Energy-Efficient Housing Made More Affordable with Mortgage Loan Insurance

More than 17 percent of the energy consumed in Canada is used to run our homes. Buying an energy-efficient home or making energy-saving renovations can offer big savings. A 10% CMHC mortgage loan insurance premium refund and extended amortization periods of up to 40 years without surcharge may be available when you use CMHC insured financing to purchase an energy-efficient home or make energy-saving renovations.

Mortgage Loan Insurance

For most people, the hardest part of buying a home — especially a first home — is saving the necessary down payment. To help, CMHC offers lenders Mortgage Loan Insurance, which allows you to buy a house with little or no down payment. Offered through most financial institutions, this simple solution has enabled millions of Canadians to realize the dream of homeownership.

CMHC made dreams of homeownership easier to obtain by introducing flexibilities for borrowers to purchase with no downpayment, or allowing qualified home buyers to use additional sources of funds for downpayments such as a loan or lenders' cash back incentives.

Help the Planet, Help Your Wallet

CMHC has added environmentally friendly features to the Mortgage Loan Insurance it offers. If you use CMHC insured financing to buy an energy-efficient home, purchase a house and make energy-saving renovations or renovate your existing home to make it more energy-efficient, a 10% refund on the Mortgage Loan Insurance premium may be available. You could also have the added flexibility of a longer amortization (the period of time required to repay your mortgage) from 25 years to a maximum of 40 years, significantly reducing your monthly payments.

The Government of Canada actively promotes energy conservation and initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

How It Works

Obtaining an energy assessment through an NRCan qualified energy advisor.

NRCan has developed an energy assessment and labelling system to help homeowners make energy-saving choices when buying a home or renovating. For a fee, a NRCan qualified energy advisor will evaluate the house to determine its energy efficiency rating on a scale of 0 – 100.

For more information, including information on the Government of Canada’s ecoEnergy initiatives, please visit:

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca

If You're Thinking of Buying or Building a Home

Step 1: Find out how energy-efficient it is

If the house you're considering buying is:

1. an energy-efficient R-2000 model;
2. has an energy efficiency rating of 77 (on or after July 27^th, 2005¹) or above;
3. was or will be built under a CMHC-eligible energy-efficient building program; or
4. the building in which the condominium unit you're buying (on or after July 27^th, 2005¹) is 25% more energy efficient, than if constructed to meet the requirements of the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB), you could be eligible for a 10% mortgage loan insurance premium refund and extended amortization when you use CMHC insured financing to purchase that home or condominium unit.

The house's energy efficiency rating can be obtained by:

• having an energy assessment completed by an NRCan qualified energy advisor;
• obtaining an R-2000 certificate or CMHC declaration from your R-2000 certified builder;
• obtaining a CMHC declaration from your builder that is a member of a CMHC-eligible energy-efficient building program;
• or for condominium units, a letter from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) or the project engineer for condominium units must be obtained.

If you are planning on building a new home and your builder is not R-2000 certified or a member of a CMHC eligible energy-efficient building program, you should have an energy advisor evaluate the building plans before the house is built. This can help you ensure that you will meet CMHC's requirements once the construction of the home is complete and it is evaluated.

¹ An energy rating of 80 is required for purchases occurring on or after November 18^th 2004 and until July 26^th 2005.

Step 2: Boost your energy efficiency

If the house you plan to buy has an energy rating below 77 (effective July 27^th, 2005. A rating of 80 is required for purchases and renovations occurring on or after November 18^th, 2004 and until July 26^th, 2005), to be eligible for a 10% premium refund, you will need to obtain an energy assessment through a NRCan qualified energy advisor and renovate using part of the CMHC insured funds based on your energy advisor's list of recommendations in order to increase your score by at least 5 points and to at least 40 overall.

Step 3: Discuss and arrange a CMHC-insured mortgage

Talk to your lender and ask for a CMHC insured mortgage.

Step 4: Confirm the improvement

After you make the renovations recommended by your energy advisor, you will need to have a second assessment done to determine the energy-saving effectiveness of the renovations. To be eligible for the 10% premium refund, the second rating must show that the house has achieved an increase of 5 points to a minimum overall rating of 40.

Step 5: CMHC 10% Premium Refund

Download and print the form:

Energy-efficient Premium Refund Form  

Follow the instructions on the form to apply for your refund.

If You Own a Home and are Thinking of Renovating

Step 1: Obtain an energy rating for your home

If you plan to use CMHC insured financing to make energy-saving renovations, a 10% mortgage loan insurance premium refund may be available.

Contact an NRCan qualified energy advisor to obtain an energy rating for your home. If the rating is below 77 you will receive a list of straightforward recommendations to increase your score (77 rating is effective July 27^th, 2005. A rating of 80 is required for purchases and renovations occurring on or after November 18^th, 2004 and until July 26^th, 2005).

Step 2: Discuss CMHC insured refinancing

Talk to your lender or your financial institution about which options are available to you.

Step 3: Improve your rating

Using your energy advisor's recommendations, renovate or upgrade to increase your energy rating using CMHC insured funds. You'll be amazed at the difference a more efficient furnace, better insulation or simple draft-proofing can make. Not only will you be reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but you'll also see welcome reductions in your monthly utility expenses.

Step 4: Confirm the improvement

Your energy advisor will assess your home again after the energy-saving renovations are finished. If this test shows that the house's energy rating has improved by at least 5 points and has achieved an overall rating of at least 40, the 10% premium refund may be available.

Step 5: CMHC 10% Premium Refund

Download and print the form:

Energy-efficient Premium Refund Form

Follow the instructions on the form to apply for your refund.