Credit: Simone Ponne/The News
If you have been putting off getting your roof fixed, this may be the best time to get it done.
Canadians are flocking to home renovation contractors and supply stores these days to take advantage of the federal government’s Home Renovation Tax Credit.
The $3-billion program was introduced by the federal government in January as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, an incentive to help stimulate the economy during the current recession and allow home owners to get a 15-per-cent tax credit for home improvement projects.
Local businesses have noticed an increase in business as a result.
“We’re definitely going through our busiest months we’ve ever been through,” said Abraham Gagnon, co-owner of Whonnock Roofing in Maple Ridge. “It feels almost like there wasn’t a recession.”
At national building supply companies the influence on sales may not be quite as dramatic, but the tax credit is thought to be part of the reason many people are deciding on “do-it-yourself” projects.
“I think it helps. I don’t know if it’s direct, but I think if people are waffling it’s maybe put them over the edge,” said Scott O’Dell, owner of Home Hardware in Maple Ridge.
To qualify for the HRTC, home renovations must be more than $1,000 but less than $10,000, and must be done between Jan. 27, 2009 and Feb. 1, 2010.
Homeowners can receive a tax credit of up to $1,350 for a $10,000 project.
Renovations could include finishing a basement, renovating a kitchen or building a deck, fence, or retaining wall.
Other approved projects range from installing new carpets, upgrading furnaces or water heaters, resurfacing driveways, to repainting the interior or exterior of a house.
Ineligible expenses are those that do not provide lasting value to the home, which would include purchases of new tools, furniture or appliances, snow clearing, carpet cleaning or lawn care.
What is the most popular home renovation project?
“It seems like window and door installations,” said Gord McBeath, general manager of Haney Builders’ Supplies.
“Windows, primarily, have been right over the top. I would say almost every facet of the renovation business has been affected by [the HRTC].
“The new construction is down, but in the renovation and energy sectors it’s way, way, way up. There’s lots of people doing decks, and you hear the home tax credit being brought up [in the store] all the time.”
The building and outdoor home supplies stores sector saw a sales increase of one per cent in May, which was double the rate of the previous month, according to a Statistics Canada report.
A recent survey by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, posted on the federal government’s news website, found that 46 per cent of Canadians in 10 major centres across the country have plans to carry out home renovation projects this year. That is a six-per-cent increase from last year.