also like an open chequebook i.e. if they uncover anything else that needs doing in addition to the scheduled work, they'll do it - and thus even more equity is taken from your house :-(

matbe

pacer007 wrote: »

We are in the process of having an adaptation for our disabled daughter. It consists of a specialist bathroom with a wash/dry toilet, a bath that lifts up and a hoist. We also have had some doorways widened, a new front door with a low threshold and a ramp up to the door. It sounds fine so far.

This work is funded by the local council and is being managed by a company called “In Touch”. The put the job out to tender and builders were chosen to do the job.

My problem is that the quality of the work is poor and a number of building regulations have been ignored. I feel that the chap that is running the job just wants to get it finished as quick as he can no matter what. He just wants the £3,000 commission that will be paid for running the job.

My question. Is there an independent body that could come and look at the work to see that it complies with what it should? I am hoping that when the council come to sign the job off, the faults will be picked up. But, I know the builder dose a lot of this sort of work in the area. So he must get away with doing a shoddy job.

Some points at fault are:

The handrail alongside the ramp dose not compile with part M building regs.
No point of electrical isolation for the toilet.
No bonding of pipes in the bathroom
I could go on.

Thanks,

Pete.

Are you sure there is no isolation for toilet ?

is it outside of the bathroom?

Also bonding in bathrooms is no longer required under 17th edition (as long as certain conditions are met.)

I find it hard to believe the toilet would be connected directly to a ring is their not a fused spur that connects the flex from the toilet.


If you are sure the electrics are not right then ask which body (eca nic napit etc) the electrician is registered with.

The organisation will have an inspection on demand service. You will have to pay a fee up front but if your case is upheld then the money is returned and the contractor has to repair any defects.

If the handrail is not upto standard ring local building control they will soon get it sorted.

hope this helps.