ECO4 Closes 31 December 2026 · Warm Homes Plan from 2027 | 7,000+ Installations
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💰Earn £100 Per ReferralBy Peter Davies, ECO4 Analyst
Reviewed
Yes — if you live in DY1–DY9 and either claim a qualifying benefit (Universal Credit, Pension Credit, PIP, ESA, Income Support, Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit) with an EPC of band D–G, or your gross household income is under £31,000 via Dudley Council's LA Flex Statement of Intent, you can apply for a 100% free ECO4 boiler replacement. Dudley is on the Cadent West Midlands gas network. The Dudley Energy Advice Line (DEAL — 01384 817086) provides the free first-stop screening service.
Pillar guides: Free boiler upgrade · ECO4 eligibility · LA Flex grants
DY1–DY9
Postcode coverage
Cadent
Gas Distribution Network
LA Flex active
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
£0
Cost to qualifying households
There are two routes for Dudley households. Pick whichever applies — you don't need both.
Per gov.uk's Energy Company Obligation page, you qualify if you receive any of:
No qualifying benefit? Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council runs its own referral route through the LA Flex Statement of Intent.
Bottom line: If your address is in DY1–DY9, you claim a qualifying benefit or fall under Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council's LA Flex criteria, and your EPC is D-G, the eligibility check is a 49-second form.
Dudley sits at the heart of the Black Country and its housing reflects two centuries of glass-making, chain-making, iron-founding and nail-making heritage stitched together across six historic towns. The Victorian and Edwardian terrace cohort fills Brierley Hill (DY5), Netherton (DY2), Cradley Heath fringe (B64), Lye (DY9) and parts of Stourbridge town (DY8) — typically solid-brick two-up two-down workers' terraces with slate roofs and rear yards, originally built for the surrounding factory workforces. Common findings today include solid-wall construction and older heating systems still in place, with the borough's average EPC band at D. The post-war picture adds Dudley Council's large estates at Russells Hall (DY1), Wrens Nest (DY1), Lower Gornal (DY3) and the surrounding districts — and the distinctive 1960s Chapel Street estate in Brierley Hill, which includes 9 blocks of 10+ storeys plus several blocks of up to 6 storeys. Stourbridge town centre and parts of Wollaston also have 3–4 tower blocks. The leafier outer suburbs — Kingswinford (DY6), Sedgley (DY3) and Hagley — are largely owner-occupied modern estates with higher EPC bands. For ECO4 the strongest catchment is the Brierley Hill / Netherton / Lye terrace belt plus the older Russells Hall and Wrens Nest ex-council stock.
Total dwellings
130,000
as of 2021 Census
Private sector
—
owner-occupied + rented
Social housing
—
registered providers
Bottom line: Dudley's mix of pre-1919 and post-war stock is exactly the catchment ECO4 targets. The mandatory PAS 2035 retrofit assessment will confirm the SAP uplift for your specific address.
Cadent is the Gas Distribution Network operator for the North-West (and much of the Midlands and East England) — that includes every DY1–DY9 postcode.
~10 m connection
£500–£800
50 m+ connection
£1,500–£2,500
If your property is already on the gas main — most Dudley addresses are — there is nothing to pay. ECO4 funds the boiler, internal pipework, controls, meter installation, and safe removal of the old system.
Cadent's indicative pricing toolBottom line: Almost every Dudley address (DY1–DY9) is already on the Cadent gas main, so the connection cost is £0. The rare off-main cases sit on the outer fringes and pay Cadent separately for the new connection.
You may have seen the successor scheme called "ECO5" online — there is no ECO5. The government has abolished the Energy Company Obligation model and replaced it with the Warm Homes Plan — a £15 billion programme funded by public investment rather than levies on energy bills. ECO4 still runs until 31 December 2026, so Dudley households should apply now while the scheme is open.
Low-income grants
£4.4 bn
Warm Homes Social Housing Fund + Local Grant
Boiler Upgrade Scheme
£7,500
per household, clean-heat grant
Delivery moves from Ofgem to a new Warm Homes Agency, with the Social Housing Fund and Local Grant consolidating into a single low-income capital scheme by 2027/28.
Sources: gov.uk — Warm Homes Plan (updated 18 March 2026); Ofgem response to the Warm Homes Plan.
Bottom line: ECO4 closes 31 December 2026. The Warm Homes Plan replaces it from 2027 — apply now while the current scheme is still open and the £4,000–£8,000 install value is fully funded.
Property
Pre-1919 mid-terrace, three-bed two-up two-down, solid-brick front and rear, rear yard
Existing system
EPC band E — 1998 non-condensing combi at end of life, gravity-fed copper pipework, no TRVs, original sash to the front
Measure installed
Old combi removed; new A-rated condensing combi sited in the kitchen; full system flush; new programmable controls and TRVs; loft topped up to 270mm. Solid-wall insulation scoped as a phase-2 PAS 2035 measure (no rear cavity to fill on this typology).
Outcome
EPC modelled uplift from band E to band D; first-winter heating-bill cut of roughly £500–£700. £0 paid by the household. Application routed through Dudley Energy Advice Line.
Time on site
Completed in a single day on site.
Illustrative — based on typical DY1–DY9 installs, not a single named customer.
Bottom line: Typical Dudley installs deliver a two-band EPC uplift in a single intervention at £0 to the qualifying household. Your individual case depends on the PAS 2035 assessment, but the DY5 Brierley Hill pattern above is representative.
