from Canada Greener Homes Loan

WHAT IS CANADA GREENER HOMES LOAN ABOUT?

The Canada Greener Homes Loan helps Canadians make their homes more energy-efficient and comfortable. It offers interest-free financing in addition to the Canada Greener Homes Grant to help you complete some of the more major retrofits recommended by your energy advisor.

FINANCING INFORMATION

MAXIMUM FINANCING – $40 000

MINIMUM FINANCING – $5 000

REPAYMENT TERM – 10 Years – INTEREST-FREE

LOAN TYPE – Unsecured personal loan on approved credit

• The maximum eligible loan amount is calculated based on the retrofits selected in the application and the quotes for this work. The eligible amount is capped based on industry standards and market norms. The maximum eligible loan amount may be less than your quoted cost, in which case you will be responsible for funding any difference.
• A maximum of one loan is available per eligible property and homeowner.
• The loan can only help you finance eligible products and installations that are part of a retrofit that is both recommended by an energy advisor and eligible for the grant.
• To begin work in your home, a portion of the loan can be delivered to you up front. Contractors often require a down payment for these types of projects. The balance of the loan will be delivered upon successful completion of the retrofits and verification through a post-retrofit evaluation.

HOW TO QUALIFY FOR THIS LOAN?

Eligibility

There are a few eligibility requirements to meet before applying for the loan:

• You must be eligible for and apply for the Canada Greener Homes Grant or the equivalent provincial program
• 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 1, 2020, or later
• You have a good credit history and aren’t under:
  • a consumer proposal
  • an orderly payment of debt program
  • a bankruptcy or equivalent insolvency proceeding
• You will be asked to share financial information to demonstrate that you have the financial capacity to repay the loan.

Ineligible homes or materials

• 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

HOW TO APPLY FOR THIS LOAN?

STEP 1 – Apply to the Canada Greener Homes Grant

In order to apply for the loan, you must first apply and be eligible for the Canada Greener Homes Grant.

STEP 2 – Get a pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation

A service organization will reach out to schedule a pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation of your home with an energy advisor. They will evaluate your home and make recommendations on how to make it more energy-efficient and resistant to climate change.

Only retrofits that have been recommended by an energy advisor and are from the grant’s list of eligible retrofits and installations are eligible for the loan.

STEP 3 – Plan your retrofits and get quotes from contractors

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 to 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.

STEP 4 – Submit an application to the loan

Log in to your Canada Greener Homes account, and click the button to access the loan portal. To submit your application, you will have to upload documentation to the loan portal, such as:

• your property tax statement
• your driver’s licence 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.

In order to apply for the loan, you must first be eligible for and apply for the Canada Greener Homes Grant .

• Residents of all provinces except Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec apply for the loan through the Canada Greener Homes portal
• Residents of Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec apply for the loan through the Canada Greener Homes Loan portalonly after applying for the grant through your provincial co-delivery organization

Please note: a portion of the loan can be delivered to you up front in order to pay applicable down payments to contractors. The balance of the loan will be delivered once the retrofits have been successfully completed and verified through a post-retrofit evaluation.

Upfront costs

You can access a portion* of your loan funds in advance to pay for upfront costs, such as paying a deposit to your contractor. You can request the advance on your loan during your application by demonstrating that an upfront payment is required. You can do that by uploading the quotes you received from contractors and by entering the deposit amounts required to do the retrofit.

* Up to a maximum of 15% of the eligible cost of retrofits requiring an upfront payment. This amount is increased to 25% if your property is located in the North or off grid.

STEP 5 – Complete your retrofits and keep receipts and invoices

Start your work, and make sure to keep copies of all your receipts and invoices along the way.

STEP 6 – Get a post-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation

Once the retrofits are complete, contact your service organization to request a post-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation. An energy advisor will evaluate the impact of your improvements and provide you with an updated EnerGuide label and a new report that estimates how much you can receive for your grants.

STEP 7 – Receive your loan amount

The energy advisor will update the information related to your final evaluation in the Canada Greener Homes portal, including the estimates of your final grant amount. You will also have to upload all your final invoices and receipts to the Canada Greener Homes portal, and receipts for the retrofits to the loan portal. The loan amount will be reviewed again based on the actual cost of the completed retrofits.

• If the actual costs of the completed retrofits are lower than the initial cost estimates, the loan amount will be decreased
• If the actual costs are higher than the initial cost estimate, the loan amount will not be increased

The final approved loan amount will be deposited into your bank account (less the initial advance, if you received one) within 10 days.

STEP 8 – Repay your loan over time

You will receive detailed information on the repayment of your loan over the 10-year period.