What it costs
Real installed prices for 2026, before and after grant, and the six things that actually move the number on your property.
CostsOften yes, but there are more hurdles than in a house. Here are the four that actually decide it, and what to do when the answer is no.
Tell us about your property and an MCS-certified engineer will be in touch, usually the same working day.
Sometimes, and it depends far more on ownership and planning than on the technology. Ground floor flats with private outdoor space are frequently straightforward. Upper floor flats in blocks are considerably harder. It is worth finding out early, because the answer is usually clear within one conversation.
Usually the decisive one. If you are leasehold, you almost certainly need permission to fix a unit to the building's exterior or run pipework through the structure. Some freeholders are agreeable, some refuse outright, and some want a formal application and a fee.
Ask early and ask in writing. Everything else is wasted effort if this is a no. Expect to be asked for unit dimensions, weight, noise output and mounting details, which any installer can supply.
Permitted development for air source heat pumps is more restrictive on flats than on houses. Ground floor flats with their own outdoor space are treated more favourably. Installations on upper floors, on balconies or on the external walls of blocks frequently fall outside permitted development and need a planning application. Listed buildings and Article 4 areas need consent regardless.
It needs airflow around it, a solid mounting, and a position that passes the noise assessment relative to neighbouring windows, which in a block means several neighbours rather than one. Balconies are often unsuitable because the unit needs clear air and balconies are enclosed on three sides.
Flats are usually the tightest properties for this, and most are on combi boilers with no cylinder. A slimline or horizontal cylinder in a hall cupboard is the usual answer. It is not always possible.
Where a cylinder genuinely will not fit, an air-to-air system is worth considering. It heats and cools air directly, needs no cylinder, and the outdoor unit is smaller than an air-to-water equivalent. You keep your existing hot water arrangement.
It now attracts a grant too, though on the condition that any existing gas boiler is fully removed or permanently decommissioned, which for a flat relying on a combi for hot water is often the sticking point. Worth checking rather than assuming either way.
Before you spend time on quotes: write to your freeholder or management company and ask whether they will permit an air source heat pump, and what they require. That single email determines whether the rest is worth pursuing, and their answer is generally quick.
Often, though there are more hurdles than in a house. Ground floor flats with private outdoor space are frequently straightforward. Upper floor flats in blocks are harder, mainly because of freeholder consent and planning rather than the technology.
If you are leasehold, almost certainly, since you are fixing a unit to the building exterior and running pipework through the structure. Ask in writing before doing anything else, because the answer determines whether the rest is worth pursuing.
Less often than on a house. Ground floor flats with their own outdoor space are treated more favourably. Upper floors, balconies and external walls of blocks frequently need a planning application, and listed buildings and Article 4 areas always do.
It needs clear airflow, a solid mounting and a position that passes the noise assessment against several neighbouring windows rather than one. Balconies are often unsuitable because they are enclosed on three sides and restrict airflow.
A slimline or horizontal cylinder in a hall cupboard solves many flats. Where nothing fits, an air-to-air system is the realistic alternative: it needs no cylinder, though it does not provide hot water either, so you keep your existing arrangement.
Real installed prices for 2026, before and after grant, and the six things that actually move the number on your property.
CostsThe Boiler Upgrade Scheme in England and Wales, Home Energy Scotland north of the border, and what applies in Northern Ireland.
GrantsSurvey, design, grant, installation and commissioning, with honest timescales and a clear account of the disruption.
ProcessWhy sizing comes from a room-by-room heat loss calculation and never from floor area or your old boiler's output.
SizingWhich radiators need upsizing at a lower flow temperature, and why this is the single biggest swing factor in your quote.
RadiatorsWhy heat pumps need a cylinder, what happens if you are on a combi, and how much space you actually need to find.
Hot waterUK coverage
We install air source heat pumps nationwide through MCS-certified regional teams. Grant support differs between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the regional pages set out what applies where you are.
Get a free, no-obligation quote for heat pump installation in the UK, with the grant deducted so you see the real figure. We come back to you the same working day.