The Halifax Regional Municipality offers property owners two funding programs to assist with the cost of maintaining municipally registered heritage properties. You can apply for funding through the Heritage Incentives Program or the Community Grants Program.
Heritage Incentives Program
The Heritage Incentives Program provides matching grants of up to $15,000 for residential properties and $25,000 for commercial properties to complete exterior conservation work on a heritage property.
For your property to be eligible it must be:
- privately-owned
- a registered Municipal Heritage Property
- of residential or commercial use
Work cannot have been undertaken prior to the application being made. Properties currently under investigation or prosecution for Land-use, Building or Fire Code, or Heritage Property Act violations, subject to an Order to Comply, or with liens or taxes outstanding are not eligible for this program.
When is the deadline?
Applications are accepted between September 1 and December 1 of each year.
What do I need to apply for the Heritage Incentives Program?
To apply for this program, submit a completed application form [PDF] along with the following supporting documentation.
- recent photographs of all sides of the building, with attention taken to the areas of work for which the grant is applied
- two contractors cost estimates for the proposed work
- Building Conservation Plan (optional)
- Heritage Alteration Approval to ensure that municipal standards and guidelines for Heritage Properties are met
If your building is governed by a condominium bylaw, you must also provide a copy of the board of directors’ minutes approving the submission of the application. You may also require building permits, depending on the project.
How do I apply?
You may submit the above documents by mail, in person or by email to the Heritage Property Program.
In person:
Heritage Property Program
HRM Planning and Development Services
40 Alderney Drive, 2nd Floor
Dartmouth, NS
By mail:
HRM Heritage Property Program
PO Box 1749
Halifax, NS
B3A 3J5
By email:
Jesse Morton
Planner II - Heritage
mortonj@halifax.ca
How are applications prioritized?
The Heritage Incentives Program evaluates all applications, but generally looks at the following criteria:
- Preference will be given to first-time applicants.
- Higher priority will be given to preservation and restoration of historic structural and weather-proofing elements than to cosmetic improvements. The restoration of cladding, windows, doors, or roof has greater priority than painting.
- Preference is given to restoration of publicly visible features. For example, restoration of a front porch would have higher priority than a rear porch.
- Balance is sought between applications from different geographic regions of the municipality
- Preference is given to applications supported by a Building Conservation Plan prepared by an architect, building inspector, engineer, or other qualified restoration professional. The plan may be a drawing or a report which reasonably illustrates work required for the building.
Who do I contact with questions about the Heritage Incentives Program?
Jesse Morton
Planner II - Heritage
mortonj@halifax.ca
P:902.490.4844
Provincial and federal funding for heritage properties
In addition to the municipally funded Heritage Incentives Program, you can find financial support for your project at the provincial and federal level.
The Province of Nova Scotia operates several programs to help owners with the cost of maintaining registered heritage properties.
The National Trust for Canada offers a program called This Place Matters to help community organizations crowd fund to restore or adaptively re-use special heritage places.