‘Boris Boilers’ £400 cashback scheme for Londoners
London mayor Boris Johnson has fired a starting gun on boiler replacement in London. The London Boiler Cashback Scheme will provide 6,500 of the capital’s owner occupiers and accredited landlords each with £400 cashback when they replace an old, inefficient boiler.
The scheme, launched on 2 February, is being administered by the Energy Saving Trust (EST), which managed the previous hugely successful central government boiler scrappage scheme in 2010.
Homeowners and private landlords can apply for £400 cashback, which they will receive after their new boiler or other eligible renewable technology has been installed. In order to be eligible:
- Properties must be homes in London
- Only homeowners or private residential landlords accredited with the Mayor’s London Rental Standard can apply
- Boilers being replaced must be old and inefficient, typically Band G (70 per cent or less efficient), over 15 years old, and gas, oil, LPG or solid fuel. They must also be in working order and be the main heat source in the home
- Replacements must be a gas boiler that is at least 90 per cent efficient (Band A) or an eligible low-carbon heating technology, including an air source or ground source heat pump, solar thermal combined with an eligible boiler replacement, boilers with a passive flue heat recovery device, or A-rated oil boilers.
- Installation must be carried out by a Gas Safe engineer or, in the case of renewable technologies, by an MCS-certified installer or equivalent, or a member of a competent person scheme such as Oftec or Hetas.
- Electric heaters, oil, solid fuel and multi-fuel boilers, where solid fuel is a component, biomass boilers, and micro-CHP are NOT eligible. An existing gas boiler cannot be replaced with an oil boiler.
The scheme runs broadly as the 2010 boiler scrappage scheme did, and there are five main steps:
- Before applying for the scheme a prospective applicant must check the efficiency and type of their current boiler. They will also need to get a quote from an accredited installer.
- When applying for the scheme applicants must complete the online application form. They must provide their details, the make and model of their current boiler, their bank details and the details of the installer that gave them the quote, along with their accreditation or registration number. If the applicant is a landlord, they will also need to confirm with which organisation they, or the agent managing their property, are accredited.
- Receiving their £400 cashback voucher. Once an applicant has completed the application, provided that funds are still available, they will receive an email confirming that they have been successful and have been issued with a cashback voucher. Vouchers are valid for 12 weeks from the date of issue. Applicants must pay for the installation before receiving the cashback.
- Installing their new boiler or renewable heating system. The installation does not need to be done done by the same installer who quoted for the work.
- Claiming the £400 cashback. The applicant will need to send in the voucher, confirmation of installation, the invoice marked ‘paid’ and all other information as set out in the terms and conditions. This arrive within 10 working days of the voucher expiry date.
The ‘Boris Boilers’ scheme is expected to be extremely popular and the £2.6 million funding is likely to be exhausted quickly. A waiting list will operate after this has been allocated, and any vouchers not used within 12 weeks will released to other applicants.
Robust mechanisms are in place to minimise fraud and ensure quality of installation, including checks on the installer, the boiler, the property and relevant accreditation.
