Program eligibility
Interested in our home renovation rebates? First, review the program eligibility criteria below to make sure your home is eligible, then check the upgrade-specific eligibility requirements.
The Home Renovation Rebate Program and CleanBC Home Efficiency Rebates program can not be combined with funding from the CleanBC Better Homes Income Qualified Program.
You're responsible for ensuring you meet the program eligibility requirements prior to applying.
Eligible homes
1. Your home must be primarily heated by electricity
Homes heated by electricity use electric baseboards, heat pumps, electric radiant ceiling or floors, or an electric forced-air furnace.
Not sure how your home is heated? Use this guide.
If your home is primarily heated by natural gas, oil or propane, check out rebates available from our program partners.
A primary heating system must have the capacity to heat a minimum of 50% of the home for the entire heating season to 21ºC. A fireplace is not eligible as a primary heating system.
2. Your electricity usage must meet our requirement
This rebate program is designed to help customers who have high bills from heating their homes with electricity. Homes must meet a minimum electricity usage requirement to qualify for rebates.
See if you meet this requirement
You'll need to know your BC Hydro account number, along with the square footage of your home, which you can find via BC Assessment.
It will compare your home's electricity consumption over the past three years against the average electricity consumption used by homes of the same size. Homes that fall into the average consumption threshold will qualify for rebates.
Note: Heat pump water heater rebate applications are exempt from the minimum electricity consumption requirement.
3. You need a BC Hydro account
The home must be connected to a current residential utility account with BC Hydro. Electrically heated homes served by local municipal utilities, such as New Westminster, within the service territory of BC Hydro are also eligible.
The rebate applicant must be the utility account holder. If the rebate applicant is not the account holder, the applicant registered property owner must fill out a utility account holder consent form [PDF, 982 KB].
4. Your home must be an eligible property type
The home must be 12 months or older, and one of the following types of residential buildings:
- Single-family detached home.
- Single-family detached home with a secondary suite, both of which are individually metered.
- Mobile home that is permanently fixed on a foundation, structurally complete with plumbing, heating, electrical, water and sewer services. Towing apparatus and axle has been removed.
- Side-by-side or stacked duplex or side-by-side row home or townhouse, each unit with its own natural gas and/or electricity meter. Homes with utility accounts in the name of a strata corporation are not eligible.
The following types of homes are not eligible due to limited energy-efficiency opportunities:
- Multi-unit residential buildings such as condominiums, high-rises and apartment buildings.
- Vacation homes or premises that are not year-round primary residences.
- Garages, workshops, and outbuildings.
- New homes built within the last 12 months.
- A home defined as "substantially reconstructed" by the Homeowner Protection Act (see eligibility terms and conditions below for details).
Refer to the rebate eligibility terms and conditions [PDF, 239 KB] for a complete list.
Eligible installations
- All upgrades must be installed by a licensed contractor with a GST number and a valid B.C. business license for the trade applicable to the upgrade being installed (e.g. heat pumps must be installed by a licensed residential heating and cooling contractor). Self-installations are not eligible.
- All equipment and products installed as part of an upgrade must be new, in good working order, not previously installed in another home or building.
- You're responsible for safe removal, modification (where applicable), and disposal/recycling of old equipment in accordance with all applicable laws and ensuring the equipment is not resold or reused.
- Rebates cannot exceed the cost on the invoice and the paid cost of the upgrade.
Please refer to the additional terms and conditions [PDF, 158 KB] for a complete list of requirements.
Next, review upgrade-specific eligibility requirements
Now that you've reviewed the general eligibility, review the specific eligibility criteria for the upgrade(s) you're interested in.