Last updated: June 7, 2026
Your furnace is out, the house is getting colder, and you may not have the money to fix it today. This guide explains where to start, what to say when you call, and what kinds of emergency heating help may be realistic.
Make the Home Safe First
If anyone may be in danger, deal with safety before paperwork. A broken furnace can be a repair problem, but it can also become a health problem fast. This is especially true for babies, older adults, people with disabilities, people using medical equipment, and anyone with a serious health condition.
Call 911 or your local emergency number if someone is confused, fainting, very weak, having chest pain, having trouble breathing, or showing signs of severe cold stress. If a carbon monoxide alarm goes off, leave the home and call emergency services from outside.
Gas and oil furnaces can produce carbon monoxide. The CDC furnace safety page warns that carbon monoxide is invisible, odorless, and can kill without warning. Do not ignore headaches, dizziness, nausea, weakness, confusion, or symptoms that improve when you leave the house.
Do not use an oven, charcoal grill, camping stove, or outdoor generator to heat your home. The CPSC winter safety guidance warns about fire and carbon monoxide risks from heating equipment, generators, furnaces, fireplaces, and space heaters.
If you use a portable electric space heater while waiting for help, use it only as a short-term safety bridge. Keep it at least three feet from bedding, curtains, furniture, clothing, papers, and anything that can burn. Plug it directly into a wall outlet, not into an extension cord or power strip. The USFA heater tips also advise placing heaters on a flat surface and checking cords and plugs for damage.
| Situation | What to do now | Who to contact next |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon monoxide alarm, gas smell, smoke, fire, or severe illness | Leave the home if safe to do so. Call emergency services. | Fire department, gas utility, emergency medical help |
| No heat and the home is unsafe for a child, older adult, disabled person, or medically fragile person | Ask about warming centers, emergency shelter, and urgent fuel or heating repair intake. | 211, local emergency management, LIHEAP office, Area Agency on Aging |
| Furnace runs but gives weak heat, strange noise, or repeated shutoff | Turn it off if you smell gas, see flame rollout, or suspect danger. Otherwise call for inspection. | Licensed HVAC contractor, local energy program, utility |
| Heat works but you cannot afford fuel, gas, electric, oil, propane, wood, or pellets | Ask for crisis energy assistance before shutoff or fuel exhaustion. | LIHEAP office, Community Action Agency, utility provider |
Where to Start Today
For most people, the fastest path is local. Federal programs often fund state, tribal, county, city, or nonprofit agencies. That means the name of the help may be different where you live. It may be called LIHEAP, HEAP, fuel assistance, energy assistance, crisis assistance, emergency furnace repair, heating equipment repair, weatherization, or a repair and replace program.
Start with these calls
- Call 211. Ask for emergency heating repair, LIHEAP crisis assistance, warming centers, fuel delivery help, and local furnace repair programs. You can also use call 211 resources online.
- Call your local LIHEAP office. The federal LIHEAP search tool can help you find local contacts.
- Call your Community Action Agency. Many local energy assistance and weatherization programs are run by community action agencies. Use the Find a CAP tool if you do not know yours.
- Call your utility or fuel provider. Ask about shutoff protection, reconnection, medical hardship rules, budget billing, payment plans, and emergency vendor procedures.
- Call your local aging, disability, veteran, tribal, housing, or emergency management office if it applies. These offices may know about local repair funds that do not appear in national searches.
Do not wait until you have every document. Make the first call now and ask what proof they need. Many agencies can tell you whether the situation sounds like a crisis and whether they need a contractor tag, utility notice, fuel gauge reading, inspection, or denial letter before they can act.
Phone script for 211
“My home has no working heat. I need emergency heating repair or furnace help. My ZIP code is [ZIP]. Is there a LIHEAP crisis program, Community Action Agency, warming center, emergency shelter, fuel delivery help, or local furnace repair program I should call today?”
How LIHEAP Crisis Help Works
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is often the first real program to check. The federal LIHEAP program can support heating bill help, energy crisis assistance, preventing shutoffs, reconnecting service, weatherization, and repairing or replacing heating equipment. But LIHEAP is not one national application with one national dollar amount. It is funded federally and run through states, territories, tribes, and local agencies.
That local control matters. One state may have a separate furnace repair benefit. Another may focus mostly on utility bills and fuel delivery. Some programs open and close by season. Some run until funds are gone. Some crisis programs respond faster to households with no heat, a shutoff notice, empty fuel tank, broken primary heating system, young children, older adults, or a disabled household member.
