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Plumbing & heating

Plumbing & heating tenders: boilers, servicing & retrofit

Boiler replacement, central heating, gas servicing, plumbing maintenance and decarbonisation work are tendered constantly by councils, housing providers and the NHS estate, scored to your trade.

64

live plumbing & heating tenders now

£7.2bn+

stated value tracked

5

smaller / council-portal

See what you could win How it works

The opportunity

Plumbing, heating and gas work is among the most reliable public-sector opportunities for a trade SME. Councils, housing associations, schools, NHS estates and care providers run constant boiler replacement programmes, central-heating installation, statutory gas servicing and safety checks, responsive plumbing repairs and, increasingly, heat-pump and low-carbon retrofit. Because gas safety is statutory and stock heating needs continual investment, a Gas Safe-registered firm has steady, repeatable visibility of the pipeline.

The work ranges from multi-year planned and responsive heating maintenance across a housing stock down to a single boiler replacement advertised as a below-threshold council quote. A large share now flows through framework and dynamic-market (DPS) routes - national and regional supplier lists that let individual work by call-off or further competition - so being on the right one keeps you in the invitation list. Evaluators and the scoring engine treat heating and plumbing as a distinct sub-discipline, so a specialist is judged on exactly what it self-delivers rather than competing against general builders. The hard part is finding the right programmes and lists early, evidencing Gas Safe and scheme competence, and writing a mobilisation and quality response that scores.

Last reviewed 7 July 2026 by the BidSquirrel procurement team.

Who buys in this sector

Local councils and unitary authoritiesHousing associations and ALMOsSchools, academy trusts, colleges and universitiesNHS trusts and integrated care boards (estates)Care providers and supported-living landlordsCentral government and arms-length estates bodiesLeisure trusts and cultural venues

Contracts we surface for you

  • Boiler replacement programmes

    Stock-wide gas, oil and electric boiler replacement across housing, usually multi-year and tendered as larger programmes.

  • Gas servicing and safety checks

    Statutory annual gas servicing, landlord safety checks and remedials, a recurring compliance requirement across public housing.

  • Central heating and plumbing installation

    New heating systems, radiators, pipework and bathroom or kitchen plumbing in housing, schools and public buildings.

  • Responsive plumbing maintenance

    Reactive repairs, leaks, drainage and call-outs, often bundled with planned works on multi-year terms.

  • Heat pumps and low-carbon retrofit

    Air-source heat pumps, hot-water and insulation upgrades under decarbonisation funding, frequently grant-backed and time-bound.

  • Framework and dynamic-market call-offs

    A large share of public plumbing and heating flows through national and regional frameworks and dynamic-market (DPS) supplier lists, then lets individual work by call-off or further competition.

  • Low-value council quotes

    Single boiler swaps, servicing rounds and minor works requested directly through council quote portals such as ProContract.

Frameworks & buying organisations to know

A lot of recurring plumbing & heating work is called off through national and regional frameworks and dynamic markets. Getting onto the right ones - alongside bidding for open tenders - is often how an SME builds a steady public-sector pipeline. The bodies worth knowing here:

Crown Commercial Service (CCS)Fusion21LHCProcure Partnerships

We watch CPV 4533 (plumbing & heating works) and 42160 (boilers) so plumbing & heating notices reach you across every source - not just one portal.

Plumbing & heating tenders open right now

We are tracking 64 open plumbing & heating tenders across every major GB source as of today. A sample of the most recently published matched to this sector:

Example score shown for illustration. Your own matches are scored to your business once you add it - free, no card.

See all 64 live plumbing & heating tenders near you

What a real heating-and-plumbing notice asks for - and how the panel scores it

A public-sector heating, gas or plumbing notice leads with safety-registration gates that are absolutely pass/fail: Gas Safe registration for any gas work (OFTEC for oil), water-hygiene and legionella competence to ACOP L8 where those systems are in scope, an accreditation such as CHAS or SafeContractor, MCS certification if heat pumps or renewables are involved, and valid insurances. BidSquirrel checks these conditions of participation before you write a word, because an unregistered engineer or a missing accreditation disqualifies the bid outright.

