Free Boiler For OAPs – Who DOES NOT Qualify
If You Have Applied For A Free Boiler In The Past And Not Heard Anything Back – You Probably Do Not Qualify!
Times Have Changed and The Days When All Boilers Were Exchanged Have Now Gone!
The Government Are Very Strict Now With This Criteria So Please Read Carefully.
We Put You Out Of Your misery By Telling You Why You Do Not Qualify For A Free Boiler.
Our Blog Will Put You Right On Who Exactly Qualifies 100% For A Free Boiler And Who Has No Chance At All!
Free Boiler For Pensioners – Who DOES NOT Qualify
We Are Now Rejecting Over 80% Of All Free Boiler Applications Unfortunately.
Most People Are Not Bothering To Read The Full Criteria And So are Quite Offended When They Receive A Rejection Email From Us.
This blog is the most detailed one on the internet on The Free Boiler Scheme for non qualifying applications.
Why You Do Not Qualify
We Give You A Complete Breakdown Of All Reasons Above For Not Being Eligible.
The Government Have Made It Super Hard After 10 Years Of The Free Boiler Scheme And In Some Cases , Rightly So.
No More 5 Year Old Boilers Being Exchanged Anymore As Lots Of People Took The Piss Out Of The Scheme Because They Were Getting Something For Nothing.
See Below List For Full Info.
BOILER TYPES THAT DO NOT QUALIFY
❌ You Have A High Efficient Condensing Boiler Fitted
❌You Have A Low Scoring Non Condensing Boiler ( Combi)
❌ You have An Electric Boiler – These Are Not Covered Under A Pas Annex and so cannot be given a Trustmark Certificate
BENEFITS THAT DO NOT QUALIFY
❌ You Are Not Claiming A Benefit
❌ You Are Claiming Disability Benefits
❌ You Are On Child Benefit With A High Income
MISC THAT DOES NOT QUALIFY
❌Your Home Epc Is A- B – C – D
❌ YOU HAVE SOLAR PANELS FITTED
❌ You Will Not Have Insulation / Ventilation Installed As Part Of The Grant.
PROPERTY TYPES / HOUSING THAT DO NOT QUALIFY
❌You Are A Private Tenant / Landlord
❌ You Live In A Listed Building
❌ You Live In The Republic Of Ireland / Northern Ireland
❌Your Home Belongs To A Charity Trust
❌ You Are A Housing Association / Social Housing Tenant
❌ You Live In A Mobile Home / Park Home.
❌ You Live In A 1 Bed Flat / Studio Flat
❌ You Live on A High Storey Flat
Your Home Epc Is A- B – C – D
Boiler Grants are only available to the worst rated energy efficient homes which are E -F – G.
All ABCD rated homes are being rejected.
Please See Our Epc Rating Page For Details Of How You Can Access Your Home EPC
Please Note – If your home does not have an EPC lodged , you can apply for the grant and an EPC will be carried out on your behalf as part of the grant.
You Have A Condensing Boiler Fitted
Boilers Have To Below 86.7 % Efficiency to be eligible for The Free Boiler Exchange
Condensing boilers are boilers that are highly efficient and were usually fitted AFTER 2005 .
The government will not allow these to be changed on the grant under any circumstances, even if they are completely broken.
You Have A Low Scoring Non Condensing Boiler ( Combi)
Some non condensing boilers after being surveyed do not achieve the desired EPR (energy performance rating ) as prescribed by the Government and so are rejected due to insufficient funding levels.
You Have An Electric Boiler Fitted
For some reason the government do not wish to give grants to homes with an electric boiler fitted.
You Are A Private Tenant / Landlord
The private rented sector are no longer eligible to apply for the free boiler scheme.
The government stopped the PRS from applying back in 2017 stating that it was up to private landlords to supply heating and not the tax payer.
You Live In A Listed Building
Whilst listed buildings are eligible for grant funding under Eco 4, most installers shy away from them due to the massive hoops they have to jump through to comply with listed regulations.
We have not known of many listed buildings that have successfully had Eco measures in the past as the extra effort to comply will eat into installer profits.
If you have a listed building, you will probably be rejected once our installers have done a land registry check.
You Live In The Republic Of Ireland / Northern Ireland
The whole of Ireland does not qualify for any Eco 4 grants. Eco 4 grants include free boilers and insulation.
Ireland does have its own scheme but we believe it is very limited.
There is massive demand for Oil Boiler Grants in Ireland but nothing available.

Your Home Belongs To A Charity Trust
For some reason the government do not wish to give grants to homes that are owned by charities.
You Are A Housing Association / Social Housing Tenant
All HAs and council owned homes cannot have any Eco 4 measures on this website. The councils and Housing Associations have their own schemes and prefer to do the whole street or flats in one go.
You Live In A Mobile Home / Park Home.
Park Homes do not qualify for any grants unfortunately.
Massive demand from Park Homes for external wall insulation and heating measures too. They are usually off the gas grid so are very expensive to heat.
We have up to 5 applications from Park Homes every week but are unable to action them.
You Live In A 1 Bed Flat / Studio Flat
These small properties attract very little funding so installers usually give them a wide berth. It is time the Government stopped discriminating against small properties and made all properties equal when it comes to financing Eco measures. Small properties have been passed over for many years due to low carbon savings.
