On June 17th, 2022, the Federal Government launched the much-anticipated Canada Greener Homes Loan.
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, and the differences between the Greener Homes Grant and the Greener Homes Loan.
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 apply and be eligible for the Canada Greener Homes Grant.
- You must be a Canadian homeowner and your home must be your primary residence.
- You have completed a pre-retrofit evaluation of your home dated April 1st, 2020 or later.
- 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.
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 are not eligible for a Canada Greener Homes Grant.
- Retrofits that aren’t included in your application.
You can check your eligibility here.
Apply for the Canada Greener Homes Grant
Click here to log in to the Greener Homes Program and start your application.
You’ll need to:
- Have a valid piece of government-issued ID with your primary address on it (like a driver’s license).
- Have your tax roll number handy (you can find it on a property tax bill).
- Select the name of a Service Organization in your area. To hire us as your Energy Advisors you can select either Enertech, CoEfficient, or City Green Solutions.
Schedule your pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation
Proceed to our Homeowners page to schedule your evaluation with us. We’ve made it easy for you to book it directly from the website. You can access our calendar and find a convenient time for you. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!
For more information on what the EnerGuide evaluation entails, click here.
Plan your retrofits
We can’t say it enough, planning is key to maximizing your loan and rebates. When we come to your house for the Pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation, we’ll discuss your retrofit plans and ideas. We’re experts in building science and energy efficiency. We will help you understand how the energy flows in your house, what you can do to keep the heat in, make your home more comfortable and healthier (for you and for the planet!).
Make sure your retrofits are from the list of eligible retrofits and installations.
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
Log in to your Canada Greener Homes Grant account and upload documentation to the loan portal, such as:
- 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 retrofits
That’s when the fun starts. Remember to keep all invoices and receipts from your contractors. You’ll need them later.
DO NOT start the retrofit before you’ve:
- Received your application number (AP123456) and
- Been approved for the loan.
Schedule your Post-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation
You can head to our Homeowners page 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-reno” 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 grant 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 retrofits, less the recommended grant amount.
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.
What’s the difference between the Grant and the Loan?
The Grant provides up to $5,600. No repayment.
The Loan can be up to $40,000, has a 10-year repayment term and is interest free.
Both the payment of the Greener Homes Grant and the Greener Homes Loan will be available once the:
- Retrofit and post-retrofit evaluation is complete
- Final invoices have been provided
- Natural Resources Canada has completed the final assessment of the 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 Program portal here to start your application. You will receive an AP number that will look like AP123456.
- Proceed to our Homeowners page to schedule your evaluation with us. You can access our calendar easily to find a convenient time for your evaluation. We need your AP number before we can proceed with your EnerGuide home evaluation.
As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!
