Real Estate 101
Condo Fee Increase in Quebec: Who Decides
The notice of meeting announces higher common expenses and nobody asked your opinion. It is probably legal. Since …
A listing that says “passive house” proves nothing in Quebec. Three very different things circulate under similar names, and they do not share the same organization, the same criteria or the same value in dollars. Here are the exact figures for each, the only extra cost the Quebec government publishes, and the questions no official source answers.
Passive house, Novoclimat, efficient home: three things people confuse
The confusion comes from the vocabulary. “Passive house” refers to a precise standard, defined by the Passive House Institute in Germany. Novoclimat is a Quebec government certification. “Energy efficient,” “high efficiency” and “green home” refer to nothing at all: no organization issues them and no one has to prove them.
| Label | Who defines it | Verification on site | Quebec assistance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passive house | Passive House Institute | Airtightness test and documents on file | None |
| Novoclimat, House component | Quebec government | Two visits, blower door test | Yes |
| Energy efficient, green home | No one | None | None |
The Passive House Institute publishes two building standards, Passive House for new construction and EnerPHit for renovation, built on five principles: very good thermal insulation, very high performance windows, controlled mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, no thermal bridges, and airtightness. The institute specifies that the certifier does not necessarily have to visit the building.
What the passive house standard requires, figure by figure
The criteria in force are version 10c of the Criteria for Buildings, dated January 20, 2023. For the Passive House standard, four ceilings:
| Criterion | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Heating demand | 15 kWh per m² per year |
| Heating load, alternative criterion | 10 W per m² |
| Airtightness, n50 pressurization test | 0.6 air changes per hour |
| Renewable primary energy, Classic class | 60 kWh per m² per year |
The Plus and Premium classes lower that last threshold to 45 and 30 kWh per m² per year, and also require renewable energy generation. For EnerPHit renovation, the airtightness threshold is relaxed to 1.0 air change per hour.
Watch the square metre. The denominator is not the living area shown on a listing sheet, but the reference area calculated in the institute’s PHPP software.
Novoclimat and the Construction Code: the Quebec floor
The Quebec government describes Novoclimat as a program that defines the technical requirements to meet in order to achieve energy performance higher than what the Quebec Construction Code offers. The program trains and certifies contractors, inspects homes during construction and certifies those that comply.
The point that settles everything is airtightness. The comparison table from the ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles is unambiguous: under Part 11 of the Quebec Construction Code, the blower door test is not mandatory. Under Novoclimat, it is. The Novoclimat Technical Requirements in force since January 1, 2024 set the targets in their article 2.2.2.1.
| Code, Part 11 | Novoclimat | Passive house | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airtightness test | Not mandatory | Mandatory | Mandatory |
| Detached house | No target | 1.5 ACH at 50 Pa | 0.6 ACH at 50 Pa |
| Semi-detached or row house | No target | 2.0 ACH at 50 Pa | 0.6 ACH at 50 Pa |
ACH means air changes per hour, measured by a blower door test carried out under the CAN/CGSB-149.10-M86 standard. The passive threshold is therefore two and a half times stricter than the Novoclimat threshold for a detached house.
The two approaches also differ in their logic. The Novoclimat requirements are prescriptive: they impose thermal resistance values, eligible equipment, a heated room for the heat recovery ventilator, and even piping ready to receive a radon exhaust system under floors in contact with the ground. The passive standard, on the other hand, caps a calculated result. You can get there by several paths, but the calculation has to hold.
The cost of a passive house in Quebec: what Quebec actually puts a number on
Here is the honest part. No Quebec public source puts a figure on the extra cost of a certified passive house. The only cost gap published by the government concerns Novoclimat, in a comparison table posted on Quebec’s content server.
| Item | Standard house | Novoclimat house | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of the house | $394,350 | $400,208 | $5,858 |
| Financial assistance applied | $0 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Real extra cost after assistance | n/a | n/a | $3,858 |
| Energy, year 1 | $2,771 | $2,230 | $541 less |
| Energy, year 5 | $2,904 | $2,337 | $567 less |
The assumptions matter as much as the figures. The table compares two two-storey cottages of 28 ft by 30 ft, for a family of two adults and two children. The interest costs on borrowing the extra cost, estimated at $297 a year, assume a rate of 6.5%, a 25 year amortization and a 5% down payment. The year 5 projection assumes energy costs rising 1.17% a year.
Two caveats, found in the document itself. The table carries no publication date, and the PDF file was produced in July 2024: 2026 construction costs are not those. And the footnote refers to $4,000 in assistance for a first-time buyer while the table row applies $2,000. It is a program estimate, not a quote.
To see what a few thousand dollars more actually changes in your monthly payment, run the amount through the mortgage calculator before deciding whether the extra cost bothers you.
