Financial assistance to help community housing providers with the costs of early development activities related to the predevelopment costs of building a new affordable housing project or renovating an existing affordable housing project.
CMHC's Seed Funding program provides financial support for individuals or organizations involved in the initial phases of creating an affordable housing project. You can apply for up to $350,000 in interest-free loans and a maximum of $150,000 of non-repayable contributions to assist with early development expenses. These expenses can include things like the formulation of a business plan, creation of preliminary design concepts and conducting environmental site assessments.
* CMHC will accept and review applications on a continuous basis, beginning March 1, 2025, with contribution funds to be spent on eligible activities and submitted for reimbursement by December 31, 2025. If oversubscribed, applications may be prioritized taking into consideration key focus areas.
AM I ELIGIBLE?
Eligible proponents include, but are not limited to:
community housing providers, such as public or private non-profit housing organizations or rental co-operatives, including those serving Indigenous and/or northern populations
municipal, provincial and territorial governments, including their agencies and those serving Indigenous and/or northern populations
Indigenous governments and organizations, including First Nation bands and tribal councils
private entrepreneurs/builders/developers
Eligible project types include:
Indigenous community housing
community and affordable housing
mixed-used market / affordable rental units
shelters, transitional housing, and supportive housing
conversion of non-residential buildings to affordable multi-residential
Renovation of existing affordable unitsEligible activities may include, but not limited to:
analysis of need and demand for the proposed project
special purpose surveys
preliminary financial feasibility
business plans
incorporation
option to purchase
registration of security
professional appraisal
site surveys
planning fees (for example, rezoning, development agreement costs)
preliminary design
project viability study
environment site assessments
geotechnical reports (soil load bearing tests)
energy modelling study (cost-benefit analysis)
accessibility modelling study (cost-benefit analysis)
Mandatory Minimum Requirements
Minimum requirements include, but aren't limited to:
affordability, economic sustainability, and housing for those in greatest need
proposed rents must be affordable as determined by the municipality, province or territory, indigenous government, or as otherwise accepted through CMHC programs
must have a minimum of 5 affordable housing units (beds)
primary use must be residential
FUND DETAILS
Interest-free loans
The interest-free loan offers up to $350,000 with a 3-year term to complete and submit a payment request, allowing for security provision where required. The loan can be combined with non-repayable contributions.
Non-repayable contributions
Apply for up to a maximum of $150,000. Funding under the non-repayable contribution must be invoiced and submitted for reimbursement by December 31, 2025.
Maximum funding amounts are determined during the scoring and prioritization process. For more information, download the Product Highlight Sheet (PDF).
Considerations for Indigenous and Northern Housing Solutions Clients
In addition to a Ministerial Loan Guarantee, CMHC is now accepting four additional alternative types of security for projects on First Nation lands.
APPROVAL PROCESS
CMHC will accept and review applications on a continuous basis.
During the assessment of your application, CMHC will:
assess your eligibility
assess your viability
determine the amount of funding your project is eligible to receive
Funding under the non-repayable contribution must be invoiced by December 31, 2024.
NOTE: Prior to submission, the terms and conditions of Seed Funding must be adhered to. You will have the opportunity to review the terms and conditions on the final page of the application before submitting.
PRE-APPLICATION RESOURCES
The following resources are available to help you prepare your application:
Notice: There are currently issues affecting users of Safari. For optimal performance, CMHC recommends using Chrome, Edge or Internet Explorer to submit your application.
About the application process
The application form will consist of several questions over several pages. You can see your progress through the steps of the application at the top of each page. As you move forward through the application, the completed pages will be saved automatically. Partially completed pages – those that are missing required fields – will not be saved.
You may leave the application portal and return later. Your application progress will be saved.
Before starting your application, please take a moment to download, save, and review our portal guide. The guide includes information required to create your profile and start the application process successfully.
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