• private entrepreneurs
• In order to be eligible for this program you must own and be converting non-residential properties to create affordable rental accommodation for low-income households. These clients include:
• private entrepreneurs
• non-profit corporations
• Aboriginal Peoples

• environmentally safe
• feasibly converted to residential accommodation
• viable based on agreed post-conversion rents The assistance is a fully forgivable loan, which does not have to be repaid provided the owner meets certain conditions. The maximum loan available varies with the type of units being created, and area of the country, as follows:

  AAA	BBB	CCC
  AAA	BBB	CCC
  AAA	BBB	CCC
  AAA	BBB	CCC

  
  

• Rental rates for the bed units are at or below established levels for the market area, and
• The property must lack basic facilities, or require major repair in one or more of five categories:
  • Structural
  • Electrical
  • Plumbing
  • Heating
  • Fire safety
• Tenants are not family relatives of the owner
• The maximum amount per bed-unit varies according to three geographic zones:

  Zone 1: Southern areas of Canada = $16,000/bed-unit
  Zone 2: Northern areas of Canada = $19,000/bed-unit *
  Zone 3: Far northern areas, Yukon and Northwest Territories, Labrador and northern Quebec = $24,000/bed-unit *
  
  

  *Additional assistance may be available in areas defined as remote.
  
  
• The owner must cover the cost of mandatory repairs in excess of the maximum loan available. Eligible repairs are limited to mandatory repairs required to bring rooming houses up to minimum levels of health and safety.

• Homeowner, private entrepreneur and First Nations who owns residential properties that could create a bona fide affordable self-contained rental accommodation.
• Eligibility is limited to existing family housing residential properties where self-contained secondary or garden suite is being created.
• The property must meet the requirements of the authority having jurisdiction including zoning and building requirements.
• Selected clients must enter into an Operating Agreement which establishes the rent that can be charged during the term of the Agreement.
• A ceiling is also placed on the income of households who will occupy the newly created self-contained unit.

The assistance is in the form of a fully forgivable loan which does not have to be repaid provided the owner adheres to the conditions of the program. The maximum loan available varies in accordance to the geographic zone in which the property is located:

• Eligible costs include all costs related to the creation of a self-contained secondary or garden suite. Additional assistance is also available under RRAP for Persons with Disabilities to undertake accessibility modifications for low-income persons with disabilities.
• The cost of creating and upgrading common areas and elements will be prorated between the existing unit and the newly created unit. Homeowners may be eligible for assistance under Homeowner RRAP to cover their share of the prorated costs subject to the program criteria being met.
• Please note that any work carried out before the RRAP loan in approved in NOT eligible.

• You must be a customer of FortisBC, or one of the following municipal utilities: Grand Forks, Kelowna, Penticton, Summerland or Nelson Hydro.
• Your home must be electrically heated (includes electric baseboard, electric forced air, electric boiler, and air source or ground source heat pumps).
• Applying for rebates through both LiveSmart BC and the PowerSense Home Improvement Program is not allowed.

• The GSHP will be installed in a residential dwelling.
• The GSHP system uses closed loop underground piping or open loop e.g. well, if water source is suitable.
• The system equipment design and installation meets CSA Standards.