Warm Front Scheme

Warm Front is a major energy-efficiency scheme from the government that provides help with the cost of insulation and heating to households on certain income-related benefits living in properties that are poorly insulated and/or do not have a working central heating system.

Households that qualify for the scheme can have up to £3,500 worth of heating and insulation improvements carried out in their home.

This can rise to £6,000 where oil central heating and other alternative technologies are recommended.

What work is covered by the grant?

Grants are available for various energy-efficiency improvements such as:

• Loft insulation
• Cavity wall insulation
• Hot water tank insulation
• Draught-proofing
• Gas, electric, liquid petroleum gas or oil heating
• Glass-fronted fire – Warm Front can convert your solid-fuel open fire to a glass-fronted fire

If the cost of the work is more than the grant available you’ll be required to pay the difference to enable work to go ahead.

Eligibility for Warm Front

To qualify for the Warm Front scheme you must own your home or rent it from a private landlord.

You must also have one of the following:

• a pensioner premium, or;
• a disability or severe disability premium, or;
• an award of child tax credit that also includes an element for a disabled,  or severely disabled child or young person, or;
• a child under the age of five living with you

You must also receive one or more of the following benefits:

• Income Support
• Income-based Job Seekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Council Tax Benefit
• Housing Benefit

In addition to the qualifying benefits listed above, the property you live in must also be poorly insulated and/or not have a working central heating system.

What if I am renting my property?

If you are renting from a private landlord, you will need their permission for any work.

Warm Front is only available to households in England, although there are similar schemes in operation in the rest of the UK. These are:

• The Energy Assistance Package scheme (Scotland)
• The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (Wales)
• The Northern Ireland Warm Homes scheme (Northern Ireland)

Applying for a Warm Front grant

You can apply for the Warm Front scheme online, by post or over the phone. For more details visit www.warmfront.co.uk.

If your application is successful, you will be visited by a Warm Front surveyor, who will measure the energy efficiency of your home using a Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) – the government’s recommended system for measuring the energy rating of residential properties.

The surveyor will then make recommendations on which energy efficiency improvements under the scheme are most appropriate for your home.

Following the survey, you will be allocated an installer who will set a start date for the recommended installation/heating work, which will be carried out by fully-trained Warm Front installers.

Be aware that the surveyor may find that your home’s energy efficiency is above the threshold required to benefit from the scheme (a SAP rating of 56 or more).

If this is the case you will not be provided with any recommendations and you will instead be given details of where else you may be able to get energy advice and help