Are you a home owner?

Homelife Carlisle has various fully funded home improvement grants to help you and your family stay safe and warm, promote independence in your home and to keep you healthy and well in your home.

Safe and Warm Grants can be awarded for home improvements including your heating, electrical upgrades, double-glazing, damp-proofing or to reduce risks and accidents up to £7,500 per household. To qualify a member of your household should have a health condition or disability or be a carer or be over 60 years of age and have savings less than £23,500.

You do not have to be in receipt of a welfare benefit but if you do receive a benefit, including tax credits, then you may qualify. If any works are required to facilitate a hospital discharge then there is no means-test. If you are a private or social housing tenant then you may be eligible for a safe and warm grant for key-safes, draught-proofing or deep-cleans.

We have non means-tested grants up to the value of £3,000 to help people with dementia or memory problems make changes to the home that would support them to live in their own home safely and for longer. Examples of measures may be:

• Colour and contrast decorating
• Carbon monoxide/ cold / heat alarms
• Lighting
• Safety flooring
• Key- safes
• Digital technology

Are you a home owner? Want to be warmer in your home?

Homelife Carlisle is offering grants for insulation and heating upgrades including first time central heating, extra radiators and fire replacements, draught-proofing for all types of fuel including renewable energy.

To be eligible for a discretionary energy efficiency grant you should be a home owner and be in receipt of a specified welfare benefit or tax credits

Grants up to £500 per household are available to prevent the risk of unsafe gas appliances. The following types of work may be carried out using the FILT Gas Safe Scheme funding:

• Gas Safety Checks
• Gas Boiler and Fire Servicing
• Gas Boiler Repairs
• Gas Cookers,
• Gas Fires
• Gas Pipework
• Gas Water Heaters

This scheme is available to all Carlisle and district residents who own their own homes AND have a disability or have low household income.

How to Apply

For more information, or to apply for any of the above grants, please complete the downloadable application form and return it with evidence of household income, savings and any health issues as required by post or by email: [email protected] or Tel: 01228 817111

Homelife Carlisle is working with approved installers to offer insulation and heating solutions under our local flexible eligibility (LA Flex) Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme. So check our ‘Statement of Intent’ downloadable on this page to see if you are eligible. We are particularly keen to target privately owned and rented homes that either:

• Do not have full gas central heating or are in a rural area and no mains gas; or
• That have an EPC rating of D, E, F or G; or
• Are on a low income; or
• Receive welfare benefits or tax credits; or
• Have persons over 60 or children under five years old; or
• Have a health condition affected by cold.

Are you a landlord? Are you a private tenant and feeling cold in your home?

Check if you are eligible for funding towards energy efficiency measures including insulation and EFFICIENT heating. If your privately rented home has an EPC of F or G then your landlord is obligated to improve the energy performance rating of your property under Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards legislation. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-private-rented-property-minimum-energy-efficiency-standard-landlord-guidance.

We have certain funding for landlords to help them comply with the legislation

To find out the Energy Performance rating (EPC) of your home visit: https://www.epcregister.com/reportSearchAddressByPostcode.html

Statement of Intent

Carlisle City Council’s Statement of Intent for the ECO flexible eligibility scheme in our area can be downloaded in the ECO Scheme Downloads below

First time gas central heating for Home Owners and Private renters

If you are struggling to pay your energy bills or your home is hard to keep warm this Winter,  we can assist you to heat your home more affordably by installing  a new fully-funded (free) gas central heating system for homes that can be connected to mains gas. In certain circumstances we can also funding towards the cost of oil, LPG or air source heat pump heating systems for homes in rural areas of Carlisle and District.

National Grid’s Warm Homes Fund is funding the time-limited project to provide new first-time  central heating systems to 200 households who privately rent or own their own homes. 

The aim is to help households that do not have gas central heating to keep warm and at less cost.

Homelife Carlisle is working with Warmer Communities on this scheme and each home will have an energy survey and support offered to access grants towards insulation or affordable heating. Warmer Communities are a Community Interest Company provided by Thrift Energy.

Free mains gas connections are also available for viable properties through the Fuel Poor Network Extension Scheme.

Eligibility for the scheme is not wholly dependent on household income but households with a low income are encouraged to apply.

For more information or to find out more about how we can assist you to contact Warmer Communities on 01228 812867 or email [email protected] or Homelife Carlisle on 01228 817111 or email: [email protected]

Electricity North West owns, operates and maintains the North West’s electricity network. Occasionally planned and unplanned power cuts do happen and for many customers, being without power can cause extra difficulties that might affect their daily needs. By signing up to our Priority Services Register we can provide extra support to ensure you’re safe and comfortable until the power is back on. 

This is a FREE service and some of the benefits include 

• Receive proactive updates on power cuts in your area.
• Nominate a friend or family member to be contacted in the event of a power cut in your area.
• We can provide practical items such as warm blankets or a torch to help prepare for a power cut.
• Text message weather alerts. 

We also offer free energy saving advice to help reduce bills, keep your home warmer and minimise the impact on the environment to our Priority Services Registered customers.

Community Neighbours is a specialist programme which supports vulnerable. Supported by Electricity North West Electricity and Homelife Carlisle, it provides volunteer opportunities linking volunteers with people who are experiencing loneliness and isolation. 

The programme will also link with Electricity North West’s Priority Services Register (PSR) to recruit Community Contact volunteers to assist in the event of a power cut .

In the rapidly changing social situation due to COVID-19 we are adapting the project to recruit volunteer Community Neighbours who can provide valuable support for those older and persons who have health issues who are self isolating and who do not have family members to assist them.

Volunteers will provide valuable befriending contact through telephone calls, collecting medication through non contact. All volunteers will be DBS checked.

We urgently need people to contact us to volunteer for this valuable role which will be essential to helping keep people motivated and in touch with others at this difficult time.

The scheme will also link people to the services of Homelife Carlisle Home improvement Agency, an integral part of Carlisle City Council, to provide specialist support and advice to elderly and disabled people, as well as those on low incomes, for maintaining, adapting and improving their homes with a focus on energy efficiency.

Would you like to find out more? Sign up to be a Community Neighbour volunteer? Then please contact us at 01228 817274 or email [email protected] or [email protected]

Visit the Community Neighbours Webpage