Boiler grants

Cherry13

I wondered if anyone could advise me about boiler grants, please? Many of the advice websites (including this one) say such grants are available for low-income households, but I have had no success whatsoever in applying for one, despite having a very low income (Universal Credit) and a medical condition which keeps me largely housebound. My boiler is faulty and a gas engineer has advised me to replace it, but I simply cannot afford to. I doubt it will keep working for much longer and, even if it does, I suspect it may not be safe as it keeps leaking. 

I have called my energy provider (British Gas) and Eon who advised me to register my interest in the next Eco Scheme. I registered for this ages ago but have been told there is no guarantee that it will help with my situation when it is finally up and running. So I called the Simple Energy Advice helpline, but the advisor simply told me all they can do is advise people to call their energy provider.

There are some companies I’ve never heard of advertising  boiler grants online but a quick Google search generally throws up terrible reviews of them, suggesting that these companies are possibly run by fly-by-night profiteers who are unprofessional and untrustworthy… and therefore not the kind of organisation I want to share my personal details or sign a contract with. 

It is beginning to appear to me that  none of the “help” supposedly on offer for people in such vulnerable situations as mine is actually really out there. 
Feeling frustrated, despondent and very scared about the winter. Any advice would be very welcome! 

Mister_G

First question - do you own the property or are you a tenant?

Cherry13

Shared ownership. I have permission from the housing association to have the boiler replaced.

Mister_G

Do the HA not have any responsibility for the boiler?

Cherry13

No, when you have a shared ownership property, you are responsible for all of the repairs.

JohnPo

Sorry to disappoint, but the ECO scheme has gone through changes and the latest version ECO4 is only just launching hence for many months now most inquiries have hit a brick wall. Most of the information sites are out of date and relate to the earlier ECO3 scheme. Boiler grants have virtually disappeared with a limit of 5,000 repairs or replacements (including storage heaters) under ECO4 per annum, the previous ECO3 scheme had as limit of 35,000 boiler replacements per annum limit.

You are not tied to applying via your own energy supplier so there are multiple routes into the scheme hence the myriad of 3rd party websites.  There are income limits and many previous qualifying benefits have been removed (e.g. DLA or PIP), sites like entitledto might be good place to check out your position. Finally if your home already is at an EPC rating of C or above then there is no funding.

Brie

Hey Cherry - lateral thought.....is there anyone else you can think of to ask for assistance?  There's a number of charities that will help people with situations such as yours, you just need to find the right one.  If you are/were in a union, worked for a bank, were in the armed forces, worked in a particular industry there may be support that way.  Alternatively you say you have a medical condition - is there a group associated with that?  They may be able to assist on a one time basis.

Cherry13

Thank you for your replies. Everyone I’ve sought help from seems to be under the impression that there are boiler grants available. It is beyond belief that the government is funding the energy companies to provide help to vulnerable customers but such help is so limited, presumably just designed to meet climate targets. Not to deny that the climate is important but how about trying to reduce the risk of people freezing to death in the winter or taking their own lives? Subsistence level benefits don’t allow for such luxuries as new boilers. 

Spoonie_Turtle

I don't know if you've looked on EntitledTo but they link to this page which may or may not be useful: https://energysavinggenie.co.uk/apply-for-energy-grants/?utm_campaign=laflexhelpD&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=entitledto

(Entitled To page is here https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/government-boiler-grants)


The government guidance says this about the ECO4 scheme:

The ECO4 scheme’s other main policies include:

• supporting households on the lowest incomes. Households in receipt of means tested benefits will be eligible. …
• only energy efficiency band D-G homes eligible for ECO4. For social housing and private rented accommodation, ECO4 will support the least efficient homes in bands E-G only

I have no idea how shared ownership works, whether you'd be classed as being in social housing or as owning your home.  Either way it might be that your home is too efficient for a grant under that scheme (sounds ridiculous doesn't it!)


Might also be worth trawling through this website, looking into anything remotely related to housing / appliances / your condition https://www.disability-grants.org/

JohnPo

Re my earlier reply, local authorities also have access to ECO funding and have some flexibility about how it used, what is available locally and under what terms is a postcode lottery however, but worth checking out with your local authority.

Cherry13

Thank you, I will do this, but I am not hopeful. I did an online assessment through entitledto only to be informed that I was entitled to a grant of £5k to replace my boiler with a heat pump, leaving me *only* £3,500 to pay. It seems to me that the Eco funding is mostly going to help the companies installing this new technology (and their shareholders). Anyone with any sense (and the requisite funds) would just replace their boiler as it’s far cheaper and it doesn’t carry the risks of new technology - eg the potential difficulties and increased costs of finding specialist engineers to service and repair it.