How much does Residential Protective Plumbing Program pay?

Published amounts run from $1,000 to $3,000, depending on the upgrade and the conditions attached to it. Every amount and its conditions are listed on this page, each with the date it was last verified against the administrator's own page.

What disqualifies you from Residential Protective Plumbing Program?

Maintenance, repair or replacement of protective plumbing already in the home. Devices the City of Ottawa installed itself. Work done without a building permit and inspection.

Where do you apply for Residential Protective Plumbing Program?

Apply: https://ottawa.ca/en/forms/application-for-residential-protective-plumbing-rebate; Questions: protectiveplumbing@ottawa.ca or 3-1-1.

Fix First Home › Ontario › Residential Protective Plumbing Program

Residential Protective Plumbing Program open

Administered by the City of Ottawa, Infrastructure and Water Services.

Ottawa rebates the cost of a backwater valve or a battery-backed sump pump, up to a set maximum for each: $1,000 for an indoor sanitary or a storm backwater valve, $2,500 for an outdoor storm valve, $1,500 for a sump pump in an existing pit and $3,000 with a new pit, plus the plumbing permit fee.

source · verified 2 October 2026

What it pays

Maximum rebate per item
Upgrade	Condition	Up to
Building permit, plumbing work only	100% of the current fee	—
Primary or secondary sump pump with battery backup	With construction of a new sump pit	$3,000
Outdoor storm backwater valve	Homes built before 2004	$2,500
Primary or secondary sump pump with battery backup	In an existing sump pit	$1,500
Indoor sanitary backwater valve	Homes built before 2012	$1,000
Storm backwater valve	Homes built before 2004	$1,000

The City pays the lesser of the maximum and the actual cost of the work. There is no percentage: a valve installed for $900 is rebated $900.

Who is eligible

who: Owners of a residential property in the City of Ottawa.
home age: Built before 1 January 2004 for a storm backwater valve; before 1 January 2012 for a sanitary backwater valve.
permit: A building permit before the work, and a City inspection when it is done.
timing: The work finished and the application in within 18 months of the permit's issue date (12 months before 1 July 2026).

What disqualifies you

The rules people find out about after the work is done.

Maintenance, repair or replacement of protective plumbing already in the home.
Devices the City of Ottawa installed itself.
Work done without a building permit and inspection.

Where the application goes

Online, or on paper at a Client Service Centre or the permit desk at 951 Clyde Avenue North.

Where the application goes
If this is you	Apply here
Apply	ottawa.ca
Questions	[email protected] or 3-1-1

The thing most pages get wrong

Ottawa's own page gives two deadlines. Its update says that from 1 July 2026 the work and the application have 18 months from the permit's issue date; the Apply steps on the same page still say 12 months. The update is the later word, but filing within 12 months avoids the question.

A flat maximum, not a percentage

Toronto pays 80% of the invoice and Peel 60%. Ottawa pays the whole cost up to each item's maximum and refunds the plumbing permit fee as well, so a modest job can cost the owner nothing but the time to apply.

Replacements do not count

The rebate is for adding protection a home does not have. A worn-out sump pump or an old backwater valve replaced like for like gets nothing, which is the case most owners ask about after a storm.