The official eligibility tool can help you check basic LIHEAP rules by state or territory. The crisis tables show how crisis assistance can differ from place to place. Use them as a starting point, not a final promise. Your local office decides based on current funding, documents, household size, income, heating source, and crisis rules.
You may be asked about
- ✓ Your household income and household size
- ✓ Whether you own or rent the home
- ✓ Your primary heating source, such as gas, electric, oil, propane, wood, pellets, kerosene, or coal
- ✓ Whether heat is included in rent or paid directly to a vendor
- ✓ Whether anyone in the home is age 60 or older, disabled, under age 6, medically fragile, or at higher risk
- ✓ Whether you have a shutoff notice, empty fuel tank, broken furnace, failed boiler, or no working heat
LIHEAP may pay a utility or fuel vendor directly. It may not hand money to you. If the issue is a broken furnace, the agency may require an inspection or estimate from an approved contractor before repair or replacement can be authorized.
Important: LIHEAP rules, benefit amounts, income limits, open dates, and repair limits change by state and season. Always check your state, tribal, or local LIHEAP office before you rely on an amount you saw online.
What Furnace Repair Help May Cover
Emergency furnace help usually focuses on restoring the primary heating source. It is not meant for remodeling, comfort upgrades, luxury equipment, or replacing a system that still works safely just because it is old. Covered work may include inspection, diagnosis, repair, cleaning, parts, relighting or restarting equipment, replacement of unsafe or failed primary heating equipment, or limited code-required work connected to the repair.
Repairs that may be considered
- Furnace or boiler repair when the primary heat source is not working
- Replacement of essential heating equipment when repair is not safe or practical
- Work needed to address a heating-related health or safety hazard
- Fuel delivery or reconnection when no heat is caused by lack of fuel or service shutoff
- Weatherization measures that reduce heat loss after the emergency is handled
Repairs that may not be covered
- Work started before approval, unless your agency allows reimbursement in writing
- Second heating systems or comfort upgrades
- Cosmetic work that does not affect safe heat
- Repairs for a second home, vacation property, or investment property
- Work by an unlicensed contractor if your program requires licensed or approved vendors
Examples of state repair programs
State examples can help you know what to ask for, but they are not national rules. New York has a Heating Equipment Repair or Replacement benefit. The New York HERR page says eligible households may receive help for actual repair or replacement costs, with stated caps for repairs and replacement, and that the household must own and reside in the home and meet age and other requirements. Massachusetts describes its Massachusetts HEARTWAP program as emergency heating system repair and replacement help for low-income households. West Virginia describes its West Virginia RRP as help for eligible households with malfunctioning or non-operable heating or cooling systems or no source of heat.
These examples show why you should use exact words when you call: “heating equipment repair,” “furnace repair,” “repair and replace,” “boiler repair,” “primary heat source,” and “no heat crisis.” The intake worker may know the local program by a different name.
Phone script for LIHEAP or Community Action
“I am calling because my primary heating system is not working. I need to ask about LIHEAP crisis help, heating equipment repair, furnace repair, or repair and replacement assistance. Do you handle no-heat emergencies? What do you need from me today?”
Weatherization Can Help, But It May Not Be Same-Day Help
Weatherization is different from emergency furnace repair. The weatherization program is run at the state and local level. DOE says households at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines, or households that meet certain LIHEAP-related criteria selected by the state, may be considered eligible under DOE rules. It also says priority is often given to older adults, households with a person with a disability, families with children, high-energy users, and households with a high energy burden.
Weatherization may include energy-saving work and health-and-safety measures. In some places, heating system repair or replacement can be part of weatherization if the system affects safe and efficient home energy use. In other places, emergency furnace work is handled through LIHEAP crisis funds or a separate heating repair program.
Use the USAGov weatherization page for a plain-language overview. Then call the local provider listed by your state. Ask whether a no-heat emergency can be handled quickly or whether weatherization has a waitlist.
