Home Heating grants Bolton
Heating grants in Bolton
What's available to Bolton households and how to apply.
Bolton's local energy grant is not run by Bolton Council. In Greater Manchester, the Combined Authority received the Warm Homes: Local Grant funding and runs it across all ten boroughs, and for Bolton its own Local Grant Team handles enquiries directly.
On top of that, the national Boiler Upgrade Scheme is open to Bolton homeowners regardless of income.
Bolton at a glance
- How homes are heated
- 81.0% of Bolton households heat with mains gas only and 6.8% with electricity only. 643 homes are on a heat network, 402 use tank or bottled gas and 250 use oil only. 1,747 households (1.5%) had no central heating. Source
- Tenure
- 61.5% of households own their home, a third (33.2%) outright. 19.8% rent social housing, more than half of it from the council, and 18.0% rent privately. Source
- Local grant
- Bolton is covered by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority's Warm Homes: Local Grant, run in selected low-income areas. Bolton residents contact the GMCA Local Grant Team directly. Gas and oil boilers are not funded. Source
- Energy ratings
- About 49% of homes with an EPC in Bolton are rated band D or below (median score 69, band C), against 47% across England. Based on certificates lodged in the 10 years to March 2025. Source
How the GMCA scheme works in Bolton
The scheme targets selected neighbourhoods in the two lowest income deciles of the 2025 deprivation index. It's not open to every address in Bolton, and delivery officers contact eligible households in those areas. If you think you qualify, you can email the GMCA Local Grant Team to ask.
Owner-occupied homes must have an EPC rating of D to G. Owners can get up to £15,000 for insulation and other energy performance measures, and up to £15,000 for low-carbon heating such as a heat pump, capped at £30,000 in total. Gas and oil boilers are not funded.
Officers carry photo ID. Ask to see it before letting anyone in.
Private landlords
Privately rented homes rated D or E can qualify, as can F or G homes with a registered exemption. Landlords must support the Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter. The first property gets full funding; second and later properties get 50%, up to £7,500 each.
Heat pump grant for any income
Anyone replacing fossil fuel heating with a heat pump can get £7,500 off an air or ground source heat pump. An MCS certified installer applies on your behalf. Homes on oil or LPG with no mains gas get an extra £1,500 until March 2027.
Bolton homes and what they need
Mill-era brick and stone terraces
Solid-walled terraces often have low EPC ratings, which brings them into scope for wall insulation under the GMCA scheme.
Interwar and post-war semis
Semis with space outside are good candidates for a heat pump under the national grant.
Newer estates on the edges of town
Newer homes usually rate EPC C or better, so they're less likely to qualify for the local grant.
Areas covered
Engineers who cover Bolton work across areas including Farnworth, Horwich, Westhoughton, Little Lever, Kearsley, Astley Bridge, Harwood, Breightmet, Bromley Cross and Egerton.
Questions people in Bolton ask
Will Bolton Council help me apply?
Grant enquiries for Bolton go to the GMCA Local Grant Team rather than the council.
Someone called offering a free boiler. Is it genuine?
Treat it with suspicion. The GMCA scheme doesn't fund gas boilers, and genuine schemes never charge to check whether you qualify.
Sources
Also nearby: Heating grants in Manchester, Heating grants in Preston, Heating grants in Warrington, Heating grants in Liverpool