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While all residential property owners who receive a Water/Wastewater bill are eligible, there are two application periods in each calendar year:
| Application Period | Timeframe | Who |
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| Winter |
January 1 to June 30 (extended on a one-time basis in 2022 to October 31) |
Residential property owners in an area where:
- A watermain replacement and/or sewer main replacement project is scheduled in the calendar year
- An inflow and infiltration study is scheduled in the calendar year
- Sewer backups have occurred within the previous 24 months
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| Summer |
July 1 to December 31 |
City Wide
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The City will send a letter to residential property owners that qualify for the Winter application period by February 28 of each calendar year.
Grant and/or loan approvals are subject to the availability of funding at any given time, as determined by Council. Applications will be processed in chronological order based on the date of receipt of applications.
The applicant(s) for the grant and/or loan must meet the following criteria in order to qualify for the Program:
- Must be a residential property
- Must be the owner(s) of the property;
- All owners of the property must apply for the grant and/or loan;
- Complete the Application for Water Service/Sewer Lateral Replacement Grant/Loan. The Job Estimate section details what work is to be done, and separates out costs for each portion of work (i.e. separate line item prices for private water line and/or sewer line replacement, surface restoration, internal plumbing modifications up to the water meter, etc.);
- Water/Wastewater account must be current at the time of application and at the time of loan payment;
- The owner(s), if successful in the application process for the loan component, must complete, agree to, and sign a separate loan agreement prior to funds being released;
- The owner(s) must meet all conditions of this Program.
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Although the Winter application period is open for residential property owners where a watermain and/or sewer main replacement project is being completed by the City, the property owners in these areas must wait until the City’s contractor has completed the project before replacing their private services. Under Provincial regulations, the active construction site can only be accessed by the construction contractor and their staff, except in the case of an emergency (i.e. a severely leaking service, collapsed sewer pipe).
For this reason, all grant and/or loan approvals will be valid for twelve (12) months and will expire if the work is not completed within that time period, unless extended at the discretion Manager of Water/Wastewater. It is the applicant’s responsibility to contact the City to request an extension. Failure to do so will result in automatic expiry.
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Each residential property owner is eligible to apply for and receive the following grant(s) and/or loan(s):
| Replacement Grants | |
|---|
| Water Line |
$1,000 |
| Sewer Line |
$1,000 |
| Replacement Loans | |
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| Water Line |
$2,500 |
| Sewer Line |
$2,500 |
Residential property owners may apply for any combination of grants/loans for a single address, and may receive up to $2,000 in grants and up to $5,000 in loans, for a total of $7,000 for replacing their water and/or sewer lines.
| Do I have to pay back the grant? |
| No. The grant is not required to be paid back.
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| Do I have to apply for a grant and a loan? |
| No. If you would only like to take advantage of the grant program and apply for just the water line grant, the sewer line grant – or both grants, you are more than welcome to do so. |
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How do the loans work?
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The final price of the replacement determines the total loan amount but is preapproved based on the quote from the selected contractor. For greater clarity the loan amount will equal the final replacement cost or maximum loan amount whichever is less.
The loan will be amortized based on the repayment term selected and the loan rate effective at the time of the loan. The loan rate will be fixed for the period of the loan. Loan payments including principal and interest will appear on the monthly water/wastewater bill.
Property owners(s) are advised the loan is a personal loan and while repayment is attached to your water/wastewater bill as a means of billing and collecting per the loan agreement, it does not attached to the property. Should the owner(s) sell the property prior to the loan being repaid in full, the remaining loan balance is immediately due and must be repaid in full. The interest rate on any unpaid balance after the property transfers to a new owner(s) changes and increases immediately to 1.25% per month in accordance with the City’s policy on Penalty and Interest on Outstanding Accounts Receivable.
At the discretion of the Director, Corporate Services / Treasurer, the loan may be transferred to a new owner provided that the new owner(s) agrees in writing to the transfer and completes, agrees to, and signs a new loan agreement.
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Loan Term
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The maximum term of the loan is ten (10) years; however, the property owner may choose a shorter term on their application. Alternative term options may include 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months, etc.. There is no penalty for making early payments, or for paying off the entire loan early.
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Loan Rate
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The Lateral Loan has an interest rate of Bank Prime plus 2%. The Bank Prime Interest Rate is 3.7% therefore, as of June 2, 2022 the interest rate for the loan is 5.7%*. The interest rate is set when the loan agreement is signed by the owners(s) and required City personnel. If the loan agreement needs to be amended the interest rate will not be adjusted if the amendment occurs within four months of the original loan agreement being signed by the owner(s) and required City personnel. Required City personnel are identified in the process steps below and on the loan agreement.
*Interest rates are subject to change without notice, at any time.
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Repayment of the Loan
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Repayments of the loan plus interest will be made through the monthly water/wastewater bill as set out in the loan agreement completed, agreed to, and signed by the owner(s).
Full repayment (including interest accrued to date) can be made at any time with no penalty to the owner.
