Boiler Replacement Scheme

Who qualifies

• Historically: owner-occupiers with household income under £40,000 and a boiler at least 15 years old
• No new applications are being accepted

What it covers

Previously funded replacing an old boiler with an efficient condensing oil or gas boiler, or switching to gas.

How it works

Because its income limit was far higher than Affordable Warmth's, the scheme covered many households that now have no grant option for a new boiler. That is why it still turns up in searches, and on websites that haven't been updated.

The Department for Communities announced on 21 September 2023 that the scheme had ended "due to budgetary constraints". The Housing Executive continued to replace boilers for people who had already received formal approval, and contacted applicants whose applications could not be processed.

There has been no announcement of it reopening. Its eventual successor for low-income homes is the planned Warm Healthy Homes Fund, which would replace heating only where a home assessment finds it inefficient or beyond repair, and proposes an air-source heat pump as the main option.

What to do instead

1. If your household income is under £23,000 — or £35,000 where someone gets a disability benefit — apply to the Affordable Warmth Scheme through the NI Energy Advice Service on 0800 111 4455. A replacement oil or gas boiler is one of the measures it funds.
2. If you're on a means-tested benefit, or your income is under £28,000 (single) or £35,000 (couple or family), check the current year's NISEP schemes for heating upgrades.
3. If neither applies, there's currently no general boiler grant in NI. Get at least three quotes, and use an OFTEC-registered engineer for oil or a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas.

Many websites still list this scheme as open. It isn't — check the Housing Executive's grants page for the current position.

Watch out for

• Out-of-date websites — and some installers — still advertise "the £1,000 boiler grant". It closed in 2023.
• The GB Boiler Upgrade Scheme isn't a substitute: it covers England and Wales only.

Questions people ask

Will the Boiler Replacement Scheme reopen?

There has been no announcement of it reopening. The Warm Healthy Homes Fund, planned for 2027, is designed to replace the Affordable Warmth Scheme for low-income households.

I was approved before it closed — is my boiler still being replaced?

The Department said the Housing Executive would continue to replace boilers for customers who had already received formal approval. If you were approved and haven't heard anything, contact the Housing Executive.

Not sure this is the right scheme?

Run the one-minute eligibility check

Other schemes