If you are on a low income and rent your property then you may be eligible for energy efficient home improvements.
Am I eligible?
All eligible households will need a valid energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of D, E, F or G to qualify. If you do not have a valid EPC, we can arrange one as part of our grant funding.
You must also match at least one of the following points:
1. Your home falls within an automatically eligible postcode. Contact our team to check.
2. You have a gross (before tax) annual household income of £36k or less including all benefits received, except from disability benefits AA, DLA, PIP.
3. After paying their housing costs (mortgage or rent) your income would be below £20,000.
4. The owner-occupier (named on deeds / land registry) gets a means tested benefit.
What do I need to do?
To be able to get the funding for improvements, you will need to:
Get in touch with a member of our friendly team.
Supply a completed application form, along with all the requested documents.
Supply evidence you own your property and you live in it.
Ensure that contractors have full and clear access throughout your property (including the loft if you’re having loft insulation fitted).
Make sure that the owner of the property is available for 4-5 visits from different contractors and/or project officers. The actual number will depend on your initial survey recommendations.
Your property must be ready for home improvement works, e.g, it can’t be in a state of disrepair, in need of renovating or you are currently building an extension.
Do I need to pay for anything?
As tenant, you would not be required to make any payment. Your Landlord would however be obliged to contribute a minimum of one-third of the total costs. Any works that are not energy efficient measures or clean heat are not covered by the grant (such as clearing your loft space). Redecoration or new flooring is not covered by our grants.
How long does the process take?
Due to the home assessments and technical surveys that are needed, you may have to have multiple visits from several contractors. However, from first application to the installation being finished usually takes an average of 6-9 months, of course larger works may take longer.
Do I need Planning Permission?
It’s the responsibility of your Landlord to seek the advice and permission that would be needed for the work to be done. Usually this sort of work falls under ‘permitted development’, which means you don’t need Planning Permission. However, if the property is listed or within a conservation area, the local authority’s planning and conservation team will need to be contacted.
Keeping cosy
We take a whole home approach to energy efficiency so our first step is to ensure your property is insulated as much as possible. Nearly 60% of your home’s heat is lost through the walls and roof, so this can make a huge difference to your energy use.
This usually takes the form of cavity wall and loft insulation. However, some older homes still have solid walls, so cavity wall insulation isn’t an option. In these cases we may be able to use external wall insulation to prevent heat loss and reduce your energy use instead.
Whichever form of insulation is suitable for your home, once it's installed you will use less energy, helping you to keep your home cosy throughout the winter. We can also then look at other measures to improve your home’s energy-efficiency.
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A lot of the heat that’s lost from your home escapes through the loft and walls, so adding insulation is one of the best ways to reduce your energy bills, without touching the thermostat.
There are a number of different types of insulation available to keep your home warm. Many houses can have cavity wall insulation, which fills the gap between the inner and outer layer of bricks.
Homes past a certain age are less likely to have cavity walls, but in these cases we may be able to help by fitting external wall insulation.
Due to heat rising, a significant amount is lost through the roof, which is why loft insulation is so effective, acting as a blanket to keep the heat where it belongs.
Whichever form of insulation works best for your home, once it’s in place you will need less energy to heat your house, helping you to keep cosy throughout the colder months. And as an added benefit it will act as a barrier to keep heat out during the summer months!
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If your house doesn’t have gas central heating we could supply you with an air source heat pump, and also pay for the installation, plus wall and loft insulation if required. Air source heat pumps work by using heat from the outside air to heat your home and hot water, even at temperatures as low as -15°C.
Air source heat pumps do use electricity to run, but as they extract heat from the environment, the heat output is greater than the electricity input, so they’re a far more efficient method of heating your home than electric heaters.
More information about air source heat pumps can be found here.
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A simple thing to swap, but LED bulbs use 75% less energy than standard incandescent lighting and are even more efficient than energy-saving bulbs which only save 25% energy. LEDs also last a lot longer, with an average lifespan of 25,000 hours.
Assistance Schemes and Grants
