Read the status line on each one before the numbers. The federal loan programme most people have heard of was cancelled before it opened, the provincial one stopped taking applications in 2025, and what is actually available is a refinance and two ordinary lender routes.
Checked 2026-09-01 · Information, not financial advice. Programme terms change, and only the lender or administrator can tell you what you qualify for.
Cancelled — never launched Cancelled in Budget 2025, before it ever opened. No one has ever been able to apply, and no one ever will.
A federal low-interest loan for building a secondary suite. It was announced in Budget 2024 at $40,000, doubled to $80,000 in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement at 2% over 15 years, and promised for early 2025. It never launched, and Budget 2025 wound it up.
| Term | Value |
|---|---|
| Announced maximum | $80,000, doubled from $40,000 |
| Announced rate and term | 2% over 15 years |
| Promised launch | Early 2025 |
| What actually happened | Never opened; cancelled in Budget 2025 |
A laneway home was clearly contemplated — the Fall Economic Statement described helping homeowners add "rental apartments, in-law suites, and laneway homes". But no eligibility rule was ever published, so nothing ever qualified for anything. Treat the announcement as history, not as terms.
Worth knowing. This is the most-searched financing term in this market, and much of what ranks for it still describes an $80,000 loan you can apply for — some of it under a 2026 heading. There is no application, no lender channel and no money. If a builder's budget or a proposal has $80,000 of federal loan in it, that line is fiction. What exists instead is the CMHC refinance below.
Open Open. It is a continuously available mortgage-insurance product rather than a fund with an intake window, so there is nothing to close or run out. You do not apply to CMHC — your lender does, so the conversation starts with a lender who does CMHC-insured refinancing.
Insured refinancing that lets an owner borrow against what the property will be worth once the suite exists, rather than what it is worth today, to pay for building it.
| Term | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum loan-to-value | 90%, for up to 4 units including the ones already there |
| Maximum property value | Under $2,000,000, measured as-improved |
| Maximum amortization | 30 years |
A laneway home qualifies, and CMHC says so in its own words: the product fact sheet gives "a basement suite, an in-law apartment or a laneway home" as the kinds of secondary suite this refinance is for. That is worth checking because most financing written for "secondary suites" means a suite inside the house.
Worth knowing. The $2,000,000 as-improved cap is the condition that bites hardest in the Lower Mainland, because it is measured AFTER the suite is added. A house already worth close to that will not fit, whatever the equity looks like.
Closed to new applications Closed to new applications since 31 March 2025. Existing pre-approvals and SSIP mortgages are still being honoured.
A forgivable loan that covered half the cost of building a suite, up to $40,000, in exchange for renting it below market for a period.
| Term | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum amount | $40,000, being 50% of construction cost |
| Form | A forgivable loan, registered on title for 5 years |
| Forgiveness rate | 20% a year, up to $8,400 a year |
| Rental condition | Below market rates set by BC Housing, for at least five years |
| Status today | Not accepting applications since 31 March 2025 |
A laneway home did qualify. BC Housing's own FAQ answered "Can I build a laneway house?" with "Yes", covering laneway homes and garden suites as well as suites inside the house, so long as both units stayed on one title. That is worth knowing only because it tells you the programme was aimed at exactly this build — and it is closed.
Worth knowing. Guides and builder blogs still list this as a way to fund a laneway home. It is not one, and has not been since March 2025. If a quote or a proposal assumes $40,000 from this programme, that money is not coming.
Neither is a programme, so there is nothing to cite: what you get depends on your lender and your file.
A revolving line secured against the house. Interest is charged only on what has been drawn, which suits a build that is paid for in stages.
Not a programme and not laneway-specific, so there are no published terms to cite here — the rate and the limit are whatever your lender offers you.
Funds released in draws as inspections confirm each stage of the build.
Again a lender product rather than a programme. Ask specifically whether the lender treats a detached second home on an existing title as a construction draw file, because not all of them do.
Financing follows feasibility. Every one of these routes needs a suite that the municipality will actually permit, and the federal refinance has to be arranged before construction starts — so the order is: check the lot, then price the build, then talk to a lender.
No. Cancelled in Budget 2025, before it ever opened. No one has ever been able to apply, and no one ever will. This is the most-searched financing term in this market, and much of what ranks for it still describes an $80,000 loan you can apply for — some of it under a 2026 heading. There is no application, no lender channel and no money. If a builder's budget or a proposal has $80,000 of federal loan in it, that line is fiction. What exists instead is the CMHC refinance below.
Insured refinancing that lets an owner borrow against what the property will be worth once the suite exists, rather than what it is worth today, to pay for building it. Open. It is a continuously available mortgage-insurance product rather than a fund with an intake window, so there is nothing to close or run out. You do not apply to CMHC — your lender does, so the conversation starts with a lender who does CMHC-insured refinancing.
No. Closed to new applications since 31 March 2025. Existing pre-approvals and SSIP mortgages are still being honoured. Guides and builder blogs still list this as a way to fund a laneway home. It is not one, and has not been since March 2025. If a quote or a proposal assumes $40,000 from this programme, that money is not coming.
A laneway home was clearly contemplated — the Fall Economic Statement described helping homeowners add "rental apartments, in-law suites, and laneway homes". But no eligibility rule was ever published, so nothing ever qualified for anything. Treat the announcement as history, not as terms.
The rules change at every city line. These pages are built from the same bylaw reads.
Programme terms change, and this page is a description of published terms rather than advice about your situation. Only the administrator or your lender can tell you what you qualify for.