HOW TO HIRE · PLUMBING & HEATING · CHECKED OCTOBER 2026
A gas central heating system needs a Gas Safe engineer and must be notified. The checks, the sizing questions and what the quote should list.
THE 60-SECOND VERSION
BEFORE YOU BOOK
The 1998 Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations, and Northern Ireland's 2004 Regulations, make the gas boiler and gas pipework of a central heating system legal only for engineers on the Gas Safe Register. A plumber may run the water pipes; the gas connection is not theirs unless they are registered.
Check the engineer who will connect the gas, by text to 85080 or on 0800 408 5500. gassaferegister.co.uk →
In England a new or replacement heating system is notifiable building work. A Gas Safe engineer self-certifies it, and a compliance certificate follows — gov.uk says within 8 weeks.
Confirm in writing who notifies and when the certificate is due. gov.uk →
HSE notes the back of the Gas Safe ID card shows the categories an engineer is qualified for. A central heating installation needs the boiler category.
Read both sides of the card before the job is booked. hse.gov.uk →
The boiler itself is standard-rated at 20%, but under HMRC's Notice 708/6 qualifying heating controls fitted in a home are zero-rated until 31 March 2027.
Ask for controls priced on their own line with the VAT rate shown. gov.uk →
A central heating system is standard-rated at 20%, with qualifying heating controls zero-rated until 31 March 2027; 5% applies only to grant-funded work for a qualifying person, aged 60 or over or on certain benefits, in their main home. Over the £90,000 registration threshold a trader must charge it and show it separately; under it there is no VAT and no VAT number.
Ask for the central heating quote to show each VAT rate on its own line, and for the VAT number. gov.uk →
A good answer: Yes, with a figure for each room that the radiator sizes follow — not one radiator size for the whole house.
A good answer: A named engineer with a licence you can check, even if others run the pipework.
A good answer: A plan by room, so you can move furniture and know what making good is needed.
A good answer: Yes, named in the quote with their VAT rate.
A good answer: Filled, flushed, dosed with inhibitor, balanced and tested, with a commissioning record.
A good answer: They notify it, and the compliance certificate follows within 8 weeks according to gov.uk.
A good answer: An honest view. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme in England and Wales pays towards heat pumps, not gas boilers.
Central heating is quoted per system after a survey; the number of radiators, the boiler and how much floor must be lifted set the figure. Central Heating Installation price guide →
Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.
KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE
ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.
Or post the job free and let them come to you.
AFTER
MONEY BACK
Who: Households on qualifying benefits (e.g. Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based JSA or ESA, Child Benefit, Housing Benefit) in a privately owned home with an EPC rating of D–G (E–G if privately rented), or eligible social housing.
Official details on gov.uk →Who: Privately owned homes in England with an EPC rating of D–G, where household income is usually £36,000 a year or less (or someone is on certain benefits, or you live in an eligible postcode).
Official details on gov.uk →Schemes change. The amounts above were checked on the dates shown; the official page is the one that counts.
For the gas boiler and gas pipework, yes, by law in all four UK nations. Water pipework and radiators can be fitted by a plumber.
A Building Regulations compliance certificate after notification — gov.uk says within 8 weeks in England — and the boiler's commissioning record.
At 20% on the boiler and most of the work; qualifying heating controls are zero-rated until 31 March 2027 under Notice 708/6.
£3,000–£9,000 per system, about £4,500 typical for a three-bed home. See the central heating installation price guide for the breakdown, then put your town in the search above to compare installers.
Four to eight days for most homes, longer where there is no existing system.
Not for a gas system. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme in England and Wales pays towards heat pumps, and Home Energy Scotland offers a grant and loan for clean heating.
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