Documents to Gather Before You Apply
Do not let missing paperwork stop your first call. But after that first call, move fast. A no-heat case can stall if the agency cannot verify identity, income, home occupancy, heating source, ownership, or the emergency.
| Document or proof | Why it may be needed | What may work |
|---|---|---|
| Identification | Shows who is applying | Driver license, state ID, passport, tribal ID, or other accepted ID |
| Proof of residence | Shows where help is needed | Utility bill, lease, mortgage statement, official mail, property tax bill |
| Proof of income | Shows income eligibility | Pay stubs, Social Security letter, pension statement, unemployment record, benefit letter, tax document |
| Heating bill or fuel account | Shows fuel type and vendor | Gas, electric, oil, propane, kerosene, wood, pellet, or coal bill |
| Shutoff notice or empty-fuel proof | Shows energy crisis | Notice from utility, vendor statement, fuel gauge photo if accepted, delivery refusal notice |
| Proof of ownership | Often needed for furnace repair or replacement | Deed, tax bill, mortgage statement, title, life estate record, manufactured-home title |
| Contractor diagnosis | Shows whether repair or replacement is needed | Written estimate, failed inspection, red tag, technician report, photos |
| Landlord permission | Needed if renter-related work affects the property | Signed owner permission form or agency landlord form |
Practical tip: Keep a simple folder on your phone with photos of your furnace, thermostat, fuel gauge, shutoff notice, red tag, utility bill, estimate, and documents. Ask the agency whether they accept photos, uploads, email, fax, mail, drop box, or in-person copies.
Inspections, Estimates, and Contractor Rules
Many programs will not approve furnace work based only on what the homeowner says. That does not mean they doubt you. It means they have rules about spending public or nonprofit funds. They may need proof that the system is unsafe, failed, too costly to repair, or needed to make the home safe.
The agency may send its own inspector, require a local HVAC company, use a list of approved contractors, or ask you to get one or more estimates. Ask before you pay for anything. Some programs will not reimburse you for work you authorized before written approval.
Before you approve a repair
- Ask the agency whether you must use an approved contractor.
- Ask whether emergency diagnostic fees can be covered.
- Ask whether the contractor must provide a written report.
- Ask whether you need written approval before work starts.
- Ask whether code-required work, permits, venting, electrical connections, or disposal are included.
Phone script for a contractor
“I may be applying for emergency heating repair assistance. Before I schedule, do you work with LIHEAP, weatherization, Community Action, or county repair programs? Can you provide a written diagnosis that says whether the primary heating system can be repaired or must be replaced?”
If Help Is Delayed, Denied, or Not Enough
Emergency programs can still have delays. They may be short on funds, closed for the season, waiting for documents, waiting for an inspection, waiting for a vendor, or blocked by ownership issues. Do not stop at one call.
Do these next
- Ask for the reason in writing. A denial, waitlist notice, or missing-document notice tells you what to fix.
- Ask about appeal rights. Some benefit programs have a formal appeal or fair hearing process.
- Ask for crisis escalation. Tell them if someone in the home is older, disabled, medically fragile, a child, or at risk from unsafe temperatures.
- Call 211 again. Ask for warming centers, emergency shelter, fuel funds, and local churches or nonprofits that handle no-heat cases.
- Ask the utility about hardship protection. Rules vary by state, but utilities may have payment plans, medical forms, winter shutoff protections, or vendor coordination.
Phone script for a utility
“My home has no heat or is at risk of losing heat. I am applying for LIHEAP or crisis assistance. Can you tell me about winter shutoff protection, medical hardship forms, payment plans, reconnection options, and whether you can note my account while the application is pending?”
Backup programs to check
If the no-heat problem is part of a larger home repair problem, ask about housing repair help too. The USDA Section 504 program can provide loans to very-low-income rural homeowners for repairs, improvements, or modernization, and grants to eligible older very-low-income homeowners to remove health and safety hazards. USDA lists current maximum loan and grant amounts, but approval time depends on local funding and the repair may not move fast enough for same-day heat.
A HUD counselor can help you sort through repair loans, foreclosure risk, mortgage stress, reverse mortgage questions, and other housing decisions. This is especially helpful if a contractor is pushing financing or if the repair cost could put the home at risk.
Local nonprofits may help with critical repairs, but most are not same-day emergency furnace programs. Habitat home repair programs vary by affiliate and may use affordable repayment, volunteer labor, donated materials, or local funding. Rebuilding Together works through local affiliates on safe and healthy housing repairs. Call local affiliates directly and ask whether heating-system repairs are covered, whether applications are open, and whether they handle emergencies.
If your furnace or heating system was damaged by a federally declared disaster, check disaster help. FEMA says some home repairs may be covered when needed to make a disaster-damaged home safe, sanitary, and functional, and its FEMA covered repairs FAQ includes disaster-damaged furnaces among examples. The SBA disaster loans program may offer physical damage loans to homeowners and renters in declared disaster areas, including loans for primary residence repair or replacement, subject to SBA rules.
