Guides
CMHC HASI Grants: What Happened to Aging-in-Place Funding in Canada
HASI and every RRAP stream are now one On-Reserve RRAP for First Nations housing. Here is what off-reserve Canadian homeowners can still use.
Canada's federal funding names for aging-in-place remodeling have changed, and much of the guidance still circulating describes streams that no longer accept applications. Home Adaptations for Seniors' Independence (HASI) is not a stand-alone national grant any more, and RRAP is no longer a family of separate programs. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's own applicant guide says both were combined into a single program, the On-Reserve Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program. This article explains what changed, who the combined program now serves, and what Canadian households off reserve can use instead: the Home Accessibility Tax Credit, the Medical Expense Tax Credit and programs delivered by the provinces and territories.
What changed in Canada's federal home adaptation programs
For years, Canadian advice on accessible renovations described two federal routes. HASI was the small-works route, paying for permanent fixes that let a senior keep using their own bathroom, bedroom and entry: grab bars, handrails, lever taps, non-slip flooring, better stair lighting. RRAP was the heavier route, for structural repair and, through its disabilities stream, for accessibility work such as a widened doorway, a ramp or a rebuilt bathroom.
That structure no longer exists. The CMHC guide for RRAP applicants states it in one sentence: "All streams of the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP-Regular, RRAP-Disabilities, RRAP-Rental, RRAP-Conversion, RRAP-Secondary/Garden Suites), Emergency Repairs Program (ERP), and Home Adaptations for Seniors' Independence (HASI) have been combined into one universal program named On-Reserve Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP)." CMHC's RRAP applicant guide
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is still the federal housing agency that administers the result. What disappeared is the menu. There is no national HASI application to file, no separate RRAP-Disabilities file, no separate Emergency Repairs Program, and no set of parallel regional income ceilings to compare between those streams. One program name now covers all of it, and the name states its own limit.
The program that replaced HASI and RRAP
The On-Reserve Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program serves on-reserve housing, which means homes in First Nations communities. The first two words of the name are the boundary, and they are worth reading literally: they tell you at a glance whether the program is open to your address.
The type of work has not disappeared from the program's scope. Repairs, adaptations for seniors, accessibility modifications and emergency repairs remain the projects the combined program addresses. What changed is the frame: one program, one application, one set of rules, instead of a group of separately named streams that each carried its own eligibility tests and paperwork.
That makes the former Home Adaptations for Seniors' Independence route part of the history of the program rather than a live application for a household off reserve. Advice that tells a homeowner in a city, a suburb or a rural off-reserve property to telephone a "provincial delivery agency" about HASI, or to weigh a HASI income ceiling against an RRAP one, is describing an administrative structure that has been replaced.
If you live on reserve, the starting point is the combined program, administered by CMHC, and its applicant guide sets out what to submit. The order of events matters on any funded file: approval comes first and work comes second, because completed work is rarely funded after the fact.
What off-reserve homeowners can use instead
For a house off reserve, the funding picture has three layers: federal tax credits, provincial or territorial programs delivered by housing agencies, and your own savings or borrowing.
The federal layer is tax-based and is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency. The Home Accessibility Tax Credit and the Medical Expense Tax Credit both reduce the income tax you owe on money you have already spent on the home, which makes them a return of part of the cost rather than a grant paid up front when the job starts.
The provincial and territorial layer depends entirely on your address. Housing agencies run their own repair and adaptation programs, each with its own eligibility tests, income limits and application windows. BC Housing is the agency to start with in British Columbia and the Societe d'habitation du Quebec in Quebec, while Ontario Renovates reaches homeowners through municipal service managers. Because these programs change and each sets its own rules, confirm the current terms directly with the agency before you build a budget around them.
| Route | Who administers it | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| On-Reserve RRAP | Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation | Combined repair, senior adaptation and emergency repair program for on-reserve housing |
| Home Accessibility Tax Credit | Canada Revenue Agency | Non-refundable credit on eligible renovation or alteration expenses for a qualifying senior |
| Medical Expense Tax Credit | Canada Revenue Agency | Non-refundable credit where a medical practitioner certifies the need |
| Provincial and municipal programs | Provincial housing agencies, and municipal service managers in some provinces | Repairs and accessibility modifications; rules and availability vary by address |
For routes outside the tax system, our overview of grants, loans and waivers maps what each level of government tends to offer.
The Home Accessibility Tax Credit for accessible renovations
This is the federal credit most accessible renovations touch, and its terms are specific. A federal briefing prepared for a parliamentary committee describes it this way: "The Home Accessibility Tax Credit provides a non-refundable tax credit of 15% on up to $10,000 of eligible home renovation or alteration expenses per calendar year for seniors (or eligible family members who are supporting the qualifying senior)." HUMA committee briefing binder
Three parts of that sentence matter when you plan a project. The credit is calculated as a percentage of eligible costs rather than paid out as a fixed grant, it applies to expenses up to a ceiling in each calendar year, and it is non-refundable, so it lowers tax you already owe rather than producing a payment on its own if your tax owing is zero.
The work has to be eligible work: renovations or alterations that help the qualifying person gain access to the home, move around inside it or function in it, or that reduce the risk of harm to that person. A stair rail fitted because of failing balance, a lever handle on a bathroom tap, a threshold removed at the side door: these are the kinds of changes the credit is aimed at, not a kitchen replaced because it looks dated.
