| Measure | Manchester | Salford | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households | 214,735 | 115,116 | 24,783,199 |
| Mains gas only | 67.0% | 69.4% | 73.8% |
| Electric only | 18.3% | 18.1% | 8.5% |
| No gas meter (2024) | 25.01% | 25.27% | - |
| Semi-detached | 31.9% | 34.7% | 31.5% |
| Terraced | 28.0% | 25.4% | 23.2% |
| All flats | 34.6% | 30.4% | 21.7% |
| Owner-occupied | 37.2% | 47.0% | 61.6% |
| Heat pumps paid (BUS) | 357 | 166 | 96,185 |
| Per 1,000 households | 1.7 | 1.4 | 3.9 |
| Listed-building records | 863 | 249 | - |
Off the gas grid in the city
Elsewhere in England, an off-gas home usually means a farmhouse on oil. Here it means something else. Salford's 25.27% and Manchester's 25.01% are the highest off-gas shares in Greater Manchester, and the census shows why: 18.3% of Manchester households and 18.1% of Salford's used electric heating alone in 2021, more than double the national 8.5%. Oil and LPG are almost absent; the gap is electric heating.
Flats, old and new
34.6% of Manchester households and 30.4% of Salford's lived in a flat in 2021, most in purpose-built blocks. Manchester also had 3,837 households in converted buildings such as former schools, churches and warehouses, 1.79% of the total and the highest share of the ten. For a flat, Class G allows one unit on the whole block, up to 0.6 cubic metres, and the freeholder has to agree. The flats page covers the options, from a shared system to an air-to-air unit for a single flat.
A renting core
Only 37.2% of Manchester households owned their home in 2021, the lowest of the ten; 32.3% rented privately and 29.5% socially. Salford had 47.0% owner-occupiers. In both, the decision about a heat pump usually rests with a landlord, and often a freeholder as well. Social housing is outside the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Grants paid
Manchester has had more heat pumps paid for by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme than any other borough, 357, and Salford 166. Relative to households, Manchester's rate of about 1.7 per 1,000 and Salford's 1.4 are both well under the England and Wales figure of about 3.9.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant here
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority delivers the area-based scheme in Salford. For Manchester, the combined authority's page listed the delivery partner as "to be appointed" when we checked. In both, residents of selected areas are contacted by officers, and the scheme can cover privately rented homes whose landlords support the Good Landlord Charter.
Listed buildings and conversions
Manchester has 863 listed-building records in the national dataset, the most of the ten, and Salford 249. Converted mills and warehouses are often listed or in conservation areas, where Class G does not apply or nothing may face a road. See mill and warehouse conversions.