Mid Ulster District Council Website

Department for Communities Home Heating Oil Support

 
A new oil support scheme to support households in Northern Ireland with home heating oil opens on 9 September. Check if you are eligible to apply online for a £100 voucher to help you buy home heating oil. Only one voucher will be allowed for each eligible residential address.
 
Eligibility 
You may be eligible for the scheme if you use home heating oil as your main heating source and for at least one day of either qualifying period, you were: 

• a resident in Northern Ireland 

and

• getting a qualifying benefit

• or you were a single person or a couple, including pensioners, with an annual income below £30,000 (this is the total net annual income you get after tax, national insurance or pension contributions have been taken off)

 
Qualifying benefits include:

• Pension Credit

• Universal Credit

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• Disability Living Allowance

• Personal Independence Payment

• Attendance Allowance

• Armed Forces Independence Payment 

• the Constant Attendance Allowance element of Industrial Injuries Disablement benefit

• the Constant Attendance Allowance or Mobility Supplement element of the War Pension Scheme

If you are getting any benefits, a home heating oil support voucher will not affect your benefit claim. If you fill in a self-assessment tax return, it will not count as income.
 
Qualifying period
The qualifying period is any day between Wednesday 1 April and Thursday 30 April 2026. 
There will be a second qualifying period which will be any day between Sunday 1 November and Monday 30 November 2026. 
 
You may not be eligible for the scheme if for the whole of the qualifying period, you are:

• a nursing home resident

• a care home resident

• a hospital in-patient

• a prisoner

• outside of Northern Ireland 

Applying online
 Awards for the home heating oil support scheme will not be made automatically. 
You will need to apply online at this page.
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/home-heating-oil-support
 
Applications to the scheme will open on 9 September and will close on 31 March 2027.
 
If you are applying as part of a couple, or live in a multiple occupancy home, only one person should apply.
 
If you need support to apply, there will be a helpline available, or you can get help at your local Jobs & Benefits office.