The award is the most advantageous tender, and on a repairs-and-maintenance or gas-servicing contract the heavy marks are on responsive-repair KPIs (first-time-fix and emergency-response times), your annual gas-safety compliance record (the proportion of Landlord Gas Safety Records completed in date is a figure buyers care about intensely), planned-maintenance method, decarbonisation and heat-pump capability, occupied-property and vulnerable-resident handling, and social value. Each is scored against its own criterion, so a strong compliance record asserted in the wrong answer earns nothing.

The usual way a capable firm loses is generic experience where the buyer wanted evidence: "we have extensive heating experience" instead of a named, comparable contract with your in-date compliance percentage and first-time-fix rate. BidSquirrel drafts each answer to the criterion from your own compliance data and past contracts, scores its own draft the way this panel would, and flags where a thin answer is leaving marks on the table - then hands it back with the facts for you to confirm.

How to win plumbing & heating contracts

Lead with Gas Safe and competence

Gas Safe registration, relevant scheme membership and insurance are commonly pass/fail. Make them clear, current and evidenced, not buried.

Nail occupied-property delivery

Appointment management, tenant communication, vulnerable-resident care and first-time-fix decide quality marks on housing programmes. Spell out the workflow and the metrics behind it.

Cite comparable programmes

A named boiler or servicing programme with a value and outcome beats general claims. BidSquirrel builds your draft from your own evidence and scores its own work like a panel so it leads with what earns marks.

Position for decarbonisation

Heat-pump and retrofit competence and carbon commitments are increasingly weighted. Make specific, deliverable claims tied to the contract.

Thinking of paying a bid writer for plumbing & heating tenders? BidSquirrel drafts each answer with you from your own evidence, scores it like the panel, and then helps you price to win - a costed breakdown and the value-for-money case, an axis few rivals cover - so the marks come from your facts and your number, not outsourced prose.

Compare us to a bid writer

Procurement regime

Public plumbing and heating work runs under the Procurement Act 2023, with single jobs and servicing rounds often let below threshold. Scotland and Wales use their own regimes. Evaluators and BidSquirrel's scoring treat heating and plumbing as a distinct sub-discipline, so you are judged on the work you actually self-deliver, and your Gas Safe and standing are checked before you bid.

Questions, answered

Do I bid as a heating specialist or under general construction?

As a specialist. Public buyers and BidSquirrel's scoring treat heating and plumbing as a distinct sub-discipline, so a Gas Safe firm is judged on its real heating capability rather than against general builders - usually to the specialist's advantage.

What do I need to win public sector boiler and heating programmes?

Typically Gas Safe registration, relevant scheme competence, adequate insurance and evidence of comparable, occupied-property delivery. These are commonly mandatory or heavily scored. BidSquirrel checks the requirements up front and builds your draft from your own evidence, scoring its own work like a panel so you compete where you are strong.

Is there decarbonisation and heat-pump work for SMEs?

Yes, and it is growing. Social-housing and public-estate decarbonisation funding supports heat-pump, hot-water and insulation retrofit, much of it time-bound and SME-accessible. BidSquirrel flags these opportunities and whether you qualify.

Which frameworks and DPS cover public sector plumbing and heating?

A lot of public plumbing and heating is bought through framework and dynamic-market (DPS) routes rather than one-off tenders. The common national and regional frameworks include Crown Commercial Service, Fusion21, LHC and Procure Partnerships, alongside various dynamic markets and legacy Dynamic Purchasing Systems that keep an open list of approved installers for gas servicing, heating and retrofit. Under the Procurement Act 2023 new supplier lists are set up as dynamic markets while legacy DPS run on under transition, so it is worth watching both. Being on the right framework or dynamic market gets you invited to call-offs and further competitions. BidSquirrel surfaces these routes as they open and scores whether the terms fit your Gas Safe firm before you apply.

Guides for plumbing & heating bidders

Council contracts under £30k

Read the guide

Quick Quotes explained

Read the guide

How tenders are scored

Read the guide

Public-sector frameworks

Read the guide

Dynamic Purchasing Systems

Read the guide

Prefer to browse by area? See live plumbing & heating and other tenders by UK region, or read all our bidding guides.

Other sectors

Construction & tradesElectricalFM & cleaning

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