Paper carries the claim. Keep the contractor's itemized invoices, the receipts and a short written note on why each adaptation was needed. A description such as "wall reinforced and grab bar installed at the shower because of the resident's balance problems" is worth more to a reviewer than a single line saying "bathroom work."
The Medical Expense Tax Credit and the rest of the picture
The Medical Expense Tax Credit sits beside the Home Accessibility Tax Credit but runs on a different test. It is another non-refundable credit, claimed on your personal return, and certain modifications to a home can qualify where a medical practitioner certifies the need. That makes a signed medical opinion the document that opens the door, something a contractor's estimate cannot supply.
Because the two credits are tested differently, it pays to know which one your project fits before the first trade arrives. Our breakdown of the Home Accessibility Tax Credit and the Medical Expense Tax Credit covers where the rules part and where a claim tends to fail.
Claim only the share of an expense you paid yourself. Amounts reimbursed by a grant, a provincial program or an insurer are not eligible, so keep the reimbursement letters alongside the receipts.
When the credits and any program still leave a gap, which is normal on a bathroom or entry rebuild, the balance comes from a loan, a line of credit or savings. Treat the construction work, the mobility equipment and any care costs as separate lines rather than one total, because no single source covers all three.
What the change means for a project in planning
If your plans assumed a federal HASI grant, the honest position today is that this route is not open to an off-reserve household, and waiting for it will delay the work. The practical response is to move the project onto the routes that do exist: plan the adaptations, get itemized quotes, check with your provincial housing agency for anything open in your area, and treat the tax credits as a partial return of money already spent rather than the money that starts the job.
Sequencing matters. A provincial program will usually ask what other funding you have applied for, so the tax side should be understood first and any program application should be made before contracts are signed rather than after. If you live on reserve, the same discipline applies to the combined RRAP file: approval first, work second.
It also helps to separate the project into stages. A grab bar, a handrail and better lighting can often be done in one visit and paid for out of pocket, with the credit claimed later. A bathroom conversion or a ramp is a larger commitment that may need borrowing alongside any program money.
Deciding what to adapt first, and measuring it
Funding questions are easier to answer once you know what the house actually needs. Walk the route a person takes from the car or the sidewalk to the bathroom at night and note every point where they stop, steady themselves or turn sideways.
Typical items on an adaptation list: grab bars in the shower and beside the toilet, a handrail on both sides of the stairs, lever handles on taps and doors, non-slip flooring, brighter stair and hallway lighting, a raised toilet seat, a shower seat, a widened doorway, a threshold removed at the entry, a lowered kitchen counter, a ramp or a stair lift.
Measure before anything is ordered. Record doorway clear widths, the inside dimensions of the bathroom, turning space in front of the sink and the shower, the height of the existing counter and toilet, and the floor-to-threshold step at each exterior door. Our checklist for home mobility products covers what to write down and what to photograph before an order is placed.
Two practical rules save money later. First, structure before hardware: if a grab bar is coming, the wall behind it needs solid blocking or a proper fastener, and that is cheapest to do while the wall is open. Second, choose durable, washable finishes in wet rooms, because a bathroom adaptation is usually lived in for a decade or more.
Documents and steps for a fundable project
- Establish which route applies to your address. On reserve, that is CMHC's combined On-Reserve RRAP. Off reserve, it is the federal tax credits plus whatever your province, territory or municipality runs.
- Write down what the home needs before you talk to anyone. Grab bars, handrails, lever handles, non-slip flooring, stair and hallway lighting, a widened doorway, a roll-in shower, a lowered counter or a ramp are the usual items, and each carries a different cost and a different level of disruption.
- Get itemized written estimates from licensed contractors. One line per adaptation beats a lump sum, because credits and programs are assessed item by item.
- Check the company, not just the quote. Licensing, liability insurance and workers' compensation coverage are the three basics, and our list of questions worth asking every provider covers how to raise them.
- Budget the gap. The budget planning walkthrough covers deposits, stage payments, equipment deadlines and retention, the points where money actually leaves the account.
- Respect the order of events. Grant and loan programs normally require written approval before work begins, and completed work is rarely funded after the fact. Tax credits work in the opposite direction: you pay, then claim on your return.
- Keep every document in one folder until any claim is settledcontracts, invoices, receipts, change orders, medical letters and reimbursement confirmations.
Common questions
Does HASI still exist in Canada?
Not as a stand-alone stream. The CMHC guide for RRAP applicants states that HASI, every RRAP stream and the Emergency Repairs Program were combined into one universal program named On-Reserve Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program.
Can an off-reserve homeowner apply to that combined program?
The program is built around on-reserve housing, so the applicant is an on-reserve household. Off reserve, the routes are the federal tax credits and whatever your province, territory or municipality runs.
What does the Home Accessibility Tax Credit cover?
Eligible renovations or alterations that help a qualifying senior gain access to the home, move around inside it, function in it, or reduce the risk of harm at home. It is a non-refundable credit, so it lowers tax owing rather than paying out a grant, and its terms are set out in the federal committee briefing cited in this article.
Do I need written approval before starting the work?
Grant and loan programs are built on approval first, work second, and work started early is generally not funded. The tax credits are claimed after the expense is paid, on your personal income tax return.
Can I claim an expense that a grant already covered?
Only the portion you paid yourself. Amounts reimbursed by a program are not eligible, and the reimbursement letters are what show the difference.
Where should an on-reserve household start?
With the combined On-Reserve RRAP, administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Its applicant guide sets out the documentation and the process.
