Energy-efficient housing made more affordable with Mortgage Loan Insurance.
A more energy-efficient home is a safer long-term investment. For these future-proof homes, the CMHC Green Home program offers a partial refund on the cost of mortgage loan insurance. Buy, build or renovate for energy efficiency and you may be eligible for a refund of up to 25% of your mortgage insurance premium!
Renovating a Home
If you purchase an existing home and make energy-efficient improvements, you may be eligible for a CMHC Green Home premium refund.
Before you begin renovation work or make any other improvements, you’ll need to have your home assessed by a Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) qualified energy advisor. You can learn more about home assessments here!
Once you’ve received your report and “pre-retrofit rating”, you’re ready to start your renovations and retrofits. Your renovation upgrade report from your assessment will identify the upgrades that will make the most difference in your specific home.
After your retrofits are complete, your energy advisor will return to re-assess and provide you with a new “post-retrofit rating”. Your pre- and post-retrofit ratings determine the Insurance Premium Refund amount:
EnerGuide rating (Gigajoules scale) | ||
If pre-retrofit rating is ≥ 200 | If pre-retrofit rating is < 200 | |
15% Insurance Premium Refund | Minimum decrease of 45 GJ/year, with resulting GJ/year not to exceed 250 | Minimum decrease of 20 GJ/year |
25% Insurance Premium Refund | Minimum decrease of 90 GJ/year, with resulting GJ/year not to exceed 250 | Minimum decrease of 45 GJ/year |
Buying or building a Home
If you are building a new home to an eligible building standard, or buying a home that was built to an eligible building standard, you can qualify for a Insurance Premium Refund of 15-25%.
Eligible building standards are as follows:
25% Refund, Canada-wide: R-2000, CHBA Net Zero Ready and Net Zero Homes.
15% Refund, Canada-wide: Built Green™, ENERGY STAR®, LEED Canada for Homes.
15% Refund, Provincial: GreenHouse™ (Ontario), GreenHome™ (Yukon), Novoclimat 2.0 (Quebec), Efficiency Manitoba’s New Homes Program (Manitoba)
If your home isn’t built to eligible building standards, you’ll need to have it assessed by a Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) qualified energy advisor and receive an EnerGuide home efficiency rating to qualify for an Insurance Premium Refund, just as you would if you were planning to renovate.
Homes rated to use at least 15% less energy than a typical new home qualify for a 15% refund.
Homes rated to use at least 40% less energy than a typical new home qualify for a 25% refund.
Buying a Condo
When buying a condo, the Insurance Premium Refund is based on the whole building, rather than your individual unit.
If your building meets the LEED Canada New Construction standard (Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum) or BUILT GREEN® High Density standard (certified Gold and Platinum), you automatically qualify for a 15% refund.
If your building is designed to be 20% more energy-efficient than compliance with the energy provisions of the applicable building code, you may be eligible for a 15% refund.
If your building is designed to be 40% more energy-efficient than compliance with the energy provisions of the applicable building code, you may be eligible for a 25% refund.