9 Renovation Grants and Rebates You May Qualify For
Even with a skilled, financially savvy contractor heading a project, home renovation and remodeling is a potentially expensive proposition for homeowners. There are ways of defraying some of the costs, however, depending on the nature of your home and other factors. Tax rebates, interest free loans and grants are available for a wide variety of people to help offset the expense of certain types of renovation and remodeling projects.
1. VANCOUVER HERITAGE FOUNDATION – TRUE COLORS GRANT
Who Can Apply: Homeowners with properties on the City of Vancouver’s Heritage Register
How much can you get? 50% of the project up to $7500
This grant is intended to provide funding to homeowners who wish to paint their Heritage Property with a historically accurate palate. During the application process, your property will be visited by a Heritage Consultant who recommend a colour scheme based on the building and neighborhood’s history. Once approved, you will be offered a list of approved painting contractors to undertake the work. The Vancouver Heritage Foundation will pay for half the cost of the project, giving you a fresh, historically relevant new coat of paint at a fraction of the price!
Where to apply?: Application form (PDF)
2. VANCOUVER HERITAGE FOUNDATION – RESTORE IT GRANT
Who Can Apply: Homeowners with properties on the City of Vancouver’s Heritage Register
How much can you get? 50% of the project up to $7500
Like the True Colours grant, the Restore It grant applies to homes on the Heritage Register. Intended to cover exterior repairs and historical elements that may have fallen into disrepair or been lost in previous renovations. Covered elements include exterior trim, wood window frames and siding. Like the True Colours Grant, it provides a cash payment of up to $7500 covering 50% of the restoration fees. Unlike the True Colours Grant, you may use a contractor of your choice to conduct the renovation work.
Where to Apply? Application form (PDF)
3. VANCOUVER HERITAGE FOUNDATION – ENERGY RETROFIT GRANT
Who Can Apply: Owners of Pre-1940 Homes or those on the City of Vancouver’s Heritage Register
How much can you get? $3000 maximum for energy efficiency updates, $6000 maximum if changing home fuel system away from oil or gas
Unlike the VHF’s previous two grants, this grant is open to the owners of any home that was built previous to 1940. As these older homes are often poorly insulated and were not designed with energy efficiency in mind, this grant combined with future savings on heating bills could make the renovation work pay for itself entirely. This grant is intended to work in tandem with BC Hydro and Fortis BC’s efficiency rebate programs, covering expenses those programs don’t cover such as higher-efficiency heating and plumbing fixtures, and the cost of the utility company’s expenses.
Where to Apply? Application form (PDF)
4. FORTISBC – HOME RENOVATION REBATE PROGRAM
Who Can Apply: FortisBC customers living in Single-family homes, Duplexes, Row Homes, Townhouses or Mobile Homes on permanent foundations
How much can you get? Rebates vary by specific work undertaken, ranging from $300 for fireplace upgrades to $1200 for insulation work, see the full list here
FortisBC’s program provides rebates on the cost of specific energy efficiency upgrades on a per-item basis, as well as rebates on Energuide advisors and evaluations. Covered work includes insulation, heating upgrades and energy efficient water heaters.
Where to Apply? Application Instructions are on FortisBC’s website, here
5. BC HYDRO – ENERGY EFFICIENCY REBATES
Who Can Apply: BC Hydro customers living in Single-family homes, Duplexes, Row Homes, Townhouses or Mobile Homes on permanent foundations
How much can you get? Per-item rebates on select energy upgrades, the full list is here
Intended to work in tandem with the FortisBC and Heritage foundation rebates, the BC Hydro rebates cover specific home upgrades that improve energy efficiency. Eligible upgrades include insulation, ductless heat pumps and draftproofing.
Where to Apply? Application Instruction are on BC Hydro’s website, here
6. GOVERNMENT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA – HOMEOWNER GRANT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Who Can Apply: Individuals residing in BC who have made disability accessibility upgrades on their home in last year
How much can you get? A tax credit of up to $2000 that is applied to your property tax. Additional cash payment grants are available for seniors, veterans and low income individuals
Individuals who have upgraded their homes for disability accessibility to assist themselves, a spouse or family member (or property owners filing with the cooperation of tenants who have disabilities). Upgrades such as wheelchair ramps, accessible bathtubs, grab bars, upgraded graspable railings and others are covered under this program. In addition to tax credits, some individuals may apply for further direct cash grants through the program.
Where to Apply? Program details and application instructions are on the Government of British Columbia’s website, here
7. BC HOUSING – HOME ADAPTATIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE
Who Can Apply: Low income homeowners, landords and tenants who are seniors or face mobility impairments, or have seniors/mobility impaired people living in the home
How much can you get? A maximum of $20,000 is available in grants or forgivable loans
This large grant is intended to help people with low incomes who require home retrofits be able to afford mobility upgrades. An extremely wide variety of improvements are covered in this program, intended to completely retrofit a house to allow a person with mobility issues to live independently. A complete list of eligible improvements is available on BC Housing’s website. These grants are disbursed on a first-come-first-serve basis, with yearly funding limited. The 2017 grants were opened in March, with the funding becoming exhausted in November.
Where to Apply: 2018 grant funding will open on March 1st, 2018, full program details, grant availability information and application instructions are here
8. GOVERNMENT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA – SENIORS HOME RENOVATION TAX CREDIT
Who Can Apply: BC Homeowners over 65 Years of Age who have made accessibility upgrades to their home
How much can you get? 10% of project costs (maximum $1000 per tax year) as a refundable income tax credit
This tax credit can be claimed on accessibility upgrades made to your home if you are over 65 years of age and covers upgrades such as walk-in tubs, graspable railings, accessible door handles and similar retrofits.
Where to Apply? This tax credit is claimed on your yearly T1 income tax return. Full program details and filing instructions are here
9. CITY OF VANCOUVER – HOME RENOVATION REBATE PROGRAM
Who Can Apply: Vancouver Homeowners
How Much Can You Get? Fixed rebates are provided on specific home energy efficiency upgrades and coaching, an additional $750 will be disbursed if installing 3 or more upgrades
The City of Vancouver’s Energy Coach program works to combine the BC Hydro and Fortis BC rebate programs into one process, offer advice on what work to undertake, and provide homeowners assistance in applying for those rebates. Pre-1940 homes are also eligible for the additional Vancouver Heritage Foundation grants.
Where to Apply? Call 1-844-881-9790 or visit https://bcenergycoach.ca/
DONT LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE!
With the variety of grants, rebates and tax credits available for homeowners undertaking renovation work, there’s no reason not to apply to any that you may qualify for. The large potential savings in both construction costs and lower energy expenses in the case of efficiency upgrades are just common sense. These different grants may seem somewhat complex, but our team is familiar with many of these applications, if you need some help, feel free to contact us any time for advice on your eligibility.