Home Energy Loan Program (HELP)
Borrow for energy upgrades to an eligible Toronto home and repay the City through your property tax bill.
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HELP finances improvements such as heat pumps, insulation, air sealing, replacement windows and doors, solar panels and efficient heating or hot-water systems. It also lists Level 2 electric vehicle chargers and battery storage.
The total loan, including interest and the 2% administrative charge, cannot exceed the lower of CAD 125,000 or 10% of your property’s current assessed value. Interest is fixed over the loan term. Repayment terms extend up to 20 years; the 20-year option is limited to projects that include solar PV, geothermal installation, new windows or heat pumps.
Repay through 11 monthly property-tax instalments each year. Late or unpaid instalments have the same penalties and collection remedies as property taxes, including the same priority for claims against the property. You can repay the outstanding balance at any time. The loan stays attached to the property, so a new owner assumes the balance if you sell before it is repaid.
You may combine HELP with energy efficiency rebates and incentives from Toronto, Ontario, the Canadian government and utility companies.
Eligibility
- You must own a detached or semi-detached home, row house, duplex, triplex or another low-rise residential building with at most three storeys and six units in Toronto. The property’s postal code must begin with M.
- Every owner named on the property title must consent. You must have no more than three instances of a property-tax or utility account being 60 days past due in the past three years. If the property has a mortgage, obtain the mortgage lender’s written consent.
- Get funding approval before undertaking renovations. For the standard route, arrange a home energy assessment with an advisor registered by Natural Resources Canada before the work. The advisor evaluates insulation, heating and cooling and air leaks, supplies recommended upgrades and gives an EnerGuide rating of the home’s energy performance.
- Projects consisting only of heat pumps or only of rooftop solar PV panels are exempt from the pre- and post-renovation EnerGuide assessments. For the heat-pump-only route, the funding request is limited to heat pumps and installation costs, electrical upgrades if needed, and building permits.
How to apply
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- Applications for the Home Energy Loan Program are open.
Apply using the City of Toronto’s online HELP application. If you have a mortgage, the City supplies a lender-consent form; lender consent is required before a funding offer can be sent. The offer sets the maximum amount available for your property.
For the standard route, obtain the energy assessment, choose improvements and contractor quotes, then submit a funding request with the proposed work, estimated costs and expected utility rebates. For heat-pump-only or rooftop-solar-only projects, follow the assessment exemption above and submit contractor quotes and the funding request.
After the City approves the request, sign and return its Property Owner Agreement. Once the City approves that agreement, you can request up to 30% of the funds to begin. You are responsible for choosing and paying contractors and obtaining required municipal or provincial permits.
For the standard route, book a post-renovation assessment and submit the energy advisor’s signed Project Completion Report, contractor invoices and new EnerGuide label. For a heat-pump-only project, your heating, ventilation and air-conditioning professional must sign the HELP Installation Attestation Form and Project Completion Report; for rooftop-solar-only projects, your solar installer signs these forms. Submit them with invoices for approval and release of the remaining funds.
After completion, the City notifies you when repayments start and enrols you in its Pre-Authorized Tax Payment program.