An existing house: Rénoclimat rather than the passive standard
Reaching 0.6 ACH in a house that is already built is a heavy operation, and that is precisely why the institute created EnerPHit with a threshold of 1.0. For the vast majority of Quebec owners, the realistic entry point is called Rénoclimat.
The program sends an advisor to your home before the work. The visit includes a blower door test, an evaluation report, recommendations and an EnerGuide rating. The first pre-work evaluation costs $150 plus taxes, refunded when the financial assistance is paid out. The post-work evaluation is free. The grant covers insulation and airtightness, replacing doors and windows, and other items.
In other words: measure first, spend afterwards. It is the same reflex as for cutting a heating bill, and the same as for financing a major renovation.
Checking that a house is really certified, before the offer
A word on a listing is not proof. Three concrete checks.
The paper. For Novoclimat, it is the certificate of homologation. Quebec also publishes the lists of Novoclimat and Novoclimat Sélect certified contractors, the latter category grouping those who sell and certify more than 90% of their new builds each year. For a passive house, ask for the certificate from the institute or the accredited certifier, and the documents that go with the file: the airtightness test result, the ventilation commissioning protocol and the site manager’s declaration.
The form. The mandatory Déclarations du vendeur sur l’immeuble form, DV 00001 version 24 of June 2022, asks two useful questions. Question D10.7 asks whether the property is equipped with a system that improves energy efficiency. Question D10.8 asks whether it has received an energy efficiency certification, then which one and on what date. The printed boxes are: Novoclimat, energy rating, green home, LEED, other. “Passive house” does not have its own box: it falls under “other.” Details go in section D15. All of this is explained in the seller’s declaration form.
The limit of the form. A ticked box is a declaration by the seller to the best of their knowledge, not an attestation. A seller acting in good faith can tick “Novoclimat” because their builder told them so, without the house ever having been certified. The certificate settles it, the box does not.
What certification gives you in dollars, and what it does not
The part you can actually collect is federal. The SCHL (CMHC) Eco Plus program refunds 25% of the mortgage loan insurance premium to the buyer of a new, never occupied energy efficient home whose loan is insured by the SCHL, on a request filed within two years of closing.
What surprises people is the list of eligible certifications. It includes the three Novoclimat components of the ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles, but also “Certified Passive House” and “Certified EnerPHit Retrofit,” issued by Passive House Canada, at the Classic, Plus and Premium levels. A passive house therefore opens the door to no Quebec dollars, but it opens the same door as Novoclimat with the federal insurer. A detail to check with your certifier: the SCHL list names version 9 of the standard, whereas the institute has published version 10c since January 2023. The rest of the money tied to government certification is detailed in what Novoclimat certification buys.
On the municipal side, the door has just closed. The City of Montreal has ended its Programme d’appui à l’acquisition résidentielle, which refunded transfer duties: since July 7, 2026, it no longer accepts any new applications, a refundable tax credit for home ownership having replaced the municipal assistance in April 2026.
And resale? No public source lets me put a figure on what a passive or Novoclimat certification adds to the resale price in Quebec. There is no series of sales comparing certified houses with equivalent houses that are not. The Passive House Institute itself writes on its certification page that certification increases the value of the property, without putting forward a single figure or naming a market. Anyone who announces a percentage gain in value to you is making it up.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Novoclimat house a passive house? No, and the gap is measurable. Novoclimat requires 1.5 air changes per hour at 50 Pa for a detached house, the passive standard requires 0.6, and it also caps annual heating demand at 15 kWh per m². Two levels, two organizations.
The builder tells me his house is “passive.” How do I check? You ask for the certificate and the name of the certifier, then the result of the pressurization test. Without an airtightness test on file, the word means nothing. Since the certifier does not have to visit the site, the file of evidence is the only trace.
Is it worth the extra cost? The only official calculation concerns Novoclimat: $5,858 in extra construction cost, brought down to $3,858 after assistance, against $541 in energy savings in the first year, based on 2024 assumptions you need to adjust. For a passive house in Quebec, no public figure exists. Have your builder establish the gap, in writing.
Is there a welcome tax refund for a certified house? Not in Montreal anymore. The municipal program that refunded transfer duties has not accepted applications since July 7, 2026. Check with your municipality whether a local program still exists, and with your notary for the exemptions provided by law.
My loan is not insured by the SCHL. Do I lose the 25%? Eco Plus targets loans insured by the SCHL. Have your mortgage broker confirm which insurer covers your file before you count on that refund.
To go further, read what Novoclimat certification buys and how to choose a renovation contractor.
A builder is talking to you about a passive or high performance house and you want to know what is certified? Write to me. We ask for the certificate and the airtightness test result before the promise to purchase, not after.
Georges Matar
Residential Real Estate Broker · RE/MAX DU CARTIER INC.
Contact Georges
