Heating Grants Middlesbrough: Local Grant and BUS

Middlesbrough is one of the councils taking part in the Warm Homes: Local Grant. Its Executive agreed to join on 12 November 2025, and Darlington Borough Council delivers the scheme on Middlesbrough's behalf.

Alongside it, national schemes help with heat pumps and some boiler replacements.

Middlesbrough at a glance

How homes are heated: 80.3% of Middlesbrough households heat with mains gas only and 5.9% with electricity only. 9.4% use two or more types of heating. Just 54 households (0.1%) rely on oil alone, and 1.2% have no central heating. Source
Tenure: 21.0% of Middlesbrough households rented privately in 2021 and 23.2% from a social landlord. 28.6% owned outright and 26.4% had a mortgage. Source
Local grant: Middlesbrough Council's Executive agreed on 12 November 2025 to join the Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme, with Darlington Borough Council delivering it on Middlesbrough's behalf. Source
Heat pump grant: The Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 towards an air or ground source heat pump, £2,500 towards air-to-air, and an extra £1,500 until March 2027 for homes on oil or LPG with no mains gas. Source
ECO4: ECO4, the supplier-funded scheme for lower-income homes, runs until 31 December 2026. Source
Energy ratings: About 48% of homes with an EPC in Middlesbrough 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

Warm Homes: Local Grant

It covers improvements like insulation, heat pumps, solar panels and smart controls. The home must be privately owned, by you or a landlord, with an EPC rating of D to G. Household income must usually be £36,000 or less, but some benefits or postcodes qualify regardless.

Apply through the GOV.UK form. If funding is available, the council arranges a survey, usually contacting you within 10 working days.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Owners and landlords can get £7,500 off an air or ground source heat pump or £2,500 off air-to-air. There's no income test. The MCS installer claims it. See our Boiler Upgrade Scheme guide.

ECO4

Energy suppliers fund insulation and heating for lower-income homes under ECO4 until 31 December 2026. Ask your supplier if you qualify.

The Great British Insulation Scheme ran alongside ECO4 but finished at the end of March 2026.

Spotting scams

No genuine scheme asks for a fee to check eligibility. If someone calls offering a free boiler for an upfront charge, hang up.

Middlesbrough homes and what they need

Victorian and Edwardian terraces

Solid-walled terraces are often EPC D or E. Internal wall insulation and loft insulation are likely measures.

Interwar and postwar semis

Cavity wall and loft insulation come first, then a heat pump with the national grant. Semis are the most common home type in the borough, 42.3% of households, so this is the route most local applicants take.

Newer estates on the southern edge

Usually EPC B or C, so outside the local grant, but still eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Areas covered

Engineers who cover Middlesbrough work across areas including Linthorpe, Acklam, Marton, Nunthorpe, Coulby Newham, Ormesby, Hemlington, Thornaby, Redcar and Guisborough.

View Middlesbrough on Google Maps

Questions people in Middlesbrough ask

I rent. Can I apply?

Private tenants can apply, but the landlord must agree and may have to pay part of the cost. Social tenants are usually covered by their landlord's own programmes.

Is the Tees Valley Warm Homes Fund still open?

That was a separate earlier scheme. Check Middlesbrough Council's website for its current status.

I live in Thornaby or Redcar. Does this apply?

Those areas are in Stockton-on-Tees and Redcar and Cleveland. The GOV.UK form routes you to the right council.

Sources

Also nearby: Heating grants in Sunderland, Heating grants in Newcastle, Heating grants in York

All heating grants locations →