Kent Home News: Heating Oil to Be Regulated, £9,000 Grant

Kent home improvement news for the past fortnight. Heating oil is about to be regulated for the first time, the government has set out how fast boiler makers must sell heat pumps, building control fees change on 6 November, and the competition regulator has fined an appliance retailer over installation charges added by default.

Table of Contents

Heating oil suppliers will be regulated for the first time

On 13 October the government said it will accept the Competition and Markets Authority’s recommendation to regulate the heating oil market. Until a full regime is built, consumer protections in the industry’s codes of conduct will be strengthened, and the practice of setting a 500-litre minimum order for some customers will be reviewed. The move follows this year’s price spike, when the CMA found 1,700 households were owed compensation after suppliers cancelled orders and made them re-order at higher prices. The same announcement says 1,042 of August’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme voucher redemptions were for the £9,000 grant for homes moving off oil, 32% of the month’s total.

Why it matters: rural Kent homes on oil have had no regulator to complain to when a delivery is cancelled or a price changes. That is changing, but slowly. In the meantime, if your tank is ageing or your boiler is near the end of its life, the £9,000 heat pump grant for oil-heated homes is the biggest single grant available, and our Kent home improvement grants page lists who qualifies. Sources: DESNZ, 13 October 2026; government response to the CMA heating oil market study.

Boiler makers face heat pump targets rising to 18% of sales

A consultation opened on 12 October on extending the Clean Heat Market Mechanism to 2032. The scheme requires boiler manufacturers to sell a set number of heat pumps relative to their fossil fuel boiler sales. The target was 6% in 2025/26 and is 8% for 2026/27. The proposal is 9% in 2027/28 (up to 118,000 heat pumps), 12% in 2028/29, 15% in 2029/30 and 18% in 2030/31 (up to 236,000 heat pumps). The consultation closes on 8 November 2026.

Why it matters: the targets are why boiler brands are pushing their own heat pumps and installer offers so hard. More competition for heat pump installs should help prices, and installers in Kent will keep chasing homes that can take one. If you are planning a boiler replacement in the next few years, get a heat pump quote alongside it. Our page on heat pumps in older houses covers whether yours is suitable. Source: DESNZ consultation, 12 October 2026.

Councils can charge for more building control work from 6 November

New regulations laid on 15 October replace the 2010 building control charging rules in England from 6 November 2026. Councils will be able to recover the full cost of more of their work, including advice before an application (previously free for the first hour), enforcement, sanctions and appeals. Each council must publish its charging scheme online at least seven days before it takes effect, and existing schemes stay in force until they are updated.

Why it matters: extensions, loft conversions, structural alterations and most heating changes go through building control. Kent councils’ fee tables will be rewritten over the coming months, and the free first hour of advice is gone where councils choose to charge for it. If you are planning work for spring, check your council’s current charges now and budget for the pre-application advice. Sources: MHCLG Circular 05/2026, 16 October 2026; government response to the consultation.

Appliances Direct fined £1.2m for opting buyers into installation and removal

The Competition and Markets Authority fined Appliances Direct £1.2m on 14 October and ordered it to refund about £432,000. Customers had been automatically opted into paid ‘Installation on Delivery’ and ‘Remove & Recycle Your Old Appliance’ services, and some product pages showed countdown banners for £10 to £25 discounts that kept reappearing for days. In the same case Wayfair was fined £4.8m over false time-limited deals. Appliances Direct will contact affected customers, who do not need to do anything.

Why it matters: if you are fitting a new kitchen, the appliances are often bought separately online. Under consumer law, any optional extra needs your express agreement, so a pre-ticked box is not consent. Check the basket before you pay, and if you were charged for installation or removal you did not choose, you may be due a refund. Source: CMA, 14 October 2026.

A third of homeowners have put off a kitchen or bathroom

A survey of 2,000 UK homeowners by lender Evolution Money, reported on 12 October, found 67% had delayed a home improvement because they could not afford it. 36% had postponed a bathroom renovation and 33% a kitchen. Its analysis of third-party cost data puts a basic kitchen renovation at an average of £10,750 and a bathroom at £5,725. Even so, 61% said they would rather improve their home than move over the next five years.

Why it matters: the survey is from a finance company, so read it as a direction rather than a count. But it fits what the ONS figures published on 15 October show: repair and maintenance work grew 0.4% in August while new building fell. Kent homeowners are still improving, often in stages, and a phased kitchen or bathroom with a fixed price for each stage is a sensible way to spread the cost. Sources: kbbreview, 12 October 2026; ONS, Construction output: August 2026.

Kent Home News: Heating Oil to Be Regulated, £9,000 Grant

Heating oil suppliers will be regulated for the first time

Boiler makers face heat pump targets rising to 18% of sales

Councils can charge for more building control work from 6 November

Appliances Direct fined £1.2m for opting buyers into installation and removal

A third of homeowners have put off a kitchen or bathroom

Related guides