Heat network need to knows
Know your rights if your home is connected to a heat network
At least half a million households are connected to one of 14,000 heat networks across the UK. From January 2026, new regulations will be in place to better protect those connected to a heat network, including access to an official complaints and advice service. This guide explains what protections you now have as a heat network user and what you can do if things go wrong.
From January, heat networks will be regulated by Ofgem
Until now, heat networks have had no specific regulations or protections — leaving many facing higher prices, inaccurate bills and limited access to consumer redress for customer service failings.
However, from 27 January 2026, heat networks will finally be regulated, with Ofgem becoming the official regulator in Great Britain. This means much greater protection for anyone on a heat network, whether you pay your supplier directly or your landlord for your energy.
The regulations will be phased in throughout 2026 and should be fully implemented by 2027.
What protections will there be from 2026?
Many of the new rules will bring regulation for heat networks in line with Ofgem's existing protections already in place for those on traditional gas and electricity supply in Great Britain.
There are a huge number of rules coming into force, we can't list them all, but some of the key protections include:
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More transparent terms and conditions. You should now get clear terms and conditions for your heat supply agreement, and advance notice of any changes to them.
Billing and back-billing protections. This includes more choice of payment methods, options to request credit refunds and a requirement to issue bills at least one a year based on actual (not estimated) use. For those on prepay, providers must send an account statement at least once a year.
Heat networks are now also covered by the same back-billing rules as those on traditional gas and electric networks. This means you cannot be billed for any energy you used more than 12 months ago (18 months if you are billed as part of a bundled package - for example, you pay one amount to cover rent and service charges). However, back-billing rules don’t apply if your provider tried to recover charges before 27 January 2026.
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Proactive debt support. Your supplier must proactively help if you fail to pay your energy bill for two consecutive months (or you miss one quarterly payment). You must be offered a tailored debt recovery plan and your heat network provider must also explore the option of fitting a prepayment meter before disconnection.
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Greater protection for vulnerable customers. If you're considered vulnerable, strict rules will apply. This means if you fail to pay your bill, your heat network supplier can't disconnect your heating and water during winter (October to March), or remotely switch your meter to prepayment mode if someone in the home is over 75, under two, is disabled or suffers from a chronic or terminal illness.
If someone in the household needs heating or hot water throughout the year for medical reasons, they can't ever be disconnected.
Heat network providers must also carry out vulnerability and affordability assessments before remotely switching meters to prepayment mode for those who need of a continuous supply of heating or hot water for medical reasons, have a child under 5 years old, have a serious mental or developmental disability, are temporarily considered vulnerable due to being pregnant or have another health-related reason.
Priority Services Register. Heat network operators must identify consumers who should be on the Priority Services Register (PSR). You can also request to be added to the PSR or register someone you believe should be on the PSR.
For the most vulnerable customers, it must offer services such as nominating a person who can act on your behalf and meter reading services. For the full list, see our Struggling with energy bills guide.
More protections will be introduced over the next year
More rules and regulations are set to come in over the next year, including protection for consumers if your heat supplier goes out of business or performs consistently poorly, plus automatic compensation when customers lose access to heating or hot water.
The Government is also working to establish a new technical standards code that will set out requirements on heat networks to improve their efficiency and reliability.
We'll update this guide as new protections are introduced.
What is a heat network?
A heat network, also known as district heating or communal heating, is a system that provides heating and hot water to multiple properties from a single central source, rather than each individual property having its own heating system. The properties are connected through a network of insulated pipes carrying hot water and are managed by a single supplier.
Heat networks are often found in highly populated built-up areas (in the UK over 50% of homes on heat networks are in London).
There are two types of heat network
If you're on a heat network, it will either be:
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Communal heat network. This is a heat network that supplies heat and hot water to several consumers within one building, for example, a block of flats. This is the most common type found in the UK and many new build flats are opting to install heat networks.
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District heat network. This type of heat network is used to provide heat and hot water to multiple buildings, connected by underground pipes, and can cover huge areas.
Most modern systems have a Heat Interface Unit (HIU) in each home (about the size of a traditional boiler), which transfers heat to your radiators and hot water. These homes usually have a heat meter to measure your usage (in kilowatts), either built into the HIU or fitted separately.
Older networks may not have heat meters, so usage is charged on a flat-rate basis, or ‘heat cost allocators’ are used to estimate usage for billing purposes.
District heating is a system that provides heating and hot water to multiple buildings from a single heat network. Whereas central heating - more commonly used in the UK – is where each individual property has its own boiler and heating system. You don't need a boiler in your home if it's connected to a heat network, but you will need a heat interface unit (HIU), which can look very similar to a boiler.
It depends what’s written in your lease agreement, but could be the supplier, housing association, property owner, landlord or leaseholder – so make sure you check this if you move into a property on a heat network.
Heat network operators are usually responsible for the repairs and maintenance of the system, up to and including the Heat Interface Unit (HIU). Then any part of the heating system that’s in your property will be down to you to look after.
Your heat supplier should arrange for your HIU and heat meter to be regularly inspected and maintained. Most manufacturers recommend this is done two years to ensure your heating and hot water are working efficiently - if not, you could be wasting money on your energy bills.
