Home Energy Loan Program (HELP)
What is HELP?
HELP is a new financing tool offered by the City of Toronto to help you improve your home’s energy efficiency and save money.
Upgrading your insulation and replacing an old furnace are examples of cost-effective improvements – also called retrofits – that can cut your energy bills, improve home comfort and reduce harmful emissions to the environment. For many people, however, the high upfront cost of these improvements can be a barrier to taking action.
HELP offers a solution.
Low interest loans are available to qualifying homeowners who are interested in improving the energy and water efficiency of their home. Through HELP, the City will provide the funding required to complete the improvements and the homeowner will repay the City over time through installments on their property tax bill.
The potential savings you may realize after completing your home energy retrofit will help to offset the cost of your monthly repayments to the City. And by making your home more energy efficient, you will be better protected against rising energy costs.
Five benefits of HELP financing:
HELP allows you to avoid the large upfront cost of home energy improvements and pay for them over time.
HELP financing is attached to the property, not to the property owner. If you sell the property before the loan is repaid, the new owner will assume the balance of the loan and continue to repay it through the property tax bill.
You may pay off your HELP loan at any time, without penalty.
You benefit from low interest rates and longer repayment terms, compared to conventional financing.
You can take advantage of incentives to reduce the cost of your projects. An incentive of up to $650 is available from Toronto Hydro for replacing your furnace and air conditioner with high efficiency units. An incentive up to $2,100 is available from the Home Energy Conservation (HEC) Program to qualified homeowners. Please contact the HELP team for more information at homeenergyloan@toronto.ca or 416-392-1826.
How it works
HELP provides an alternative to traditional financing. A homeowner voluntarily applies to the City’s Program and enters into an agreement with the City to undertake qualifying energy efficiency and water conservation improvements.
The City then imposes a special charge – equal to the cost of the improvements, plus interest and an administrative charge incurred by the City – on the participating property.
Payments to the City are then made over a period of up to 15 years as a special charge indicated on the property tax bill. The payment obligation attaches to the property, not the owner, and is secured by the City’s priority lien status. If a property changes ownership, the new owner would assume the financial obligation and continue to make payments to the City until the special charge is fully paid.
While some of these may appear insignificant to the common observer, their impact on your energy cost over the long term is immense. Our technicians will take a look at your home and identify all areas that require sealing before commencing work. It is advisable to remove any items stored in attics and other heavy work areas in advance so as to make the insulation job quicker and more efficient.
To receive a free quotation for your home’s spray foam insulation, call us on 1-647-973-3626.
