Warmer Homes Scotland
Warmer Homes Scotland aims to help low-income and vulnerable homeowners and private sector tenants improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Measures available include improvements in central heating systems, insulation improvements, draught proofing and installation of renewable technologies.
If you are a private tenant and your landlord has statutory duties under the statutory Repairing Standard (see here), you cannot receive measures that your landlord is legally obliged to provide. You are still eligible for other measures available under the scheme if they are recommended for the property – eg, renewables. To be eligible:
•you must be the homeowner or a private tenant and live in the property as your main residence and have lived there for at least six months (unless you have a DS1500 certificate); and
•the property must have an energy rating of 64 or lower and must not be more than 230 square metres in floor size; and
•the property must meet the tolerable living standard (see here) set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. If it does not, this must not impact on the effectiveness of the measures recommended for installation under the scheme; and •you must not have received support for energy efficiency measures through Warmer Homes Scotland or HEEPS in the last five years.
At least one of the following must also apply:1Reg 6 HEAS(S) Regs •you (or a member of your household or your partner) are aged 60 or over and have no working heating system and get a qualifying benefit (also known as a ’passport’ benefit – see below);
•you are aged over 75 and get a qualifying benefit;
•you are pregnant and/or have a child under 16 and get a qualifying benefit;
•you get:
◦personal independent payment (PIP) or adult disability payment (ADP) at any rate; or
◦disability living allowance (DLA) or child disability payment (CDP) (care or mobility component) at the highest rate; or
◦DLA (care or mobility component) at the lowest/middle rate and be in receipt of an income-related benefit;
•you get carer’s allowance (CA);
•you get armed forces independence payment or war disablement pension;
•you get industrial injuries disablement benefit.
Qualifying benefits
The qualifying benefits for the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme are:
- armed forces independence payment;
- attendance allowance;
- CA;
- council tax reduction;
- DLA/CDP (care or mobility component) at the highest rate or PIP/ADP;
- industrial injuries disablement benefit;
- pension credit guarantee credit;
- universal credit (UC) or a benefit UC is replacing – ie, income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, housing benefit, child tax credit or working tax credit;
- war disablement pension.
To make an application, call Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 or use the contact form at .