In May 2026, CMHC launched a brand new program aimed at making factory-built homes easier to finance, and if you are looking at a prefab, modular or manufactured home in BC, it is worth knowing about. It also pairs with a second CMHC program most people never hear about. CMHC Prefab Plus is the new piece that lets you get a mortgage on that kind of home with a smaller down payment. CMHC Eco Plus then hands back 25% of your mortgage insurance cost, because your new home is energy efficient. Here is how they fit together in plain terms, and why it rarely makes sense to use the first without the second.

What is CMHC Prefab Plus?

CMHC introduced Prefab Plus in May 2026, as part of a national push to make factory-built housing easier to finance and help speed up new home construction. It is genuinely new, so most buyers and even some lenders are still getting familiar with it.

First, a quick clear-up that trips a lot of people. CMHC does not lend you the money. Your bank or credit union does. CMHC Prefab Plus is mortgage loan insurance, which protects the lender if a borrower cannot pay. That protection is the reason a lender will agree to finance a prefab home, which has historically been harder to get a mortgage on than a regular stick-built house.

With that insurance in place, Prefab Plus lets you buy or build with as little as 5% down on a one or two unit home. The home has to be a new prefabricated, modular or manufactured home on a permanent foundation, located in Canada, and suitable for full-time, year-round living with year-round road access. A unit designed to be moved rather than fixed to the land follows CMHC’s chattel rules instead.

Because a prefab build gets paid for in stages, the financing can be released in up to four progress payments: land and site prep first, the unit when it is delivered, then finishing. Amortization can run up to 25 years, or up to 30 years if you are putting less than 20% down and you are either a first-time buyer or buying a newly built home, which a new prefab is.

Why is there mortgage insurance in the first place?

In Canada, if your down payment is under 20% of the price, mortgage insurance is required. That is the rule on every high-ratio mortgage, not just prefab homes. The premium is usually added onto your mortgage, so you pay it off over time rather than up front. Prefab Plus is simply the version of that insurance that makes a prefab, modular or manufactured home eligible. So if you are buying one of these homes with a smaller down payment, you are going to be paying a mortgage insurance premium either way.

That is the important setup for the next part, because Eco Plus gives a piece of that premium back.

What is CMHC Eco Plus?

Eco Plus is a partial refund on your CMHC mortgage insurance. If you are CMHC insured and your home is newly built and energy efficient, you can apply to get 25% of your insurance premium back. “Newly built” just means a home that has never been lived in.

To qualify, the home needs to be meaningfully more efficient than a standard new house. CMHC’s measure is an energy rating at least 20% better than a typical new house, measured through Natural Resources Canada’s EnerGuide system. You do not need a fancy label like Net Zero or Passive House. Those count, but they are not required. Hitting the energy target on its own is enough.

For a deeper dive on how the refund is calculated and how much you might get back, read our full guide to CMHC Eco Plus.

Why nearly every new BC prefab home already qualifies

Here is the part that ties it all together. New homes in BC have to be built to the BC Energy Step Code, which sets a minimum energy-efficiency level for every new build. That level already meets, and usually beats, what Eco Plus is looking for. So a newly built prefab home in BC, built to today’s code, performs at the level Eco Plus rewards almost by default.

Put simply: if you are buying a new prefab home in BC and using Prefab Plus, your home is virtually certain to qualify for the Eco Plus refund. There is little point taking on the mortgage insurance through Prefab Plus and then leaving the 25% Eco Plus refund on the table. The two were built to go together.

How to claim the Eco Plus refund

The proof that your home qualifies is its EnerGuide rating, which is produced by an energy advisor registered with Natural Resources Canada as part of the same energy evaluation a new BC home already goes through for Step Code. So in most cases the document you need exists by the time the home is finished. You can find a qualified energy advisor through Natural Resources Canada’s service provider directory.

Once you have your EnerGuide label, you complete CMHC’s Eco Plus application and send it in with your supporting documents. You have up to two years from your mortgage closing date to apply.

Finding a prefab or modular home builder in BC

British Columbia has a growing number of companies building prefab, modular and manufactured homes. A few operating in or serving the province include:

• Summit Building Co., designing and building modular homes and ADUs in Vernon, in the Okanagan
• Mint Tiny House Company, a certified BC builder in Delta making modular homes, park models and tiny homes
• Honomobo, a Canadian modular home maker that delivers factory-built homes across the country, including BC

You can browse more BC builders through directories like The Prefab List. One thing to keep in mind: Prefab Plus is meant for a home on a permanent foundation that is suitable for full-time, year-round living. A tiny home on wheels or a park model follows different financing rules, so confirm the specific model you are considering fits the Prefab Plus requirements before counting on this financing.