Free heat pump for flats in Manchester, if eligible: how it works locally

If you own or let a flat in Manchester and want to know whether a free heat pump is realistic, this guide sets out what the Boiler Upgrade Scheme rules say, what ByEco’s free survey checks, and what we could not find in the sources. For the national picture of when a heat pump may be free, see our guides to free heat pumps for flats, free heat pumps for 1 and 2 bedroom flats and a landlord’s rented flat.

Can a Manchester flat get a free heat pump, if eligible?

It may, if your flat is eligible. The scheme does not hand you a heat pump. It pays a fixed grant to the installer, who must take that grant off the quote before you pay anything. If the quote for your flat is no more than the grant there may be nothing left to pay, and if it is more you would pay the difference. Which applies depends on your flat, so no honest article can promise it in advance.

The scheme is the same in Manchester as anywhere else in England and Wales. We found nothing in GOV.UK, Ofgem’s guidance or the regulations that treats Manchester differently, and we have not looked for any council scheme, so this guide covers the national grant only. The first step is a free survey, which tells you whether your flat is eligible and what, if anything, would be left to pay, before you commit to anything.

ByEco in Manchester: where we are and where we work

ByEco is based at 12–14 Midland Street, Manchester M12 6LB, in Ardwick. You can call 0161 710 4510; our contact page gives the lines as open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Our Manchester heat pump installer guide says Manchester is our home patch. Its section on city-centre flats is written around an outdoor unit and calls an individual air source heat pump in an apartment rarely straightforward; this guide is about the indoor unit described in the offer box above, and your survey confirms which applies to your flat.

Our service areas page says our office is in Ardwick, that we work across England and Wales, and that most of our work is within Greater Manchester. It has a local guide for each of ten areas: Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Bolton, Trafford, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Wigan and Tameside. If your flat is elsewhere in England or Wales, the same page says to tell us where you are.

The Manchester guide also notes that some developments are already on communal or district heating, in which case an individual heat pump is not the route at all. If your block has a shared heating system, say so when you get in touch.

How the Boiler Upgrade Scheme works for an eligible flat

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is a government grant for England and Wales, run by Ofgem. GOV.UK lists £7,500 towards an air source heat pump, which it says is sometimes called an air-to-water heat pump, and Ofgem’s installer guidance gives the same £7,500 for an air-to-water heat pump. GOV.UK also says you can get one grant per property.

GOV.UK describes the grant as covering part of the cost of replacing fossil fuel heating. Ofgem’s guidance says installers must deduct the full grant from the quote before any payment is made by the owner. ByEco’s offer for eligible 1 and 2 bedroom flats is described in the offer box at the top of this page. Whether anything is left to pay for your flat is confirmed in the quote you receive after the survey.

You do not apply yourself. GOV.UK says the installer applies on your behalf on the Ofgem website, and that the value of the grant is taken off the amount you pay and shown on your quotation and invoice. For the detail, read our Boiler Upgrade Scheme guide.

Who may be eligible

GOV.UK says you are eligible for a grant if both of these are true: you own the property you are applying for, and you are replacing fossil fuel heating systems such as oil, gas, electric or LPG. For a Manchester flat, the points that come up most are these.

• Owners and landlords. The ownership test includes a second home or a property you rent out to tenants. Ofgem asks an owner who does not live in the property to confirm that they have told the tenant of the impact of the installation. Our guide to heat pumps for landlords covers the practical side.
• Electric heating. Ofgem’s guidance accepts an electric heating system that does not include a heat pump, such as storage heaters, electric panel radiators or electric boilers, as the system being replaced.
• Social housing. Not eligible. The regulations exclude it, and Ofgem’s guidance describes it as homes owned or managed by councils, housing associations or other organisations providing housing at below market rent or through shared ownership schemes for people in housing need.
• Shared ownership. A shared ownership home provided by an organisation for people in housing need falls within Ofgem’s description of social housing and is not eligible. We found no source that excludes every shared ownership home as such, so say at the start if you own a share and the survey can establish how your home is classified.
• New builds. GOV.UK says most new builds are excluded, but that someone who moves into a finished new build with a fossil fuel boiler may be able to get a grant for a heat pump.
• Previous funding. A property already given government funding or support for a heat pump or biomass boiler is not eligible, and neither is one that already has a heat pump. GOV.UK also says a grant cannot be used for a hybrid system, such as a gas boiler combined with a heat pump. GOV.UK says earlier funding to make the property more energy efficient, for example by insulating it, does not rule you out.

These are the scheme’s rules, not ByEco’s. The survey is where your own flat is checked against them.

What the free survey involves

ByEco offers a free survey. Our heat pump catalogue describes the first step as a visit to measure each room and look at the walls, windows, radiators, pipework, electrics and where a unit or vents could go, followed by a room-by-room heat loss calculation and a written, itemised quote. If you are happy with it, we go ahead; there is no obligation.

