Fix First Home › Ontario
Ontario pays through one provincial programme, one for lower incomes, and whatever your city will lend.
Ontario’s money for home upgrades comes in three layers: Home Renovation Savings at any income, free upgrades under an income line, and loans from a handful of cities. Much of it carries dates in the fine print that no web page mentions, and the gas side is funded only to the end of 2026. Here is all of it, read off the administrators’ own pages and terms.
Updated .
The short version
Most of the money is Home Renovation Savings, and its terms have end-of-2026 dates
Home Renovation Savings pays at any income: up to $7,500 for an air-source heat pump in a home heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood, and $2,000 in a gas-heated one. Its terms add dates no web page mentions: thermostats by 31 December 2026, a single attic upgrade finished by 30 November, and the bundled stream’s follow-up assessment booked by 30 November. The smart thermostat rebate is $100, not the $125 on the apply page.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Under the income line, the work is free, and your heating fuel picks the programme
The Energy Affordability Program serves homes heated by electricity or oil, and can install a heat pump. A gas-heated home goes to Enbridge’s Home Winterproofing Program, which installs insulation and draft-proofing. One application covers both. The line is $96,439 for a household of four.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Your city may lend the rest, at 2% or at 4.75% plus fees
Six Ontario municipal loans take applications, repaid on the property tax or electricity bill. Durham lends up to $125,000 at 2%; Toronto the same amount at up to 4.75% plus 2%; Ottawa at 4.33% plus a 4% fee. The table below puts them side by side.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Flood protection is a city subsidy, and the amounts rose in 2026
Toronto now pays up to $6,650 a property for backwater valves, a sump pump and related work, at 80% of the invoice; Mississauga up to $7,500, with pre-approval first. Ottawa, Hamilton, London and seven other cities and regions pay their own amounts. The table below has all twelve.
source · verified 2 October 2026
What exists
Three province-wide programmes and Peak Perks, six city loans and a grant, and two for repairs and accessibility.
Home Renovation Savings
up to $7,500
Any income. Heat pumps, insulation, solar, thermostats and appliances; a bundled stream after an assessment.
Every amount and deadline →
Energy Affordability Program
installed free
Under the income line. Insulation, appliances and, for electric or oil heat, a heat pump.
The income lines →
Home Winterproofing
installed free
Enbridge's free insulation for income-qualified, gas-heated homes, funded to 31 December 2026.
Who qualifies →
Toronto HELP
to $125,000 at 3.34-4.75%
Plus 2%, on the property tax account. Its published rates expired 30 September 2026, and the chart leaves out interest.
The catch →
Better Homes Ottawa
4.33%, and $700 a ton
Up to $125,000 over 20 years with a 4% fee, and a heat pump incentive for participants.
The terms →
Durham Greener Homes Loan
2% over 15 years
Up to $125,000, everywhere in Durham except Pickering. Whitby adds up to $5,000 for a deep retrofit.
The repayments →
BetterHomes London
2.5%, to $40,000
For a 25% cut in energy use, with grants of $2,500 to $10,000 for lower incomes.
The grant scale →
RetrofitWR
2.5%, to $40,000
On the electricity bill, in Cambridge and North Dumfries only, plus $2,500 for a heat pump.
Who can use it →
Better Homes Peterborough
4.50%, to $50,000
Over 15 years on the tax bill, with $1,000 to $2,000 performance incentives.
The two loans →
Guelph Greener Homes
grant to $15,000
Toward a heat pump, for low-income homes. The 0% loan is closed to new applicants.
The grant →
Ontario Renovates
$15,000 to $25,000
Forgivable repair loans for low-income seniors and people with disabilities, city by city. Not in Toronto.
Area by area →
Home and Vehicle Modification
up to $15,000
Lifetime accessibility money through March of Dimes, after every other source is used.
Who qualifies →
Peak Perks
$75, then $20 a year
For enrolling a smart thermostat on central air or a heat pump; summer adjustments only.
The fine print →
Basement flood protection: the money is your city’s
No provincial programme pays for a backwater valve or a sump pump. Twelve cities and regions do, each on its own terms. Read on each one’s own page on 2 October 2026.
Toronto
up to $6,650
80% of backwater valves, a sump pump, a plumbing assessment and capping, raised on 1 May 2026.
The catch →
Ottawa
up to $3,000 an item
The full cost up to each maximum, plus the permit fee. Not for replacements.
What it pays →
Mississauga and Peel
$7,500 plus $1,500
Two rebates from two governments: storm side from the City, the sanitary valve from Peel.
Which is which →
Hamilton
$2,000 grant, $2,000 loan
The full grant only with a contractor from the City's list; $500 otherwise.
