Government Grants For A Home -Why Your Application Was Rejected!
Government Grants For A Home -Why Your Application Was Rejected!
Have you ever applied for a Government Eco grant for Free Insulation or Free Heating (those above ) in the past and not heard anything back from anyone.
Have you ever had a survey from one of these compaies and then never heard anything again?
YOU ARE IN GOOD COMPANY!
This blog will lift the lid on this phenomenon and explain all the ins and outs of why this happens on a VERY regular basis.
Familiar Scenario
- You will have probably seen all the fancy FaceBook Ads promising A Free Boiler Or Free Solar / Heat pumps blah blah blah and thought Ill have some of that.
- You visit the website and take a few minutes of your time to fill out a survey from and divulge all your personal details including date of birth, phone numbers and addresses.
- You have lovely dreams about how the new Free boiler / Free insulation etc will make your life complete and much money you will save with reduced heating bills.
- You then wait and wait and wait to hear back from the company only to realise after a few months that you are not going to get anything , not even the courtesy of a response.
Are These Government Grant Schemes A Con?
No. To put your mind at rest, these schemes are very real and all the installers , participants in the running of the scheme are very genuine and are acting in good faith when dealing with all applications and personal data and surveys etc.
In over 10 years experience on these schemes, I have not heard of any people being the victim of fraud / identity theft as a result of applying for a grant so be assured that your pesonal data has been protected or deleted.
See The Affordable Warmth Obligation, page on Gov Uk .
How Many Grant Applications Are Successful?
Why Do Gov UK Grant Applications Fail?
Unfortunately, these government schemes for heating & insulation are purely set up with government statistics at the very forefront.
Saving as much carbon as possible so that carbon targets are met is always the priority.
Many applicants are found not to qualify usually because:
- High EPC Rating
- They do not receive a qualifying benefit.
- They live in a non-qualifying property – i.e social housing , housing association, charity owned home
- Funding restrictions based on the property type & number of bedrooms.
- Age of heating to be upgraded is too new.
- Cherry Picking by installers – unprofitable jobs sent to the back of the queue or were quietly deleted.
- Eco Installer is of poor quality.
- Enough said.
What Are Gov UK Warm Front Grants ?
Government Grants for Heating & Insulation has been around for over 20 years in 1 shape or another and many thousands of people on low income benefits have enjoyed upgrades at little or no cost.
Without this useful spending of public money, many homes would still be in fuel poverty and be suffering increasing fuel bills on a yearly basis.
Ofgem have stipulated that only people on low income benefits (homeowners or private tenants) that were in fuel poverty should benefit from heating & insulation upgrades as they would not be able to afford the required costs involved which could run into thousands of pounds.
The Scheme is still ongoing for 2022 with all Eco funding being aimed at a whole house approach with heating & insulation being upgraded at the same time in order to maximise carbon savings and meet government climate targets.
Government Grants The list is not exhaustive.
- Heating Grants
- Boiler Grants
- Free Central Heating
- Free Insulation
- Free Storage Heaters
Government Grants For The Private Rental Sector
Some boilers and storage heaters particularly those in rental properties were in desperate need of replacement but many landlords were unwilling to invest in such a large purchase and so these properties had massive heating bills for their tenants.
This scheme was probably the only opportunity that many tenants had to upgrade their old heating.
Unfortunately, there is very little funding now for private rentals with boilers and storage heater grants now being withdrawn and landlords are expected to upgrade their own heating (apart from first time central heating.)
Why Was Your Application Rejected ?
The criteria for grant eligibility is very strict with the government changing the goal posts quite regularly over the years.
The government do set out strict guidelines which have to be met by all applicants in order to enable access to public money.
Sometimes these rules are very unfair but there does not seem to be an appeals process and very little consultation either unfortunately.
The current Eco 4 scheme is the most difficult yet being a whole house approach for E-F- & G rated homes only.
We do advise you purchase a lottery ticket instead of applying for a grant as the odds are much better.
Wasted Time On Surveys
There have been many thousands (possibly over 1million ) of failed applications for a Grants over the last 10 years.
This means that there are thousands of household surveys undertaken every year which do not result in any benefit for the installers or applicants.
All People Working On These Schemes Are Usually Self Employed And Are only Paid On Successful Installs – No Install = No Payment.
