Warm Front scheme suddenly pulled

As some regular readers of my blog will no I've been ummming and aaarrring about going ahead with cavity wall insulation in one of my properties.  One of the positives was that it was totally free under the governments Warm Front Scheme funded by the utility companies. The downside is that I'm concerned that it may result in a longer term bridging of the cavity wall and cause internal damp conditions.  I'm hoping a by product of the insulation is that it helps to cure some of the patches of condensation that have appeared in recent years.

A couple of weeks before the contractors were due to start I got a phone call out of the blue from them to inform me that the scheme was no longer free.  That immediately struck me as strange. Apparently the company had been informed that the original energy company had pulled the scheme without any warning and then they had to search around for another provider.  The only one they could find was a company that charged £99.  I was left with the option of not going ahead or paying the fee.  I did check with the Local Authority first and they confirmed that this was the case.  So having gone to the expense of having half the garden cleared so the contractors could work on the place.  I wasn't going to give up now so I gave the contractor the go-ahead.

Time will tell whether there is any genuine benefit for the tenants.  But if landlords do want to make the most of the free insulation from the Warm Front Scheme my advice is act now before it's too late.

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