The list →
London
90% of the cost
For homes that have flooded or sit at risk from the City's sewers.
Who qualifies →
| City or region | Backwater valve | Sump pump | Most per property | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | 80% to $1,600 each, two | 80% to $2,250, plus $300 battery | $6,650 | Downspouts off the sewer first |
| Ottawa | $1,000; $2,500 outdoor storm | $1,500; $3,000 with a new pit | per item | The full cost up to each maximum, plus the permit fee |
| Mississauga | $1,500, storm lateral | $6,000 | $7,500 | Pre-approval before installing |
| Peel Region (Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon) | 60% to $1,500, sanitary | none | $1,500 | Once every 10 years |
| Hamilton | $2,000 grant ($500 off the City's list) | inside the $2,000 | $2,000, plus a $2,000 loan at 4% | Houses built before 2012 |
| London | 90% to $1,800 | 90% to $4,000 | by item | Homes the City judges at risk |
| Markham | $1,750 indoor, $2,000 outdoor | $5,000 with weeping tile disconnection | by item | Extended to the end of April 2027 |
| Brantford | 80% to $3,000 inside, $5,000 outside | 80% to $4,000 with battery | $5,000 | Downspouts disconnected first |
| Windsor | to $1,450 | to $2,000 with overflow and floor drain disconnection | $3,500, lifetime | Both together: up to $3,500 |
| Halton Region (Burlington, Oakville, Milton, Halton Hills) | 50% to $1,600 | none listed | $1,600 | Work after 15 July 2024 |
| Richmond Hill | to $1,500 | none listed | $1,500 | First come, first served |
| Vaughan | to $750 | none listed | $750 | Labour, materials, permit and taxes |
Every figure is a maximum; Toronto, Brantford, London, Peel and Halton pay a share of the invoice up to it. Mississauga’s storm-side rebate and Peel’s sanitary valve rebate are separate applications. Rows without a link have no page of their own here; their sources are on the changes page.
source · verified 2 October 2026
The same $125,000 costs very different amounts by city
The municipal home energy loans we found, as each city publishes them. None of them is income-tested.
| City | Most you can borrow | Rate | Term | Repaid on | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto (HELP) | $125,000 or 10% of assessed value, interest included | 3.34-4.75% by term, plus 2% | 5 to 20 years | Property tax | open |
| Ottawa | $125,000 or 10% of assessed value, interest included | 4.33%, plus a 4% fee | 20 years | Property tax | open |
| Durham Region, not Pickering | $125,000 | 2% | 15 years | Property tax | open |
| London | $40,000 | 2.5% | 10 to 20 years | Property tax | open |
| Cambridge and North Dumfries | $40,000 | 2.5%, $450 fee waived for now | 10 or 15 years | Electricity bill | open |
| Peterborough | $50,000 | 4.50%, plus $450 | 15 years | Property tax | open |
| Guelph | $50,000 | 0% | 10 years | City financing | closed |
| Kingston | $50,000 or 20% of value | 3.25-4.75%, plus $450 | 5 to 20 years | City financing | closed |
| Hamilton | $20,000 | 0% introductory | 10 to 15 years | City financing | closed pilot |
Durham’s own example: $125,000 at 2% over 15 years is repaid as $804.39 a month, $144,789.46 in all. On the standard calculation, Toronto’s 4.75% over 20 years with its 2% charge repays about $1.58 for every dollar borrowed. Toronto’s and Ottawa’s limits count the interest, and every “10% of assessed value” is 10% of a 2016 value. Toronto’s rates were published as valid only to 30 September 2026; on 2 October its page still showed them and nothing newer.
source · verified 2 October 2026
If your gas does not come from Enbridge
Home Renovation Savings pays its gas-heated heat pump rebates only to Enbridge Gas customers. Three smaller gas utilities’ customers are outside them:
- Kitchener Utilities: a $75 bill credit for a smart thermostat, and $500 for renting one of its condensing water heaters. No heat pump, insulation or furnace rebate.
- Utilities Kingston: a $100 credit toward a smart thermostat, for the thermostat only. Its customers’ mirror of the provincial rebates ran through Better Homes Kingston, now closed.
- EPCOR Natural Gas, around Aylmer and in Southern Bruce: nothing yet. EPCOR has asked the Ontario Energy Board to let its 14,700 residential customers into Home Renovation Savings from 1 January 2027.
source · verified 27 September 2026
A home heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood qualifies for the higher heat pump rebate whoever supplies its gas, if it has gas at all. Separately, Peak Perks pays $75 when you enrol a smart thermostat that controls central air or a ducted heat pump, and $20 each year after, for letting Save on Energy nudge the temperature on summer peak days.
source · verified 2 October 2026
What closed, and what you will still be told to apply for
- Enbridge Home Efficiency Rebate and Home Efficiency Rebate Plus — ended; Home Renovation Savings replaced them.