There are two layers to the checking, and both are set by outside rules rather than by us:

• Eligibility. Ofgem’s guidance says that before applying, the installer must carry out an on-site assessment and be satisfied that the property and chosen technology meet all the eligibility requirements.
• Heat loss. The MCS standard for heat pump design (MIS 3005-D) says a heat load calculation should be performed on the building, and requires a heat pump selected to provide at least 100% of the calculated heat load. See what to expect from a heat pump survey.
• The quote. The installer must give you a quote that includes the grant as an upfront discount, and the quote is where you see whether anything is left to pay.

We do not state any size, noise, efficiency or hot water arrangement for a particular unit here, because those depend on the unit and the survey.

What a flat needs checking before a heat pump

The points below are the ones the sources and our own guides raise for flats. None is a scheme rule unless we say so.

• Heat loss. The heat loss calculation sets how much heat the flat needs, which is the basis for choosing a system of the right size. It is calculated for your flat, not assumed from its type.
• Where the unit goes and the wall openings. ByEco’s guide to heat pumps without an outdoor unit says an indoor air-to-water heat pump puts the whole machine inside the home and draws outside air in and out through two ducts and wall vents. It lists the trade-offs as two holes in an outside wall, short duct runs and space indoors. Whether that suits your flat is a survey question; read heat pumps without an outdoor unit.
• Your lease and the freeholder. Many flats are leasehold. We searched the GOV.UK Boiler Upgrade Scheme pages, Ofgem’s version 5.2 guidance and regulations 5, 14 and 15 for leasehold, freehold and freeholder, and none of them uses those words. So we do not say leaseholders qualify as a matter of scheme rules, and we do not say they are excluded. Your lease is a separate matter: ByEco’s indoor unit guide says wall vents may need council or freeholder consent, and the banner above says any lease or freeholder consent must be in place. Bring your lease to the survey, and read permission for a heat pump in a flat.
• Shared heating. If the block has communal or district heating, an individual heat pump may not be the route, as noted above.
• Electrics. The same MCS standard requires the installer to ensure the electricity supply is adequate for the size of heat pump. See heat pumps and your electricity supply.

What happens next

1. Get in touch for your free survey. Tell us it is a flat in Manchester or the surrounding area, what heats it now, and whether you own it outright, own a share or rent it out.
2. The survey and heat loss calculation. The installer checks eligibility and works out what your flat needs.
3. The quote. It shows the grant deducted. You decide whether to go ahead, and you can say no.
4. The application. The installer applies to Ofgem on your behalf. Ofgem emails the owner for consent, and the owner must use the link within 14 days or the application will expire and may be rejected. Ofgem will also verify your identity.
5. Ofgem decides. Ofgem issues a boiler upgrade voucher once the application is properly made, and must refuse it where it is not satisfied the conditions are met.
6. Installation. The work has to be done within the voucher’s validity, explained below.

Our step-by-step guide for an eligible flat covers installation day, and how to start an application covers the paperwork.

Why it is sensible to ask early

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is not permanent, and these are the facts the sources give us:

• Final date. The regulations say Ofgem must refuse to issue a voucher after 31 December 2029.
• Budget. Ofgem cannot issue new vouchers once the budget threshold is met. If the available budget runs out, Ofgem may operate a queue, ordered by when an application is deemed properly made. Separately, the Secretary of State may introduce a cap on the number of vouchers issued each quarter.
• Voucher validity. An air-to-water voucher expires three months after it is issued, and an expired voucher cannot be extended, although the installer can re-apply for a new one. GOV.UK words the limit differently, as 120 days from applying, so plan around whichever limit comes first.

Ofgem’s BUS monthly scheme update, with statistics to 30 September 2026 and last updated on 13 October 2026, lists £143,585,000 as the remaining budget for Year 5 (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027). Ofgem’s footnote says that figure includes all undetermined applications and vouchers issued yet to be redeemed, and that it is a dynamic value. It is a snapshot, so check the latest report. We are not forecasting when funds might be used.

So asking for your free survey sooner means your application can be made while funding is available, if your flat is eligible. Rules and funding can change.

Where ByEco stands

Call 0161 710 4510 or use the contact page and tell us the flat’s address area, what heats it now and who owns it. The survey is free, and it is how we find out whether your flat is eligible and what would apply. For background, see our heat pumps and grants pages, or get in touch for your free survey.

Worth asking any installer: how will you show I own the flat, what happens if my application is rejected, and what does the contract say about the grant? Ofgem’s guidance says that if an application is rejected, the installer’s ability to seek payment of the deducted amount depends on the contract between you and the installer.

Sources

Every figure on this page was checked against primary sources on 10 November 2026. Grant rules, planning rules and prices change — if you are reading this much later, verify before acting.

• GOV.UK — Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme: overview
• GOV.UK — Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme: what you can get
• GOV.UK — Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme: check if you’re eligible
• GOV.UK — Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme: how to apply
• Ofgem — Boiler Upgrade Scheme: guidance for installers
• Ofgem — Boiler Upgrade Scheme guidance for installers V5.2 (PDF)
• Ofgem — BUS monthly scheme update
• legislation.gov.uk — Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales) Regulations 2022, regulation 5
• legislation.gov.uk — Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales) Regulations 2022, regulation 14
• legislation.gov.uk — Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales) Regulations 2022, regulation 15
• MCS — MIS 3005-D The Heat Pump Design Standard, Issue 3.0