Contractor and Financing Cautions
A no-heat emergency makes people vulnerable. A bad contractor or bad loan can turn one repair into years of debt. The FTC repair scams guidance warns about contractors who show up at the door, pressure you for an immediate decision, ask for full payment up front, only accept cash, say they have leftover materials, or ask you to get permits yourself.
Red flags
- “This government grant is guaranteed.”
- “Pay me today or the program money disappears.”
- “Sign this blank form and I will fill it in later.”
- “Do not call the agency; I handle all of that.”
- “You must use my lender.”
- “Cash only.”
Get the contractor name, license number, insurance proof, written estimate, and written scope. Check your state or local contractor licensing office if one exists. Do not sign a loan, lien, mortgage, home equity agreement, or property-related document because someone says it is “just for the repair” unless you understand it. If you feel rushed, call a HUD-approved housing counselor, legal aid office, trusted family member, or local consumer protection agency before signing.
Common Mistakes That Slow Down No-Heat Help
- Waiting too long to call. Crisis funds can be limited. Call as soon as the heat fails or shutoff is likely.
- Only asking for a grant. Ask for LIHEAP crisis, emergency furnace repair, repair and replacement, fuel delivery, utility hardship, and weatherization.
- Starting work without approval. Some programs will not pay for repairs that began before approval.
- Calling the wrong county. LIHEAP and Community Action intake is usually tied to where the home is located.
- Not saying who is at risk. Tell the agency if the home has an older adult, disabled person, child, medical equipment, or serious health issue.
- Forgetting manufactured-home documents. If you live in a manufactured home, ask what proof of title, lot rent, park approval, or ownership is needed.
- Assuming renters cannot ask. Renters may still qualify for heating bill help, crisis help, or weatherization, although property work may require landlord permission.
FAQ
Can LIHEAP pay for a furnace repair?
Sometimes. LIHEAP can support energy-related home repairs in some places, including heating equipment repair or replacement, but each state, tribe, territory, and local agency sets its own rules. Call your local LIHEAP office and ask specifically about “heating equipment repair,” “furnace repair,” and “repair and replacement.”
Is no heat always treated as an emergency?
No heat is often treated as a crisis, but the exact definition depends on your local program. Tell the intake worker the indoor temperature, who lives in the home, whether anyone is medically fragile, and whether the primary heat source is completely out.
Will the program give me cash?
Usually not. Many energy and repair programs pay the utility, fuel vendor, contractor, or approved provider directly. Ask how payment works before you schedule work.
Can I choose my own HVAC contractor?
Maybe. Some programs require approved contractors or agency inspections. Others may accept outside estimates. Ask the program before you sign a contract or pay a diagnostic fee.
What if my furnace is red-tagged?
Tell the LIHEAP office, Community Action Agency, utility, and 211 that the system was red-tagged. Ask whether they need a copy of the red tag or technician report. Do not use equipment that a qualified professional or utility has marked unsafe.
What if I rent?
You may still qualify for heating bill help or crisis help. Repair work on the furnace may require the landlord because the landlord usually owns the heating equipment. Call 211, legal aid, your local code office, or tenant rights office if the landlord will not address a no-heat condition.
Can weatherization replace a furnace?
In some cases, heating system work may be part of weatherization if it is needed for safe and efficient energy use. But weatherization often has waitlists and may not be the fastest emergency option. Ask whether your state has a separate crisis furnace program.
What should I do tonight if the agency is closed?
If the home is unsafe, call emergency services, local emergency management, 211 if available, or a warming center. Do not use unsafe heat sources. If you can safely stay with family, friends, or in a shelter while you wait for repairs, that may be safer than sleeping in a dangerously cold home.
About This Guide
Next review: August 17, 2026
HomeRepairGrants.org prepared this guide using official federal, state, local, and high-trust nonprofit/community sources mentioned in the article, including LIHEAP, DOE weatherization, 211, CDC, CPSC, USDA Rural Development, HUD housing counseling, FEMA, SBA, FTC, Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together, and state or local heating repair program pages.
HomeRepairGrants.org is not a government agency, does not guarantee eligibility, and is not legal, financial, tax, medical, insurance, disability-rights, or government-agency advice. Program rules, funding, deadlines, forms, and benefit amounts can change. Always confirm details with the agency that runs the program where you live.
Corrections: Email info@homerepairgrants.org with corrections.