This is not a general compensation program; rather, it is simply a means of providing assistance to those homeowners who are most in need.

Most homeowner are eligible because they:

• own leaky homes in the coastal climate zone where the building envelope deteriorated sooner than expected

• do not have savings or investments that could be used to pay for repairs

• pension assets, RRSP assets, and the first $10,000 in liquid assets are exempt;

• for those 60 years of age or older, pension assets, RRIF/RRSP assets, and the first $250,000 in liquid assets are exempt.

• do not have enough equity in their home to qualify for conventional loans or they cannot afford the monthly payment on a conventional loan.

Loan amounts are based on the cost to repair the building envelope and related legal costs. Participating lending institutions provide the principal for the loans.?Homeowners make monthly, principal-only payments to the lending institutions at an affordable level set by the HPO.?The HPO pays the interest portion of the loan directly to the lending institutions on behalf of the homeowners.

In some instances, the program's minimum monthly payment of $50 represents too much of a burden.?In theses cases, the HPO approves deferred payment loans that do not require any payments of interest or principal for as long as the homeowner lives in the home.

The provincial government has committed bridge financing to start the Reconstruction Loan Program.   This provincial loan will be repaid by the HPO through builder levies collected on multi-unit homes constructed in the geographic areas where the loan program is accessed - the Lower Mainland, southern Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.

Co-operative housing projects are also eligible to apply for financial assistance under the Reconstruction Loan Program.?Due to the ownership structure of co-operatives (no separate legal title to the individual units) the no-interest loans are provided directly to the co-operative.