Greener Homes Loan in Canada

Canada Greener Homes Loan

Improve Your Home

You can now take advantage of the Canada Greener Homes Loan that will help you invest and improve your property’s energy efficiency.

This helpful loan enables Canadians to transform their home into a greener, more energy efficient and sustainable one. Additional interest-free financing options have been added, on top of the Canada Greener Homes Grant, to help you complete the majority of work your house requires.

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Loan details

  • Minimum: $5,000
  • Maximum: $40,000
  • Repayment term: 10 years, completely  interest-free
  • Type of Loan: Personal loan, unsecured (on approved credit)

Only one loan available per household/eligible property.

This specific loan is only available to help you finance eligible products and installations recommended by an energy advisor like us here at Terawatt Solar, and as part of a retrofit.

To enable you to kickstart your project, this loan can be partially delivered to you upfront. As the majority of solar contractors will require a down payment prior to commencing the project, this will allow you to get started. The remaining portion of the loan will be delivered to you once your retrofits have been successfully installed, once a post-retrofit evaluation has been carried out.

Eligibility

All loan applicants

For those who have heard a generator working before, they can all agree that it is quite noisy, reaching up to 8.5 decibels (which can be similar to a police whistle or a lawn mower).

In the long run, this noise can be quite frustrating to you and your neighbors, and noise pollution has been linked to the following issues:

  • Hearing loss
  • Sleep disruption
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Reduced productivity in work and school
  • Negative social behavior
  • Annoyance reactions

Needless to say as well, that power outages are stressful occurrences and the extra noise created by generators can only add to the annoyance and stress. As a matter of fact, generators are often in violation of many HOA bylaws and city ordinances. 

On the other hand, a home battery backup system is completely silent and can only be heard if standing right next to it, closely listening to it working.

Applying for the loan for any retrofits that have not been begun

First of all, a new Pre-Retrofit EnerGuide evaluation will need to be carried out, laying out any recommended retrofits that have not commenced yet. 

You must login here on the Canada Greener Homes Grant portal and check the steps required to submit a new Pre-Retrofit EnerGuide Evaluation for your property.

For those living in Quebec and Nova Scotia, please click on the links below for your specific guidelines:

To ensure you are still eligible for the Greener Homes Loan, we strongly recommend not to commence the work on any retrofits that you would like to include under this initiative. 

Once you have applied for the Greener Homes Loan and your retrofits have been completed, you will need to submit a new Post-Retrofit EnerGuide evaluation prior to funding to validate the completed work. To avoid confusion, ensure that you read carefully all the information on the Greener Homes Grant portal as well as the instructions on how to request the Post-Retrofit EnerGuide evaluation.

It is important to keep in mind that that new pre and post evaluation is an additional cost covered by the applicant.

There are a few exceptions that will invalidate your application:

  • If the work being carried out has already started or has been completed
  • If the retrofits haven’t been approved by an energy advisor
  • Any retrofits that do not qualify for a Canada Greener Homes Grant
  • Any retrofits that are not included in the application

Applicants From An Indigenous Group

  • You can register multiple properties
  • You must be the owner of said property(ies) or be part of a formal partnership to represent the owners, however the properties do not need to be their primary residence
  • The property needs to be occupied by an Indigenous household
  • At least one eligible retrofit should be selected for each property 

You can find more information by calling 1-866-292-9517

Low-Rise Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (MURBs)

Any homeowner living in a low-rise multi-unit residential building could qualify for the Canada Greener Homes Grant, but must meet all the additional eligibility criteria.

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How To Apply For The Grant

Applying for the Canada Greener Homes Grant

You can check if you qualify for the grant and submit your application for the Canada Greener Homes Grant

For Nova Scotia and Quebec residents you can apply through the following links. You can also register through these links and book your EnerGuide evaluation:

For New Brunswick and British Columbia (West Kootenay) residents, the provinces of 

New Brunswick and British Columbia (West Kootenay) have requested that their residents apply through their provincial program first.

Obtain A Pre-Retrofit EnerGuide Evaluation

Someone from a service organization will get in touch with you to book a pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation of your property, carried out by an energy advisor. They will come and inspect your property and make some recommendations on how to improve it in terms of energy-efficiency and better resistance to climate change. Keep in mind that only retrofits recommended by an energy advisor and are included in the list of eligible retrofits and installations will qualify for this loan. 

Arrange The Retrofits and Obtain Pricing From Contractors

After the evaluation has been carried out, we recommend looking at the report and choosing the best retrofits that would suit your budget and needs. We recommend obtaining a few quotes from different contractors per retrofit.

