Is there a gas boiler ban? What it means for your home

Where the idea of a ban came from

In 2021 the government's Heat and Buildings Strategy set out an aim to phase out the installation of new gas boilers from around 2035, as part of the UK's net zero target. Headlines quickly turned that into a gas boiler ban. It was never a law that applied to existing homes, and it did not say anyone would have to remove a boiler that was working.

In September 2023 the government softened the plan further. It said nobody would be forced to replace a working gas boiler with a heat pump and raised the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant to help people who choose to switch. Policy may change again, and a future government could set firmer dates, so treat any article that gives you an exact ban date for existing homes with caution.

Existing homes and new-build homes are treated differently

The Future Homes Standard is the set of rules for new-build homes in England, and it is designed to make new homes use low-carbon heating instead of gas boilers. It does not apply to replacing a boiler in a home that already exists.

For existing homes, the building regulations set standards for how a replacement boiler is installed rather than whether you may have one. A new gas boiler has to be a high-efficiency condensing model with suitable time and temperature controls, and a new combi in England also needs an extra energy-saving measure, such as weather compensation or smart controls with automation. Your installer should explain which one they are fitting.

What hydrogen-ready and hydrogen boilers actually mean

Hydrogen was once put forward as a way to keep boilers and replace natural gas in the pipes. Planned trials that would have switched whole villages to hydrogen, first in Whitby and then in Redcar, were both dropped in 2023, and there is no hydrogen supply to homes today.

When a new boiler is sold as hydrogen blend ready, it usually means it can run safely on natural gas mixed with up to about 20% hydrogen, in case a blend is ever added to the grid. Boilers that run on 100% hydrogen have been built for trials, but you cannot buy one for your home and there is nothing to run it on. Choose a boiler on reliability, efficiency, controls and warranty, and do not pay extra because of a hydrogen label.

Should you replace your gas boiler now or wait?

If your boiler is broken, unsafe or failing often, waiting for policy to settle leaves you without dependable heating and hot water. A repair can make sense if the fault is a single part and the rest of the boiler is in good order; our guide on whether to repair or replace a boiler goes through that decision. If it is beyond sensible repair, a new gas boiler fitted now can reasonably be expected to give many years of service. Our guide to how long do boilers last covers what affects that.

If your boiler is working but getting old, you have time to plan. That is the moment to look properly at a heat pump: get an energy rating, a heat loss survey and more than one quote, and read the Boiler Upgrade Scheme explained guide for the grant. Some homes are well suited to a heat pump now. Others, such as many London flats and solid-walled terraces with little outdoor space, may be better served by an efficient gas boiler for its lifetime and a change later.

How to make a new gas boiler easier to move on from

If you do choose gas, a few decisions at installation time make the home easier to switch later and cheaper to run in the meantime.

• Size the boiler to the home's heat loss rather than copying the old one, as our what size boiler do I need guide explains
• Use a lower boiler flow temperature where the radiators allow it, which suits both condensing boilers and heat pumps
• Check the radiators are sized for the rooms, because larger radiators allow lower temperatures
• Ask about weather compensation, which adjusts the flow temperature to the weather outside
• If you have a hot water cylinder, consider one that could later work with a heat pump
• Have the system cleaned and a magnetic filter fitted, so the heating circuit is in good condition for whatever heats it next

Watch out for ban-based sales pitches

Some companies use talk of a ban to push people into replacing a boiler that works, or into signing quickly for a heat pump or a so-called future-proof boiler. There is currently no deadline that requires you to act on a working boiler in an existing home. A good installer will explain the options, put the scope in writing and leave you time to compare. Our guide to comparing boiler quotes lists what a proper quote should include.

Talk to us about your boiler

Loyal Plumbers repairs, services and replaces gas boilers across London and inside the M25, and gas work is carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers. We will tell you plainly whether your current boiler is worth repairing and, if it is not, what a sensible replacement looks like for your home.

Call us or send an enquiry with the boiler make and model, its age, what it is doing and whether you are considering a heat pump. That is enough for us to point you in the right direction before anyone visits.