Intrusive Survey For No Reward
All applicants will have gone through what is quite a very intrusive process.
They will:
- Have provided access to their personal details including name, address, dates of birth and provided benefits letters etc.
- Have filled in all the necessary paperwork.
- Have allowed surveyors into their property to measure up and taken photos of all their rooms and lofts.
1 Heating Grants — Common Failures
At the time of writing there is little or no funding for the following heating measures.
- Oil boilers – NO FUNDING
- LPG boilers – NO FUNDING
- Warm Air Heating – NOT ENOUGH FUNDING
- High EPC Rating
2 – Boiler Grant Scheme – Common Rejections
- High EPC Rating
- Property type has low funding – flats, mid terraced, maisonettes, park homes, other small ones.
- Boiler age – need to be over 18 yrs old
- Property unable to have an insulation measure to go with it.
3 – Free Central Heating– Common Rejections
- High EPC Rating
- Property type has low funding – flats, mid terraced, maisonettes, park homes, other small ones. Customer contribution needed .
- The property has had central heating fitted in the past.
- Property does not have gas in the area
- No gas meter fitted
4 -Storage Heater Grant Applications – Common Rejections
- High EPC Rating
- Property type has low funding – flats, mid terraced, maisonettes, park homes, other small ones.
- Property is privately rented
5 -Free Insulation – Common Failures
- Property type has low funding – flats, mid terraced, maisonettes, park homes, other small ones.
- Property is gas heated
· EPC states existing insulation is satisfactory
- High EPC Rating
Which Grant Applications Have a High Risk Of Being Rejected?
Applications from small properties & Gas Heated Properties are virtually worthless and most of these application are forwarded to the Recycling Department (Dustbin) on a daily basis
This department is highly manned by most eco companies and does keep lots of people in work by sorting “No Value Applications” which do make up the majority of claims!
Listed Buildings / Conservation Areas
These properties have a very poor conversion rate and most applications are rejected.
This is due to applications being subject to council permissions , extra work to comply with council planning and regulations etc.
In the past these applications have resulted in extra costs for the installer which has not made the job viable .
Attempts to get a contribution from the applicant is a virtual no go as the “FREE ONLY BRIGADE ” have proven to be very reluctant to put their hands in their pockets!
PLEASE DO NOT APPLY IF YOU LIVE IN A CONSERVATION AREA OR IN A LISTED BUILDING AS YOU WILL BE REJECTED.!
No Communication On Survey Results
In many cases a lot of clients had all the surveys and then …………………….SILENCE.
It does seem that many Eco companies have falled shy of informing the client of a failed application and the client is left wondering.
Many are reluctant to have the difficult conversation with the client especially as they know the client is going to be very unhappy.
It is little wonder that lots of people do believe that these grants are a scam and who can blame them.
Conclusion – More funding for Smaller Properties Please
As previously stated these Government grant schemes have always been about reducing carbon emissions to assist government statistics and not about helping people in fuel poverty.
The funding is always targeted ( UNFAIRLY ) at the larger houses in the UK and always will be until Joe Public catch on to this and start gluing themselves to the motorways.
Until Ofgem & BEIS change their policy regarding smaller properties, it will be more of the same unfortunately and lots more people will lose confidence in these government schemes.
Do try again as you may be lucky this time !
RTFM
Lots of people seem to apply for the various Government Eco grants available for Free Heating & Insulation without bothering to read the very strict criteria .
Indeed, some applicants choose to phone in to our helpline and become rather quite irate that they have applied and heard nothing back !
Most people seem to read FREE on the website and fill in an application form thinking they will automatically qualify! 🙂
RTFM!
We have prepared this simple checklist ( if anyone can be bothered to read it) to assist people to check their eligibility BEFORE applying.
Finally – Are These Gov Uk Grants A Con?
No. To put your mind at rest, these schemes are very real and all the installers , participants in the running of the scheme are very genuine and are acting in good faith when dealing with all applications and personal data and surveys etc.
In over 10 years experience on these schemes, I have not heard of any people being the victim of fraud / identity theft as a result of applying for a grant so be assured that your pesonal data has been protected or deleted.
See The Affordable Warmth Obligation, page on Gov Uk .
