Ofgem heat network returns for small communal heating, done in minutes each quarter
If your block recovers heating costs through the service charge, Ofgem now treats you as a heat supplier. That means quarterly and annual data returns from 2026. HeatReturn tells you exactly which data points apply, what records you need, and when each window opens.
Free. No account. Nothing leaves your browser unless you ask for the template by email.
Who this is for
Managing agents, freeholders, residents' management companies and right-to-manage companies running private blocks with a shared boiler or plant room, where heat is recovered through the service charge or billed separately, and there is no specialist billing company involved.
Not for social landlords, energy service companies, or networks already handled by a billing company: they have this covered.
What Ofgem asks for
Every quarter
Complaints by type and how fast they were resolved. Customers in heat debt, disconnections, reconnections, repayment plans. Standing charges, unit rates, other charges, and total charges billed.
Every year
Customer and meter counts, billing frequency, payment methods, Priority Services Register count, bad debt, the 6,000 kWh reference price, fuel, heat generated and delivered, revenue and running costs.
Organisation finance
Once a year, in the quarter your accounts are signed off: profit or loss, income, costs, liquid assets, continuity plan and hedging. Councils and registered social housing providers skip this.
Source: Ofgem, Heat networks: regular data reporting guidance, 10 March 2026. Verified 15 September 2026.
How HeatReturn works
- Check: answer 16 questions about the network. Get the exact data points that apply, split into quarterly and annual, in plain English.
- Collect: download a CSV template using Ofgem's wording, one row per data point per period, with flags for the records you don't keep yet.
- Remember: get an email before each submission window opens and before the registration deadline.
The full product, coming for founding customers, keeps the complaints log, debt tracker, tariff register and Priority Services Register count for you, and produces each quarter's return ready to enter or upload. Read about the founding offer.
What this is not
HeatReturn is a data preparation and record-keeping tool. It is not legal advice, it does not decide whether the regulations apply to your building, and it does not submit anything to Ofgem for you. Ofgem's digital service is the only place returns are submitted. Where we state a regulatory fact we link to the source and say whether we've verified it. Disclaimer and sources.