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CMHC Eco Plus and Eco Improvement: The 25% Premium Refund (Formerly Green Home)

Updated

CMHC’s old Green Home program has been replaced by two refunds on the mortgage insurance premium: Eco Plus for buying a newly built energy-efficient home, and Eco Improvement for renovating one you’ve just bought. Both return 25% of the premium. You need a CMHC-insured mortgage, so they don’t apply with 20% or more down or with another insurer.

Eco Plus: newly built homes

From CMHC Eco Plus:

  • The home: newly built and never occupied. Eligible properties include new homes, high-rise condo units and prefabricated homes.
  • Energy standard: an eligible energy efficiency certification (for example BC Energy Step Code or Built Green levels on CMHC’s list), or an energy consumption rating at least 20% better than a typical new home, assessed by a Natural Resources Canada energy advisor.
  • When to apply: within 2 years of your mortgage closing date.

Eco Improvement: renovating a home you bought

From CMHC Eco Improvement, you need a CMHC-insured mortgage and at least $20,000 of qualifying energy-efficient renovations after buying. Eligible categories include the building envelope (insulation, windows, doors, roofing, air sealing), mechanical systems (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, heat pumps) and renewable energy such as solar. Apply within 2 years of closing, with your EnerGuide renovation report or label.

How much you get back

The refund is 25% of the premium you paid. For a $600,000 home bought with the minimum down payment, CMHC’s premium is $22,600, so the refund would be about $5,650. Premium rates by down payment are on CMHC mortgage rules.

Other energy-efficiency help

The federal Canada Greener Homes Loan is closed: its funding is fully committed and new applications can’t be approved. Provinces and utilities run their own rebates for heat pumps, insulation and similar upgrades, and these change often, so check your province’s energy-efficiency program and your utility before you start.

Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 25, 2026 and October 2, 2026. How we check facts.