Ottawa: The second phase of the Canada Greener Homes Loan for homeowners, starting in early September 2022, will expand the eligibility for interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to homeowners who have closed their application (those who have requested their post-retrofit evaluation or grant), but still have remaining eligible retrofits they are interested in pursuing, that have not yet commenced.
The first phase, started on June 17, 2022, was open to eligible homeowners who applied or have an open application (pre-retrofit stage) to the Canada Greener Homes Grant.
Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion and Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), announced the launch in June of the first phase of the new Canada Greener Homes Loan for homeowners , which will provide interest-free loans of up to $40,000 per household.
By helping Canadians retrofit their homes to be more energy efficient, the Government of Canada is making life more affordable, creating good jobs, and creating a greener, cleaner environment for generations to come, according to an aofficial statement.
Budget 2021 provided $4.4 billion for a new loan program to help homeowners and affordable housing providers complete deep home retrofits.
The Canada Greener Homes Loan is an inclusive program designed to help up to 175,000 eligible homeowners undertake deeper, more costly retrofits that will have a significant impact in reducing a home’s environmental footprint, energy bills, and in improving home resiliency.
The Canada Greener Homes Loan is part of the Canada Greener Homes Initiatives. The program builds on the Canada Greener Homes Grant offered by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) in helping Canadian Homeowners across the country improve the energy efficiency of their home.
The Canada Greener Homes initiatives helps eligible homeowners make their homes more comfortable and affordable to maintain while supporting Canada’s environmental objectives, climate change plans and targets. These retrofits will also help stimulate the economy by creating good middle-class jobs in communities across the country.
Since its launch in May 2021, the Canada Greener Homes Grant has helped homeowners across the country retrofit their homes while creating good jobs for Canadians.
As of June 8, over 171,000 applications have been received through the national portal, tens of thousands of files from eligible homeowners from our partner programs in Quebec and Nova Scotia are being processed; $38 million in grants have been sent to over 10,000 Canadians.
Budget 2022 provided an additional $458.5 million in funding for the low-income stream of the Canada Greener Homes Loan program. The additional funding will enable affordable housing providers to make extensive energy retrofits with advantageous long-term financing and financial support.
These retrofits will help mitigate climate change while improving the quality of life for the residents living in affordable housing. This stream of the program will serve affordable housing providers such as non-profit housing and cooperative housing. More information about this stream of the program will be available at a later date.
More details on eligibility and how to apply to the Canada Greener Homes Loan is now available on the website.
Additional details on the funding for affordable housing providers will be available at a later date.
Minister Hussen said: “The environment and the economy go hand in hand. Today’s investment will go a long way to help Canadians live more comfortably, by improving the energy efficiency of their homes while reducing our collective environmental footprint. This will also stimulate our economy by creating good jobs for the middle class. This is the National Housing Strategy at work. ”
Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, added: “Canadians are looking for ways to save money on their energy bills and do their part to fight climate change. We are driving economic activity and creating jobs by helping Canadians improve the energy efficiency of their homes. The Canada Greener Homes Initiatives are good for your wallet, good for the economy, and good for the planet.”