With energy bills hiking and inflation making everyday essentials less affordable, many households are really feeling the full effect of the cost of living crisis. If you don’t claim any form of income-related benefits, yet are still on a low income and are struggling to keep your home warm as we enter the colder months, then you may be eligible for partially or fully funded heating support through your local council.
We’ve put together this brief guide explaining what ECO4 heating support is and how you may be able to benefit from it through your local authority.
What is ECO4 Funding?
The ECO4 scheme is a government backed scheme that offers funded heating support to low income households that live in fuel poverty. This means that the energy efficiency rating of their home must be rated at an E or lower, with this being part of the eligibility criteria for support. In order to qualify, you must also be receiving some form of income-related benefits.
However, if you do not receive income-related benefits, you may still qualify for support under the LA Flex Funding scheme (Local Authority Flexibility Eligibility), which is determined by your local council.
Local Authority Flexible Eligibility (LA FLEX)
The LA Flex Funding scheme is designed to help homeowners who aren’t receiving any type of financial aid, but are still grappling with a tight budget or living in an area of fuel poverty to improve the energy efficiency of their home and reduce their vulnerability to the effects of living in the cold.
This scheme allows councils to extend the eligibility criteria for those who can obtain support in their catchment area based on certain factors, which they will outline in a Statement of Intent. This provides several eligibility routes, with the aim of improving the least energy efficient homes in the area as a contribution to meeting the Government’s fuel poverty and net zero commitments.
Each authority uses local knowledge and regional experts to identify the households that are most likely to require support and those that would most benefit from energy efficiency upgrades in their area.
The amount of funding offered varies depending on a number of factors. Firstly, it is worth noting that only those in private tenure can receive support. For eligible homeowners, up to £10,000 may be offered towards the funding of energy efficiency measures, however this is capped at 50% (£5,000) for those in homes with an EPC rating of D.
As for landlords with eligible tenants, these can apply for up to £5,000 towards the cost of the same energy efficiency improvements, although they may be required to contribute up to a third of the cost. This means that landlords could get up to £7,500 worth of improvements installed for a maximum contribution of £2,500. They may also wish to agree to additional improvement works at their own expense.
UK Energy Management
If you don’t believe that you qualify for ECO4 funding under the general eligibility criteria, you may still qualify for support through the LA Flex scheme.
Get in touch with us here at UK Energy Management for help determining what support could be available to you.