It is important to remember that, once you have requested your loan, you won’t be able to increase it should you decide to add more retrofits at a later date. This makes it essential to plan your work accurately prior to the loan application.

Submit The Loan Application

You can submit your application by logging into your Canada Greener Homes Grant account and accessing your loan portal. 

The following documentation is required to be uploaded in order to complete the application:

  • Quotes obtained from the different contractors
  • Your government issued ID (such as driving license) and a utility bill
  • Property tax statement
  • Confirmation of income or employment (such as a T4 slip or job letter)

Depending on your application, you will be given an amount of maximum loan available to you. If you wish to pursue the loan offer, you will need to check the information carefully and then accept the Loan Agreement. You may be allowed to receive part of the loan upfront to help you with contractors’ downpayments. The remaining balance of the loan will be delivered once the retrofits have been completed and a post-retrofit evaluation has been carried out.

Upfront Costs

Part of your loan* can be accessed in advance to enable you to pay upfront costs, such as a contractor’s deposit. You may be able to request this advance during your application but you must give evidence that the upfront payment is needed, either by uploading quotes from contractors clearing stating the deposit needed to proceed with the retrofit. 

* Maximum 15% of the cost of the eligible retrofit that requires an upfront payment. 25% if the property is located in the North or off-grid.

Finish The Retrofit And Keep All Invoices and Receipt

It is essential to keep track of all receipts and invoices related to the retrofit, to ensure that they can be reimbursed.

Carry Out A Post-Retrofit EnerGuide Evaluation

Once the retrofits have been finished, you need to request a Post-Retrofit EnerGuide evaluation, carried out by the service organization. They will send an energy advisor who will check the works carried out and will issue you with a new updated EnerGuide label and report that shows how much you can claim through the grants. 

Collect Your Loan

Finally, the energy advisor will upload all the information gathered in your final evaluation to the online portal. This includes the final grant amount and here you will also be able to upload all the invoices and receipts related to the retrofits. Following this, the loan amount will once again be reviewed and updated, depending on the final costs of the retrofits that have been carried out, minus the recommended grant amount. 

So if the costs of the completed retrofits are lower than the initial estimates, they will be adjusted accordingly. However if higher, it will not increase. 

The final amount will be credited to your account within 10 working days.

Repay Your Loan

You will receive information on how to repay your loan over the 10-year period separately. 

Important Information

Difference between grant and loan.

The grant can offer:

  • Up to $5,000 for the eligible and recommended retrofits that you choose
  • Up to $600 to help you with eligible evaluations

It is available only after the retrofit and post-retrofit evaluation have been completed, final receipts and invoices have been submitted and Natural Resources Canada has completed the final assessment of the grant amount. This applies for loan funds too, and you could also receive part of the funds at the start to enable you to pay for any deposits or upfront costs. 

Loans can be up to $40,000, with a 10-year repayment period completely interest free.

What to do if you have applied for the grant and want to apply for the loan:

  1. Make sure you are eligible first
  2. Reserve a pre-retrofit evaluation of the property
  3. Pick the most convenient retrofits from your Energy Advisor’s Renovation Upgrade Report
  4. Collect a few retrofits quotes from different contractors (ideally three)
  5. Login to the Greener Homes portal/account and submit the application for the loan, including the quotes received

Remember that you cannot apply for a loan after you have begun the work or completed the retrofits on your property, even if the retrofits in question were included in the pre-retrofit evaluation report.

Remember that to qualify for the loan you must apply through the portal, upload a few quotes from contractors and be approved before starting any work on the retrofits.

You will not be able to claim a loan if you have already started working on your retrofits.

Also keep in mind that only eligible property owners for the Greener Homes Grant can apply for the loan, and the loan and its performance will be reported to Equifax.

The links below explain other useful resources concerning affordable and sustainable housing.

Applying for the Greener Homes Grant or Loan

Remember the following prior to applying for your loan::

  • You must have been approved for the Greener Homes Grant
  • You must have carried out a pre-retrofit evaluation and a renovation upgrade report
  • You must have already received retrofits quotes from different contractors 

Your final loan amount will only be delivered after your retrofits have been completed and verified through a post-retrofit evaluation. 

For Quebec residents, you must: 

  • Apply through the Rénoclimat program
  • Complete your pre-retrofit evaluation and obtain your renovation upgrade report including minimum one recommended retrofit
  • Receive retrofits quotes from different contractors

For Nova Scotia residents, you must:

  • Contact an Approved Service Organization to carry out a pre-retrofit evaluation on your property
  • Complete your pre-retrofit evaluation and obtain your renovation upgrade report including minimum one recommended retrofit
  • Receive retrofits quotes from different contractors

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