The Canada Greener Homes Loan Program offers interest-free financing of up to $40,000 to help your home more energy-efficient and comfortable.
Here’s a summary of the application process.
How it works
First things first, you need to make sure you’re eligible.
There are a few eligibility requirements to meet before applying for the loan:
- You must be a Canadian homeowner and your home must be your primary residence.
- You have a good credit history and aren’t under a consumer proposal, an orderly payment of debt program, or a bankruptcy or equivalent insolvency proceeding.
- You have completed a pre-retrofit evaluation of your home dated April 1st, 2020 or later. If you haven’t had a pre-retrofit evaluation yet, book it with us today.
This loan does not apply to the following work:
- Work that you’ve already started or completed.
- Retrofits that haven’t been recommended by an energy advisor.
- Retrofits that aren’t included in your application.
You can check your eligibility here.
Schedule your pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation
Join the many satisfied homeowners who have transformed their living spaces and start your journey towards a more comfortable, energy-efficient home today by booking your pre-retrofit evaluation with us. Check out what our satisfied customers are saying in our Google reviews.
To get ready for and learn what the EnerGuide evaluation entails, click here.
Plan your energy upgrades
We can’t say it enough, planning is key. When we come to your house for the Pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation, we’ll discuss your retrofit plans and ideas. Unlock the full potential of your home with our expertise in building science and energy efficiency. Our tailored solutions will not only keep your home warm and cozy but also improve its overall health and sustainability.
Once we’re done, we will send you your EnerGuide and Renovation Upgrade Reports. Review the report’s recommendations and decide which retrofits work best for your budget and renovation plans. Speak with contractors and get at least 1-3 quotes for each of the retrofits in your plan.
You can’t ask for a bigger loan if you decide to do more retrofits later, so it’s important to plan your work in advance before applying for the loan.
Submit an application for the loan
Register or Login to the Canada Greener Homes Loan portal. You will need:
- Your property tax statement
- Your driver’s license or other government issued ID together with a utility bill a confirmation of income and employment (for example, a job letter or a T4 slip)
- Your quotes from contractors
Based on your application, the program will calculate the maximum loan amount you are approved for.
To activate your loan offer, you will be asked to carefully review the information and accept the Loan Agreement.
A portion of the loan (up to 15%) can be delivered to you up front in order to pay applicable down payments to contractors. The balance of the loan will be delivered upon successful completion of the retrofits, and verification through a post-retrofit evaluation.
Complete your energy upgrades
That’s when the fun starts. Remember to keep all invoices and receipts from your contractors. You’ll need them later.
DO NOT start any work before you’ve been approved for the loan as it may disqualify you from securing the loan.
Schedule your Post-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation
Contact us to schedule your Post-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation with us. We will come to your house again to assess the energy performance of your house “post-renovation” and will provide you with the updated EnerGuide label and a new EnerGuide report.
Receive your loan amount
Once we’ve updated the information related to your final evaluation in the loan portal on our end, you will then have to upload all the final receipts and invoices (remember we told you to keep track of them earlier). The loan amount will be reviewed again based on the actual cost of the completed energy upgrades.
If the actual costs of the completed retrofits are lower than the initial cost estimates, it will be adjusted downwards.
If the actual costs are higher than the initial cost estimate, it will not increase.
The final approved loan amount will be deposited into your bank account (less the initial advance, if you received one) within 10 days.
Last but not least: Repay your loan over time
You will receive detailed information by NRCan on the repayment of your loan over the 10-year period.
Insider tip: we’ve heard from our clients that loan repayments start immediately on a monthly basis, beginning from the first day you receive your loan amount.
Easy, isn’t it?
At the risk of repeating ourselves, here are the first important steps:
- Make sure you’re eligible before you even start selecting retrofits. You can check your eligibility here.
- Log in to the Greener Homes Loan portal here to start your application.
- Join the many satisfied homeowners by booking your pre-retrofit evaluation with us.
As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help!