- Enbridge’s $75 smart thermostat rebate — moved into Home Renovation Savings on 28 January 2025, although Enbridge’s rebates page still advertises it.
- Toronto Renovates — discontinued, “not expected to be reactivated”.
- Better Homes Kingston — relaunched in 2026, funding allocated, no longer accepting applications.
- Guelph Greener Homes loans — not taking applications; the grant is still open.
- Better Homes Hamilton and Better Homes Burlington — pilots, closed.
- Toronto Hydro’s Heat Pump Assistance Program — 200 homes, recruitment complete.
- Whitby Weather-ready rebates — fully subscribed.
- Canada Greener Homes Grant and Loan — closed, though Ottawa’s, Guelph’s and Markham’s pages still mention them.
Not covered here
Coaching without money, in Halton Hills, Peel, Greater Sudbury, Markham and Richmond Hill, and studies in Aurora, Newmarket, Oakville, Thunder Bay and Windsor. Bill help such as the Ontario Electricity Support Program and LEAP. Ontario Renovates where the service manager is not listed on its page; Peel, York and Durham publish no homeowner intake we could find. Flood subsidies in towns outside the table above, and Aurora’s planned home energy loan, still before its council.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Questions people actually ask
Are there home improvement grants in Ontario in 2026?
Yes, mostly as rebates and free upgrades. Home Renovation Savings pays rebates at any income, up to $7,500 for an air-source heat pump in a home not heated by gas. Under the income lines, the Energy Affordability Program and Enbridge’s Home Winterproofing Program install insulation and, for electric or oil heat, a heat pump for free. Several cities lend the rest on the property tax bill, and Ontario Renovates pays forgivable repair loans to low-income seniors and people with disabilities where the city runs it.
What is the Home Renovation Savings deadline?
It depends on the stream. A smart thermostat must be bought, installed and activated by 31 December 2026. A single attic upgrade must be finished by 30 November 2026. In the bundled stream, the follow-up assessment must be booked by 30 November 2026 and done by 31 December 2026. The heat pump, solar and appliance terms give no end date.
How much is the Ontario smart thermostat rebate?
$100. The programme’s apply page says $125, but its terms keep $125 for households that received a free energy-saving kit from the Energy Affordability Program. Enbridge’s old $75 thermostat rebate moved into Home Renovation Savings in January 2025, although Enbridge’s rebates page still advertises it.
Can I get a free heat pump in Ontario?
Through the Energy Affordability Program, if your household is under its income line and your home is heated by electricity or by oil from an above-ground tank you own. A gas-heated home goes to Enbridge’s Home Winterproofing Program, which installs insulation, not a heat pump. In Guelph, a low-income household can get a grant of up to $15,000 toward one.
Which Ontario cities offer home energy loans?
Toronto, Ottawa, Durham Region except Pickering, London, Peterborough, and Cambridge and North Dumfries through RetrofitWR. Rates run from 2% in Durham to 4.75% in Toronto, before fees. Guelph’s and Kingston’s loans are closed to new applications.
Is there a grant for seniors' home repairs in Ontario?
Ontario Renovates, where your city or region runs it: a forgivable loan of $15,000 to $25,000 for repairs and accessibility work, open in 2026 in London, Ottawa and Waterloo Region among others. Toronto has discontinued its stream. March of Dimes pays up to $15,000 over a lifetime for accessibility changes, at any age.
My gas company isn't Enbridge. Can I get the heat pump rebate?
Not the gas-heated one. Home Renovation Savings requires an Enbridge Gas account for a gas-heated home, so customers of Kitchener Utilities, Utilities Kingston and EPCOR are outside it. EPCOR’s customers are asking to join from 2027.
Is there a rebate for a backwater valve in Ontario?
Not from the province, but from many cities. Toronto pays 80% up to $1,600 a valve, for up to two; Ottawa up to $1,000 indoors and $2,500 outdoors; Peel Region 60% up to $1,500 for a sanitary valve in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon; Hamilton a $2,000 grant through a listed contractor; London 90% up to $1,800 where it judges the risk; Markham, Brantford, Windsor, Halton, Richmond Hill and Vaughan their own amounts.
How much is Toronto's basement flooding subsidy?
Up to $6,650 a property since 1 May 2026, for work done on or after 12 November 2025: 80% of the invoice, up to $1,600 for each of two backwater valves, $2,250 for a sump pump, $300 for its battery backup, $500 for a plumbing assessment and $400 for capping the weeping tile connection. The downspouts must be off the City’s sewer first.