There are a number of incentives provided by the Toronto government for homeowners to avail of when pursuing a home renovation. These are subsidies, grants or rebates that you can take advantage of in order to ease some of the costs for renovating your home. Most of these involve financial assistance for installing safety features, or to encourage green home renovation projects. Some of these government incentives include:
The Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program can offer up to $3,400 to Toronto owners of single homes, duplexes, or triplexes. This subsidy is meant to go towards the installation of sump pumps and backwater valves that work to keep the basement unflooded whenever Toronto’s sewage pipes overflow during times of heavy rain.
The Eco-Roof Incentive Program offers an incentive for toronto home owners to invest in green roofs for some urban farming opportunities or a cool roof to reduce air conditioning costs.
Green roofs are roofs to homes and buildings that are built to support urban farming. They consist of a waterproof layer, a drainage layer, and a layer of soil for planting crops for a small yield. The city offers up to $100 per square meter for these with an additional $1,000 subsidy for the structural assessments in order to construct these.
Cool roofs help cut down on air conditioning costs and thus reduce carbon emissions by creating roofs that reduce heat build-up and reflect the sun’s rays. This is usually done by applying either a coating over existing roofing or by adding a lightweight waterproofing membrane. The city offers between $2 to $5 for each square meter for this type of renovation/home upgrade.
You can learn about more of these incentives on the Toronto Government’s website.