What is the difference between central heating and district heating?
Who is responsible for repairs and maintenance of heat networks?
Is a heat network cheaper?
If you live in a property that’s connected to a heat network, you’ll have to pay for the heating and hot water you use. It may be included within your rent or service charges, or it may be billed separately.
Most modern systems will include a heat meter installed in your home. Some operators use credit billing (such as Direct Debit) and some use prepayment metering so you pay as you go for your heating.
If you're on a metered heat network, you can try to reduce your energy consumption to save a few quid. Try out some of our Energy saving tips, or if you're really struggling, see how you can Heat the human, not the home.
Your bill is often based on energy use plus a fixed standing charge
If you are on a modern heat network, then like traditional gas central heating systems, your heating bill will be based on the amount of energy you use, plus a fixed standing charge:
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Your energy use. This is measured in the same way as traditional gas and electricity use is measured - using a domestic heat meter attached to your property. It’s also possible to have smart meters installed to record how much energy you use.
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The standing charge. This can cover a range of fixed costs of providing your building’s heating system, such as the purchase, upkeep and management of the district heating network, energy centre and your Heat Interface Unit.
It’s been proposed that, once heat networks in Great Britain become fully regulated in 2027, Ofgem’s and Citizens Advice’s ongoing costs of regulating the heat networks, gas, and electricity markets will be spread evenly across all consumer bills. We'll update this guide when we have more details.
For now, you can use Heat Trust's Heat Cost Calculator tool to give you an idea of what you might be paying if you had an individual gas boiler system instead.
Is district or communal heating cheaper than having a gas boiler?
This is a tricky one to give a definitive answer to. District or communal heating can be cheaper than conventional gas central heating, as the heat network operator can bulk buy energy through the commercial energy market to cut costs, which should then be passed onto the consumer.
But the fact you have no say in what rates you're paying – heat networks are not covered by Ofgem's Energy Price Cap – and aren't free to switch suppliers, means you can't take advantage of competitive tariffs that traditional gas customers can.
While Ofgem now regulate the heat networks, there are no plans to introduce a Price Cap, though the regulator has said it expects 'prices should be fair and not disproportionate.' If you think you are being charged unfairly, you can get advice and complain to the Energy Ombudsman.
Most Heat Interface Units (HIUs) have a display with a five digit number on it. However, some HIUs have internal meters which don't have a display so you’ll need to arrange for an engineer to come and visit to read your meter, or access the reading via an external display unit or online. Some heat meters are separate from the HIU and some systems don’t have HIUs at all (with separate meters for heating and for hot water usage).
Many modern heat meters are ‘smart meters’, so you can see in real time how much energy you're using.
How to read your meter
You can't switch your heating supplier for a cheaper deal – but you can switch electricity
If your home is part of a heat network, you don't have a choice of which company supplies your heating and hot water – it will usually be your building owner or a company appointed by them.
As heat networks only supply heating and hot water, you should be able to switch your electricity supplier if you want to – you can do an electricity-only comparison via our Cheap Energy Club. But bear in mind, some blocks of flats also have a communal electricity supply via the building owner.
Most properties connected to a heat network will have a clause in their lease preventing them from disconnecting their home from the district heating system without permission.
How to complain if you have a problem with your heat network
You can now get advice from Citizens Advice (England and Wales) and Consumer Scotland (Scotland). If your issue needs to be escalated, you’ll be able to take your complaint to the Energy Ombudsman.
So if you're having issues with your heat network, here's what you should do:
Complain to your supplier. Your first move is to talk to your heat network supplier, or to your landlord if you rent. You can raise the issue and see if they'll sort it out for you, and if not, go through the supplier's complaints procedure to try to force it to act.
Contact your residents' association. If your building or community has a residents' association, it may be worth reporting the issue to it. Such a group may have a contact with the supplier, and if a number of residents have the same issue, it may help spur the provider to help.
Get free and independent advice from Citizens Advice Consumer Service helpline (England and Wales) and Consumer Scotland (Scotland). These Consumer Advocacy services will be able to give advice and support regarding heat network issues. They will ensure your rights are protected and any problems resolved.
Consumers in England and Wales can speak to a dedicated Heat Networks adviser for free on 0808 223 1133 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm). If you're in Scotland, you can speak to an adviser on 0808 196 8660 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) or by visiting energyadvice.scot.Go to the Energy Ombudsman. You can complain to the Energy Ombudsman Service if it’s been eight weeks since you first contacted your supplier about your issue, or if you receive a 'deadlock letter', stating your problem cannot be fixed. You can also go to the Ombudsman if you’re unhappy with your heat network supplier's response.
You can still get help from the Heat Trust. Some heat network providers are part of the Heat Trust, a voluntary scheme that aims to set minimum standards in quality and customer service for heat networks. You can check to see if your supplier is signed up on its site. Sadly there are currently only 122 heat network sites registered with Heat Trust, covering around 80,000 consumers.
The Heat Trust will continue to operate its voluntary consumer protection scheme until January 2027, at which point, the scheme will end and the new regulations will fully be in place.
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