Total install value typically £4,000–£8,000.
Most Dudley addresses are already on the gas main — nothing extra to pay.
Bottom line: If your ECO4 application is approved, the install is £0 — typical install value £4,000–£8,000. The only out-of-pocket case is a brand-new gas-main connection from off-grid, which is uncommon in Dudley.
Run our wizard or call +44 7375 868046.
A free home survey by an accredited assessor confirms the right measure for your property.
Gas Safe install, building-control sign-off, lodged on the TrustMark Data Warehouse.
Prefer to contact Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council directly?
Installer chain verified via TrustMark and Ofgem ECO4 Delivery Guidance v4.0.
Bottom line: From the 49-second eligibility check to a commissioned boiler, a typical Dudley ECO4 job runs five to seven weeks. The wizard above is the fastest start — or call +44 7375 868046.
Dudley homeowners (EPC band D–G) and private tenants (EPC band E–G, with landlord consent) whose household either claims a qualifying benefit (Universal Credit, Pension Credit, PIP, ESA, Income Support, Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit) or has gross income under £31,000 via Dudley Council's LA Flex referral. A cold-sensitive health condition can substitute for the income test. First-stop screening is via the Dudley Energy Advice Line (DEAL) on 01384 817086.
DEAL is Dudley Council's free impartial energy-advice service for residents, reachable on 01384 817086. It checks ECO4 Flex eligibility, signposts to ECO4 installers, and screens for any other relevant Black Country or West Midlands scheme. Dudley's referral pipeline runs through DEAL first — applicants don't need to read the SoI themselves; DEAL staff do the eligibility check.
Cadent Gas's West Midlands network operates the gas mains across all DY1–DY9 postcodes — the same GDN that covers Wolverhampton, Walsall, Sandwell, Coventry and the rest of the Black Country and West Midlands. ECO4 covers the new boiler, internal pipework, meter installation and removal of the old system at no cost. The connection from your meter back to the Cadent main is separate — Cadent publishes an indicative pricing tool for households needing a new connection.
Dudley's Black Country terrace belt — Brierley Hill (DY5), Netherton (DY2), Lye (DY9) and inner Stourbridge (DY8) — is typically solid-brick front and rear (no cavity to fill on the older typology). The strongest scoring package is an A-rated condensing combi replacement plus loft top-up to 270mm. Solid-wall insulation is in scope as a phase-2 PAS 2035 measure and is often the right way to address solid-wall heat loss on these properties.
Sometimes — it depends on whether the block has gas risers and individual gas meters. The 1960s Chapel Street estate in Brierley Hill includes 9 blocks of 10+ storeys plus several blocks of up to 6 storeys, plus tower blocks in Stourbridge and Wollaston. Many were built with all-electric heating and have no gas infrastructure inside the block; retrofitting gas to a high-rise is rarely viable. The PAS 2035 retrofit assessment under ECO4 will scope an alternative — typically electric-system upgrade, air-source heat pump or insulation-only measures.
Dudley Metropolitan Borough was formed in 1966 by merging the historic borough of Dudley with most of Sedgley and Kingswinford and the south of Coseley. Stourbridge and Halesowen were added in 1974 to complete the borough. Each town retains its own town centre, postcode range and Black Country heritage — Stourbridge's glass-making, Lye's nail- and chain-making, Brierley Hill's iron-and-steel, Halesowen's spring-making. Dudley Council's Statement of Intent covers all six under one scheme.
ECO4 closes 31 December 2026. After that, the £15 billion Warm Homes Plan takes over from April 2027 — funded by public investment rather than energy-bill levies, and delivered by the new Warm Homes Agency rather than Ofgem (gov.uk Warm Homes Plan, updated 18 March 2026). You may have seen the successor scheme called 'ECO5' online — that name is not used by government and no scheme by that title exists. For Dudley households, the practical effect is straightforward: if you apply under ECO4 before the 31 December 2026 close, the install is funded under ECO4 even if the engineer's visit happens in early 2027; if you start a fresh application after 1 January 2027, you'll be routed through the Warm Homes Local Grant (WHLG), the Warm Homes Social Housing Fund, or the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme depending on your tenure and property. Your local council's energy team continues to handle the referral throughout the transition.
gov.uk — Energy Company Obligation (ECO4)
Qualifying benefits and EPC band rules
Ofgem — ECO4 Delivery Guidance v4.0 (March 2026)
Scheme closure 31 December 2026, measure rules
gov.uk — Warm Homes Plan
£15bn ECO4 successor scheme, updated 18 March 2026
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council — Energy Company Obligations (ECO4) page
last updated 2023-01-01
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council — ECO Flexible Eligibility Statement of Intent
LA Flex thresholds and vulnerability criteria
Cadent — new gas connection page
GDN-side connection-cost guidance
ONS Census 2021 — Dudley metropolitan borough (E08000027)
Dwelling counts for Dudley (2021 Census)
Dudley Council — Housing Strategy evidence
Regional EPC band distribution
Page reviewed: .
49-second form. No commitment. No cost. DY1–DY9 households on Universal Credit, Pension Credit, PIP, ESA, JSA, Income Support, Housing Benefit or Child Benefit — start here. Apply under ECO4 now (closes 31 December 2026); the Warm Homes Plan (sometimes searched as "ECO5") replaces it from April 2027.
