There is no application form for the Boiler Replacement Scheme, because the scheme is closed. The Department for Communities stopped accepting applications on 21 September 2023.
If you are searching for the form, you will find dead links, cached pages and installer sites that never updated. This page tells you what actually happened and what form to fill in instead.
Why you cannot find the form
The scheme closed to new applications on 21 September 2023 due to budgetary constraints. The Housing Executive removed the application route at that point. Any link you find labelled “Boiler Replacement Scheme application” now leads to a dead page, a redirect, or an archived copy.
The scheme paid up to £1,000 toward replacing a boiler over 15 years old, for owner-occupiers with gross household income under £40,000. Over its lifetime it awarded 48,926 grants worth £32.9 million.
If you applied before it closed
The Housing Executive said it would continue to replace boilers for customers who had already received formal approval. If yours could not be processed, NIHE said it would make contact.
Two different situations, and the distinction matters:
- You have a formal approval letter. Your work should still be honoured. Contact NIHE directly if nothing has progressed.
- You submitted an application but never got formal approval. That application did not carry over. There is nothing in a queue for you.
The form you can actually fill in: Affordable Warmth
The Affordable Warmth Scheme is the live route for heating and boiler measures in Northern Ireland. The application process is different from the old scheme, and it is worth understanding before you start.
How it works
Affordable Warmth is referral-based, not an online form you submit yourself. That surprises people who are expecting a portal.
- Contact your local council’s Affordable Warmth team. Councils run the initial contact and assessment for the scheme in their district. You can also start through the Housing Executive.
- Income assessment. Gross household income must be under £23,000 a year.
- Home survey. An assessor visits and identifies which measures the property needs, working to a set order of priority.
- Referral to the Housing Executive, which approves the measures and appoints the contractor.
- Work is carried out by the scheme’s appointed contractor, not by an installer you choose.
That last point is the biggest practical difference from the old scheme. Under Boiler Replacement you chose your own registered installer and the grant was paid against their invoice. Under Affordable Warmth the scheme appoints the contractor.
What counts toward the £23,000
This is where most people wrongly rule themselves out. Disability-related benefits are not counted as household income for this scheme, including:
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
If your household income looks like it is over the threshold only because of those payments, check again before assuming you do not qualify.
Full detail: Affordable Warmth Scheme NI.
Documents worth having ready
- Proof of home ownership (rates bill in your name)
- Recent proof of all household income, including benefits and pensions
- Evidence of the existing boiler’s age where you have it (service record, or a photo of the data plate inside the front cover)
If your income is over £23,000
There is currently no boiler grant for you in Northern Ireland. The old scheme covered households up to £40,000 and nothing has replaced that band.
The Warm Healthy Homes Fund may change this from 2027. Its eligibility criteria and grant limits are still being consulted on, with the consultation closing 19 August 2026. If the £23,000 to £40,000 gap affects you, that consultation is the place to say so: Warm Healthy Homes Fund NI.
Free impartial advice
NI Energy Advice Line: 0800 111 44 55. Independent, free, and the right call if you are unsure which scheme fits your circumstances. We are not the scheme administrator and cannot submit or influence any application.
While you wait
If your boiler is failing and a referral will not move fast enough, get the real replacement cost in front of you: New boiler cost Northern Ireland, or arrange a quote from an independent Gas Safe or OFTEC registered engineer through us. The engineer quotes you directly and holds the contract.
Related guides: Boiler Replacement Scheme NI · Affordable Warmth Scheme NI · Warm Healthy Homes Fund NI · Boiler Grants Northern Ireland
Sources
- Department for Communities, Closure of Boiler Replacement Scheme (21 September 2023)
- NI Housing Executive, Affordable Warmth Scheme
- Department for Communities, Consultation on the Warm Healthy Homes Fund