Better Homes Hamilton: Heat Pump Loans Explained

In short

Better Homes Hamilton is closed. The City of Hamilton's pilot stopped accepting applications on February 1, 2024, after offering roughly 50 homes interest-free loans of up to $20,000 for heat pumps, insulation and air sealing, repaid through property tax. Hamilton homeowners can still claim the provincial heat pump rebate: $500 per ton up to $2,000 with gas heat, or $1,250 per ton up to $7,500 without.

How much you can get

Better Homes Hamilton loan — new applications Closed since February 1, 2024
Pilot loan maximum, per property (for reference) $20,000 at a 0% introductory rate
Pilot repayment term (for reference) 10 or 15 years, on the property tax bill
Rebate or grant attached to the City loan None — loan only
Provincial heat pump rebate, gas-heated Hamilton home $500 per ton, up to $2,000
Provincial heat pump rebate, home heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood $1,250 per ton, up to $7,500
Energy Affordability Program heat pump (income-eligible, electric or oil heat) No cost to the household

Who qualifies

No one can apply at present; the conditions below are the pilot's, listed so you know what to expect if the City scales the program up.
The applicant owned a detached house, semi-detached house or townhome inside the City of Hamilton, and landlords qualified.
Property taxes and other payments owed to the City were in good standing, and every owner on title consented.
The heat pump, insulation or draft proofing could not already be purchased or installed when the application went in.
Homeowners with a mortgage had to notify their lender using the City's letter template.
One loan per property owner was allowed, and work had to be quoted and done by licensed professionals.

If you came here hoping to apply, the plain answer is that you cannot right now. The rest of this page explains what the pilot was, so you can judge a relaunch if it comes, and then what is open to a Hamilton address today.

Is Better Homes Hamilton open in 2026?

No. The City's program page states that the pilot closed on February 1, 2024 and that all applicants have been notified of the outcome. Applications had opened on December 1, 2023, so the window was two months long. The stated goal was to learn from different building types in order to scale the program later, but the page gives no date for a second intake.

Anyone offering to 'get you into' Better Homes Hamilton today is mistaken or misleading you. The program contact listed by the City is the Better Homes Hamilton Program Coach in the Office of Climate Change Initiatives, and that office is the place to ask about a relaunch.

What the Better Homes Hamilton loan offered

Council approved up to $1 million in loans for approximately 50 homes, with a maximum of $20,000 per property at a 0% introductory rate. The loan was a local improvement charge: it attached to the property, was repaid through the tax bill over 10 or 15 years, and passed to the new owner if the house sold. The City's own answer to whether a rebate came with it was no, this program is only a loan program.

Eligible equipment: cold-climate air-source heat pumps, ductless mini-splits, high-efficiency gas furnaces as part of a hybrid heat pump system, and a supporting smart thermostat.
Eligible envelope work: air sealing and draft proofing, and attic, basement and wall insulation.
Eligible supporting work: ductwork and breaker panel upgrades, only where needed for the heat pump.
Also eligible: building permit fees and optional energy assessments.
Not eligible: windows and doors.

The catch in the pilot: you paid the contractor first

The loan was paid out after the work, not before. Participants had to pay every contractor invoice from their own funds and submit the paid invoices in a project completion package, and the City advised that the final disbursement could take 10 to 12 weeks. Up to 30% of the loan could be advanced for contractor deposits once the Property Owner Agreement was signed.

In practice that meant a line of credit or contractor financing to bridge the gap. If the program returns on the same terms, plan for that bridge. A 3-ton cold-climate heat pump runs $9,500–$15,000 installed, so the ceiling was sized to cover a typical heat pump plus some panel or duct work.

How the loan stacked with the provincial rebate

The City described the loan as stackable with existing government and utility incentive programs, including income-qualifying ones, and its Program Coach helped participants find them. The Home Renovation Savings Program, for its part, bars stacking only with other Enbridge Gas, Save on Energy or Ontario government incentives. A municipal loan is none of those, so the two fit together: the rebate reduces what you owe, and the loan spreads the rest.

The timing rules pull in the same direction. Both required approval before any equipment was bought or installed, so a homeowner in the pilot needed the City's notice to proceed and the provincial pre-approval in hand before the install date.

What Hamilton homeowners can claim today

Gas-heated homes, which is most of the lower city, the Mountain, Stoney Creek, Ancaster, Dundas and Waterdown: $500 per ton up to $2,000 on a cold-climate heat pump.
Homes on electricity, oil, propane or wood, common on rural Flamborough lots past the gas mains: $1,250 per ton up to $7,500.
Income-eligible households with electric or oil heat: a heat pump at no cost through Save on Energy's Energy Affordability Program.
Income-eligible gas-heated households: free insulation, draft proofing and a smart thermostat through the Enbridge Home Winterproofing Program, which the City's page also points to.

The pilot gave particular attention to homes built before 1990, and that matches what we see in Hamilton. Pre-war brick houses in the lower city often heat with a boiler and radiators and have no ducts, so the heat pump is ductless. Bungalows on the Mountain from the 1950s and 60s have ducts but small electrical services, and the panel is checked before anything is promised.

Electricity-side offers for Alectra customers are on our Alectra rebates in Hamilton page, and every fuel tier is laid out on heat pump rebates in Ontario. For the work itself see heating service in Hamilton, check the rebates hub for changes, or book a free assessment and we will price the heat pump and the rebate for your house.

How ZK Mechanical helps

Tell you the City loan is closed before you spend an evening looking for an application form that is not there.
File the provincial rebate paperwork, which is the money available to a Hamilton address right now.
Quote ductless and ducted options for older Hamilton houses, including the panel or duct work the heat pump needs.
Itemize the quote by measure, so it can be reused for a City funding request if a new intake is announced.
Arrange financing through our lending partners, with no prepayment penalty, in place of the loan that is not on offer.

Frequently asked questions

Will Better Homes Hamilton reopen?

The City has not said. The pilot was designed to learn from about 50 homes so the program could be scaled, and the program page was still being maintained in August 2026, but it lists no new intake date. The reliable way to find out is to contact the Program Coach through the City's page and ask to be told if a second round is approved.

Was Better Homes Hamilton a rebate or a loan?

A loan. The City's own FAQ says the program is only a loan program, with no rebate or incentive attached. Participants borrowed up to $20,000 at 0% interest and repaid it on their property tax bill over 10 or 15 years. Any rebate came separately, from provincial or utility programs that the loan could be combined with.

Could the Better Homes Hamilton loan pay for a new gas furnace?

Only as part of a hybrid system. The eligible list named high-efficiency gas furnaces as a component of hybrid air-source heat pump systems, alongside cold-climate heat pumps and ductless mini-splits. A furnace replaced without a heat pump was not an eligible measure, which reflects the program's purpose of moving homes off gas for most of the heating season.

Is there any other city loan for heat pumps near Hamilton?

Hamilton has none open. The City of Toronto runs a Home Energy Loan Program for Toronto properties, and the City of Burlington has its own Better Homes Burlington program for Burlington properties. Neither is available to a Hamilton address. The federal Canada Greener Homes Loan is closed to new applicants, so financing here means a bank or contractor lender.

What should I do if my furnace is failing and I was waiting for the Hamilton loan?

Stop waiting. A furnace that is short cycling, tripping its limit or showing a cracked heat exchanger should be dealt with now, and most repairs run $150–$800. If you want a heat pump, apply for the provincial rebate, which is open, and finance the balance. A relaunched City loan would not cover equipment already installed.

Official sources

All Ontario HVAC rebates Alectra rebates in Hamilton Home Renovation Savings Program HVAC service in Hamilton All rebate programs