Installers are only interested in the big payers in Eco so greed always prevails.
You Are Not Claiming A Benefit
Whilst you can get a free boiler in some parts of the Uk without being on a benefit, Warm Front has chosen to reject most non benefit applications.
The scheme for non benefit applications is called LA Flex and we find that a lot of councils are not very interested in partaking and have not bothered to post a statement of intent that shows their criteria for funding.
You Are Claiming Disability Benefits /Other Benefits That Do Not Qualify.
All disability benefits were removed from qualifying for Eco 4 measures from March 2022. All Benefits listed below are no longer eligible for a Free Boiler.
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Severe Disability Allowance
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- War Pensions Mobility Supplement
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
You Are On Child Benefit With A High Income
If Child Benefit is the only benefit you receive, your income needs to be below :
Single Parents
1 Child – £19,900 – 2 Children – £24,800 – 3 Children – £29,600 – 4+ Children – £34,500
Parents living as a couple
1 Child – £27,500 – 2 Children – £32,300 – 3 Children – £37,200 – 4+ Children – £42,000
You Will Not Have Insulation / Ventilation Installed As Part Of The Grant.
Insulation And Ventilation Is Mandatory For all Free Boiler Applicants.
You Will Not Get A Free Boiler If You Do Not Have Your Home Insulated.
Free Boiler Scheme – Which Boilers Do Not Qualify?
Lots Of Free Boiler Applications Are Being Rejected in 2024.
ALL CONDENSING BOILERS ( Boilers Fitted AFTER 2005) ARE NOT ELIGIBLE SORRY
The Days When Perfectly Working Newish Boilers Were Exchanged On The Free Boiler Scheme ( Because It Was Free ) Have Now Gone!
You Now Have More Chance Of Meeting The Pope Than Getting A Boiler For Free On The Eco Scheme.
Why Are Condensing Boilers Not Eligible?
The government do not wish to change condensing boilers under the Eco 4 Grant. They will now only fund the replacement of back boilers or non condensing boilers.
The Government has decided that only the worst and inefficient boilers can be exchanged under the free grant scheme.
Non condensers will be over 19 years old and will be coming to the end of their useful life so it does make sense to prioritise these boilers for exchange.
List Of Popular Boilers That DO NOT Qualify
Since 2005, regulations have required all new domestic boilers sold in the UK to be condensing boilers. This means there are many models available from various manufacturers. Here are some popular condensing boilers from 2005 onwards that ARE NOT ELIGIBLE for the Free Boiler Scheme. The List Is Not Exhaustive.
- Ideal Isar – Ideal Icos
- Ideal Logic Series
- Baxi 105 Series
- Worcester Bosch Greenstar Series
- Worcester Junior
- Vaillant Eco Tec
- Viessmann Vitodens series
- Glow-Worm Energy Saver series
How do I know if my boiler is condensing?
1 – Check your pipework UNDER the boiler. If you have a white plastic pipe ( see pic below – pipe is marked in blue ) then your boiler is condensing.
This plastic pipe carries condensate away from the boiler to an outside drain or soakaway.
2 – INSTALL DATE – If your boiler was installed after April 2005, new regulations came into place stating that all boilers manufactured / fitted after this date had to be condensing.

What is a condensing boiler?
A condensing boiler usually is a boiler that has been fitted after 2005 that is the most efficient one on the market.
They usually run on gas or oil and has been designed to help improve energy efficiency. This is done by converting water vapor condensation into heat which is recovered from some of the lost heat from waste gases.
These new boilers can achieve over 90% energy efficiency and are now mandatory when replacing a gas boiler.
Condensing boilers were introduced in 2005 when it became law to only manufacture them so outlawing non condensers.
My Condensing Boiler Is Completely Broken, Can I Apply For a Free Boiler?
No. If your boiler is condensing, you are not eligible under any circumstances.
You will need to either get it fixed or bite the bullet and pay for a new one.
How does a condensing boiler work?
Condensing boilers are designed to recover more heat before it is lost.
Your boiler will use either gas or oil as fuel to heat your home.
The fuel begins to burn when lit and the heat that is generated is transferred to a metal heat exchanger.
The heat generated travels through the heat exchanger to heat up your radiators.
The heat travels through a secondary condensing area, where the warm air condenses, giving out some extra heat.
For this reason you can get over 90% efficiency as opposed to 70% with non condensing boilers.
what Is The Difference Between condensing and combi boilers ?
Condensing boilers and combi boilers are related but not exactly the same.
A lot of people think they are both the same thing.
- Condensing Boilers: These are highly energy-efficient boilers that capture and recycle water vapor produced during heating.
- This process extracts additional heat which would have been wasted going up the flue.
- Combi Boilers:
- These are a type of condensing boiler that provide both heating and hot water directly from the mains. They don’t require a separate water tank or cylinder, which saves space.
In A nutshell , all modern combi boilers are condensing boilers, but not all condensing boilers are combi boilers.
Why Do condensing boilers produce water ( Condensate) ?
In operation, the warm air condenses, causing water vapor to occur.
This vapor turns to liquid which is then removed to an outside drain as waste.
In older non condensing boilers, the heat leaving the flue can be over 200 degrees Celsius.
However new condensing boilers reduce this heat loss to around 55 degrees Celsius.