Ontario’s Home Renovation Savings Program got extended through November 2026, and the attic insulation rebate went up $250 to $1,250. That’s the short version. The part most homeowners miss is how the standalone pathway changed things.
The standalone track: no energy assessment required
The standalone attic rebate no longer requires an upfront EnerGuide assessment. That used to be the main friction — book a pre-renovation evaluation, wait, do the work, book a post-renovation evaluation, wait again, then claim. The standalone pathway drops all of that. You upgrade your attic insulation to the required R-value and claim the $1,250 without an evaluator ever stepping foot in your house.
Cathedral ceilings are eligible too, capped at $750 because the access and membrane complexity are harder to generalize.
Air sealing: the rebate most homeowners skip
A separate air sealing rebate sits under the multi-measure stream, worth up to $2,100. Insulation and air sealing sound like the same job but Ontario funds them as two distinct things. If a single contractor visit does both, you can stack the rebates.
Spray foam is the product that handles both in one pass — it expands into gaps before curing, which insulates and air-seals simultaneously. If your contractor is quoting spray foam, ask whether the estimate breaks out the air sealing rebate paperwork separately from the insulation. Some price by the inch and skip the second claim entirely.
What the spec sheet actually requires
The rebate requires hitting minimum R-values. For most of Ontario that’s R-60 in the attic — roughly 20 inches of blown-in fibreglass or 16 inches of cellulose. If your house was built before 1980, you probably have R-12 to R-20 up there, maybe less. That’s a significant upgrade either way.
Your contractor needs to be registered with the program. Not all attic contractors are, even experienced ones. Confirm before you sign anything.
Timing
The program was supposed to end in late 2025. It got extended. The current deadline is November 2026, but there’s no guarantee that happens again — previous extensions weren’t announced far in advance. Spring and early fall are peak install windows in Ontario before summer heat makes attic work brutal and before roofing season backs contractors up.
Two things contractors often don’t mention
First: the rebate is claimed after the work, not before. Most homeowners pay full invoice then file the claim themselves through the program portal afterward. Don’t expect the rebate to come off the quote upfront unless your contractor specifically offers that.
Second: if your attic has knob-and-tube wiring, most contractors won’t insulate over it without an electrical inspection first. That inspection can run $500–$1,500 depending on how much wiring is present. Factor that in before you compare quotes.
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