Heat pumps
Can a tenement flat have a heat pump?
A heat pump in a tenement flat is hard to arrange alone, because Scottish Government analysis says individual units suit terraced and four-in-a-block flats, while classic tenements look to shared systems on a roof.
By the Pipes Up the Stair site team · how pages are checked · Updated
Heat pumps are central to Scotland's plans for cleaner heating, and Home Energy Scotland funds them generously. A four-storey sandstone tenement in Marchmont or Leith is a hard place to fit one, though, and the reasons are as much about shared walls and planning as about the machine.
This page sets out what official sources say, without promising that any particular flat can have one.
Can you fit your own heat pump in a tenement flat?
Rarely, on current evidence. A Scottish Government report on buildings with several owners says standard individual heat pumps are only possible on terraced flats and four-in-a-block properties, not on tenements or tower blocks. It names the classic tenements of Marchmont and Newington as examples of the type it means.
What would work for a whole tenement?
A shared system. The same report says communal air source heat pumps would ideally be mounted on the flat roofs of blocks, and that larger ducted air-to-air systems are unlikely to suit; single-room air-to-air units might work in a few cases. Any shared plant means the owners deciding together under their title deeds and the Tenement Management Scheme, set out in shared pipes and the Tenements Act.
How much space does a heat pump need?
More than most tenement flats have to spare. Home Energy Scotland says an air source heat pump needs about 2 to 4 sqm somewhere close to your home, plus room indoors for a hot water cylinder. In a tenement, the outside wall and the back green are normally shared, so that space is rarely yours alone to give.
Do you need planning permission?
Very possibly, and in much of central Edinburgh almost certainly. The permitted development rules, as Planning Circular 1/2024 (May 2024) sets them out, cover a building containing one or more flats or a flat, but allow only one unit per building, no more than 1 m sticking out and no more than 3 m high. In a conservation area it is permitted only at ground floor level on the rear elevation, while a World Heritage Site, or the curtilage around a listed building, gets no such right at all. Edinburgh's Old and New Towns form one of the city's two World Heritage Sites, so ask the City of Edinburgh Council first.
Whose permission do you need besides the council's?
Your neighbours', in most cases. MyGov.scot says that if you do not own the land you must get the landowner's permission, including where ownership is shared, and that listed buildings need listed building consent too. Under the Tenement Management Scheme a block's external walls are, by default, scheme property that the owners maintain together.
What would the council look for on a listed building?
Units kept off the front. The council's listed buildings guidance says heat pump units should generally not be located on principal elevations, and should be small, screened or inconspicuous, and painted to tone with the background. See listed buildings and conservation areas.
Is there funding if it does work?
Yes, for the right kind of heat pump. As Home Energy Scotland's page read on 5 November 2026, it offered a grant of up to £7,500 plus an optional interest-free loan of £7,500, but only where the heat pump supplies 100% of the home's heat and hot water, which rules out hybrids, exhaust air units and air-to-air types. Details are on our Home Energy Scotland support page.
Will the law force tenements to change their heating?
Not yet. The Scottish Government paused its Heat in Buildings Bill on 18 November 2025 and said it intended to bring a new bill after the May 2026 election. Its draft aimed to replace direct-emission heating in all buildings, as far as reasonably practicable, by 2045. We couldn't confirm whether that bill has since been introduced.
| Building | Individual heat pump | What the report suggests |
|---|---|---|
| Four-in-a-block flat | Possible | Standard individual unit |
| Terraced flat | Possible | Standard individual unit |
| Classic tenement | Not standard | Communal unit, ideally on a flat roof |
| Single room | Occasionally | Small air-to-air unit, not grant-funded |
Asked on the stair
Can a heat pump unit go on a tenement's front wall?
As Circular 1/2024 (May 2024) sets out the rules, a unit may not sit forward of a road-facing principal or side elevation, and in a conservation area only the rear ground floor qualifies. The council decides in every case.
Does Home Energy Scotland fund a heat pump for one room?
Not if it is an air-to-air unit, the kind the government report says might suit a single room. The grant page excludes those outright.
Can a top-floor owner put a unit on the roof alone?
The Tenements Act gives the top flat the roof over it, but title deeds come first, and planning, listed building rules and neighbours' rights all apply. Speak to the other owners and the council before anything else.
Does a heat pump still need a hot water cylinder?
Home Energy Scotland's guide says you will need room inside for one, as well as space outside for the unit.
Where this comes from
- Scottish Government: Multiple ownership buildings, retrofit possibilities — individual and communal heat pumps
- Home Energy Scotland: 11 heat pump myths — space needed, check planning
- Planning Circular 1/2024, chapter 6 — permitted development for heat pumps
- MyGov.scot: Attaching things outside a flat — landowner's permission
- Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, schedule 1 — external walls as scheme property
- City of Edinburgh Council: Listed buildings and conservation areas — siting heat pump units
- Home Energy Scotland: Grants and loans — £7,500 grant and loan, eligibility
- Scottish Government: Heat in buildings plans — bill paused
- Scottish Government: Decarbonising heating news — 2045 aim