Heat Network Regulation for Blocks of Flats
If a block heats its flats from a shared boiler or plant room, it is a heat network. Since 27 January 2026 Ofgem has regulated heat networks, and for an existing network the first step is registering with Ofgem by 26 January 2027, which keeps its transitional authorisation. That duty falls on the heat supplier, usually the landlord, the residents' management company or the right to manage company.
Last updated by the Plymouth Block Management team.
When a Block Is a Heat Network
A heat network supplies heat, and often hot water, from a central source to more than one building or to more than one customer within a building. A block of flats with a communal boiler or plant room serving the flats is, in the terms of the regulations, a communal heat network.
The person who supplies the heat to the residents and charges them for it is the heat supplier. In a leasehold block that is usually the landlord, the residents' management company or the right to manage company, even where the managing agent runs the system day to day.
What Regulation Now Involves
Under the Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) Regulations 2025, Ofgem became the regulator for heat networks in Great Britain from 27 January 2026. Heat suppliers and operators are brought within an authorisation regime and must meet consumer protection standards covering fair pricing, clear billing, complaint handling and support for vulnerable customers.
Networks already running when regulation began are treated as authorised for a transitional period, provided they register with Ofgem by 26 January 2027, so registration is the first practical step for most blocks. A supplier with more than one heat network registers each one separately. Since April 2025, heat network residents have also been able to take complaints the supplier cannot resolve to the Energy Ombudsman. Technical standards for how networks are designed and run are being introduced separately, on a later timetable.
What Is Left of the 2014 Rules
Parts of the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 still apply. In Great Britain, the duties to notify the Office for Product Safety and Standards and the billing rules ended on 27 January 2026, replaced by Ofgem registration and its authorisation conditions on billing and information. The duties to install meters in buildings where they are required, to keep them accurate and to maintain existing meters remain in force.
Many blocks have never registered anywhere, or have meters installed but still split the heating cost by floor area. Both are worth looking at now, starting with registration and whether the building is one where meters are required.
Where a Managing Agent Fits
For a block with communal heating, we identify who the heat supplier is under the lease and the regulations, check the network's Ofgem registration and metering position, set the heating charges out separately in the service charge budget, and keep the records the regulator and residents are entitled to see. The authorisation itself, and any technical work on the plant, needs the board's decision and the right specialists.
Sources
Everything above is taken from these, not from a summary of them:
- The Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/269) legislation.gov.uk
- The Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 legislation.gov.uk
- Heat networks Ofgem
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Heat Network Regulation Questions
Is a Block of Flats with Communal Heating a Heat Network?
Usually, yes. A block where a shared boiler or plant room supplies heat to the flats is a communal heat network, and the person who supplies and charges for that heat is the heat supplier.
Who Regulates Heat Networks?
Ofgem, from 27 January 2026, under the Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) Regulations 2025. Since April 2025 residents have been able to take unresolved complaints to the Energy Ombudsman.
Do the 2014 Metering and Billing Rules Still Apply?
Partly. Since 27 January 2026 notification and billing have been covered by Ofgem's rules, but the duties to install and maintain meters where they are required still apply.
When Does an Existing Heat Network Have to Register with Ofgem?
By 26 January 2027. Networks already running when Ofgem regulation began on 27 January 2026 are treated as authorised for a transitional period, provided they register by that date. The duty falls on the heat supplier, usually the landlord, the residents' management company or the right to manage company, and each network is registered separately.
Related Pages
Utilities Procurement
The communal supply pays for hallway and stairwell lighting, lifts, door entry, pumps and shared heating.
Read moreCompliance & Health & Safety
An annual health and safety risk assessment for every development, carried out by our own trained staff rather than passed to a third party.
Read moreService Charges & Accounts
The budget is prepared before the year starts and apportioned according to the lease, not by any rule of ours.
Read moreManaging Agent for Residents’ Management Companies (RMCs)
A residents' management company (RMC) is a company owned by the leaseholders of a block or estate that is responsible for running its shared parts.
Read moreMaintenance & Repairs
Most of what goes wrong in a block gives warning first.
Read moreTalk to Us About Your Building.