Applicants are again advised the loan is a personal loan and while repayment is attached to your water/wastewater bill as a means of billing and collecting per the loan agreement, it does not attached to the property. Should the owner(s) sell the property prior to the loan being repaid in full, the remaining balance is immediately due and must be repaid in full. The interest rate on any unpaid balance after the property transfers to a new owner(s) changes and increases immediately to 1.25% per month in accordance with the City’s policy on Penalty and Interest on Outstanding Accounts Receivable.
At the discretion of the Director, Corporate Services / Treasurer, the loan may be transferred to a new owner provided that the new owner(s) agrees in writing to the transfer and completes, agrees to, and signs a new loan agreement.
Further, in the event of default, which includes the owners(s) water/wastewater bill missing the normal payment date identified on the monthly water/wastewater bill, the outstanding balance (including principal and accrued interest) becomes due immediately. The interest rate on any unpaid balance also changes and increases immediately to 1.25% per month in accordance with the City’s policy on Penalty and Interest on Outstanding Accounts Receivable.
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Are all costs covered?
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Only the costs associated with replacing the private water and/or sewer lines (excavation, permits, materials, inspections, internal plumbing from point of entry up to the water meter) and basic surface restoration (asphalt/gravel patching, topsoil, seeding) are eligible, as approved and determined by the Manager of Water/Wastewater. Grants/loans will not be available to cover any other associated costs (e.g. it will not cover the costs of relocating internal plumbing past the existing water meter, repaving of an entire driveway, restoration of landscaped yards, or any other such costs that are deemed by the Manager of Water/Wastewater to be unnecessary for the replacement of the owner’s private service).
Any work that is started or completed prior to the application approval will be ineligible under this Program (unless waived at the discretion of the Manager of Water/Wastewater).
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The Grant/Loan Process
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Step 1: The property owner(s) must contact at least one contractor for a quote to replace their private water line and/or sewer line. (The City always recommends that any property owner get multiple quotes to ensure they are paying a fair price.)
Step 2: Complete the online Application form, indicating what grant(s) and/or loan(s) being applied for and submit the Application form to the Water/Wastewater Department, along with a copy of the quote from the chosen contractor. To request a hard copy of the application call our Customer Service Representatives at 905-835-2900, email customerservice@portcolborne.ca, .or visit City Hall, 66 Charlotte Street.
The City will review the application and supporting documentation and assess approvability subject to available budget. The City will advise the applicant in writing of its decision.
If the Application is approved:
Step 3: The owner or their contractor will apply for a building permit through the Building Department. Failure to obtain a permit prior to work commencing and having related inspection(s) completed will result in cancellation of any approved grant/loan amounts.
Step 4: The contractor completes the replacement of the private water and/or sewer line(s).
Step 5: The contractor contacts the Building Department to have an inspection completed on the new line(s). Any deficiencies must be corrected. Failure to obtain an inspection will result in cancellation of any approved grant/loan amounts.
Step 6: Once the Building Inspector has approved the work, the contractor will need to send an invoice for the work to the property owner.
Step 7: The property owner must then submit a copy of the invoice to the Water/Wastewater Department. The final invoice amount determines the final loan amount, minus any grant(s) and subject to program loan maximum thresholds.
Step 8: The Manager of Water/Wastewater will review the submitted invoice for approval. This process will consist of the Manager of Water/Wastewater comparing the invoice to the approved application form. If there are any invoice charges that are not detailed on the approved application, the Manager will evaluate and may approve charges that meet the eligibility criteria (stated in Schedule A of the application form). The property owner(s) will be notified of any invoice charges that do not meet the eligibility criteria prior to the grant payment being issued and/or loan agreement being prepared.
Step 9: Where the applicant is only seeking a grant, Financial Services will be notified to issue the grant payment(s) directly to the contractor. The property owner is responsible for paying the contractor the balance of the invoice, and Steps 10 through 12 do not apply.
Step 10: Where the applicant is seeking a grant and a loan, Financial Services will be notified to prepare a loan agreement.
- The loan agreement will be sent to the property owner(s) for review but must be signed in person at City Hall in Financial Services.
- All property owner(s) must sign the loan agreement with ID being presented to Financial Services when signing. ID can include a driver license or passport.
- Financial Services will then jointly coordinate final review and signing approval by the Manager of Water/Wastewater and Manager, Financial Services.
- Once approved one copy will be sent to the property or an address identified by the property owners for the property owner(s).
Step 11: Once the loan agreement has been approved, payment will be made by the City directly to the contractor for the amount shown on the final invoice, to the maximum amounts shown in the tables above. The property owner(s) are responsible for any ineligible costs and/or costs above the Water Service and Sewer Later Replacement Program funding maxiums. (i.e. if the contractor’s invoice to replace the water line is $4,000, and the property owner(s) applied for the grant and loan, they would qualify for the $1,000 grant and a $2,500 loan, and would be required to pay the contractor $500)
Step 12: The property owner(s) then begins making payments on the loan with their regular monthly Water/Wastewater bill until the loan is paid in full. There are no penalties for paying off the loan early.
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