City of York Council and E.ON are delivering £2.23m of energy efficiency measures to homeowners and tenants who rent their home from a private landlord.
The government’s Green Homes Funding grants are for households with a total income of £30,000 or less, who live in a property with a low energy efficiency rating. Eligible homeowners could be awarded up to £10,000 of free energy-saving measures. For tenants of privately rented properties, the landlord will need to give permission and will be required to contribute a third of the cost of the works with a maximum grant of £5,000.
Applicants’ total household income must be £30,000 or less, or someone in the home receives a means-tested benefit such as Universal Credit or Income Support. An applicant’s home must also have an EPC energy efficiency rating of D, E, F or G.
Eligible residents can apply for these grants to cover a variety of energy-saving installations. These could include fitting exterior wall and underfloor insulation, fitting air source heat pumps and solar photovoltaic panels to generate electricity.
The grants are a result of the council’s successful bid for funding to help pay for energy efficiency measures to be fitted in York homes.
Cllr Denise Craghill, Executive Member for Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods, said: “Our partner, E.ON is now welcoming applications for this grant funding. If you think you are eligible contact E.ON directly. They will assess your home and offer advice on the best measures to install. These measures will improve your home so that it uses less energy, is cheaper to heat and will reduce its carbon emissions, benefitting both present and future generations.”
Cllr Paula Widdowson, executive member for Environment and Climate Change, commented: “Installing new energy efficiency measures will significantly update and improve the city’s housing. Besides helping with fuel bills now while improving their homes’ comfort levels, upgrading for free now will help to future-proof homes for many years to come, help prepare residents for future utility bill hikes and make homes ready for stricter carbon targets.”
Sarah Farmer, Director of Residential Solutions at E.ON, added: “Improving the energy efficiency of homes is not only key to meeting the nation’s net zero targets, but it can also dramatically improve people’s living conditions by helping to make their homes warmer and reduce their energy use.
“We’re really pleased to be bringing these benefits to households across York, as we work with the council to install energy efficiency measures in the homes of eligible residents.”
