Toronto Will Pay You $6,650 to Keep Sewage Out of Your Basement — Including for Work You Already Did
The expanded amounts reach back to 12 November 2025. Most people have not noticed.
In short
Toronto’s Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program pays up to $6,650 per property, reimbursing 80 per cent of the invoiced cost of each eligible item up to its own maximum. It has existed since 2007 and has paid out roughly $86 million across about 59,000 applications.
The City expanded it on 1 May 2026 — and the higher amounts apply to eligible work completed on or after 12 November 2025. If you had a backwater valve or sump pump put in last winter and claimed nothing, or claimed at the old rate, that is worth checking.
One item is close to free money: the home plumbing assessment, up to $500 at 80 per cent — and the City states you are not required to act on the plumber’s recommendations to receive it.
What the City pays, item by item
Every line is 80 per cent of the invoiced cost, capped at the maximum shown. Eligible costs include labour, materials and taxes.
| Eligible work | Maximum subsidy | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Home plumbing assessment | $500 | One-time. You need not implement the recommendations |
| Backwater valve and alarm | $1,600 per device | Installation or replacement, maximum two devices |
| Sump pump and alarm | $2,250 | Installation or replacement, maximum one device |
| Battery backup for the sump pump | $300 | Must be itemised separately from the pump on the invoice |
| Weeping tile severance and capping | $400 | Disconnecting the foundation drain from the City sewer |
| Maximum per property | $6,650 | Lifetime maximum applies to each type of work |
Not eligible: disconnecting your downspouts from the eavestrough system. It is good practice and the City encourages it, but it is not part of this subsidy.
Who can apply, and the check to do first
Owners of a single-family, duplex, triplex or fourplex residential home in Toronto, applying online through the City.
Do one thing before you spend anything: check the property’s subsidy history. Each property has a lifetime maximum for each type of work, and a previous owner may already have claimed for the backwater valve. The City will tell you — BasementFlooding@toronto.ca or 416‑338‑7668. A five-minute email before a $5,000 job.
If you are outside Toronto, do not assume there is nothing: several GTA municipalities run their own basement flooding or backwater valve subsidy programmes, with their own amounts and rules. Check your own city before booking.
What the work costs, and what you actually pay
Market quotes from GTA plumbers, autumn 2026 — prices published by businesses that sell the work. The right-hand column is the arithmetic that matters.
| Job | Typical market price | Subsidy | Roughly out of pocket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home plumbing assessment | $250–500 | 80% to $500 | $50–100 |
| Sump pump installation | $600–1,400 | 80% to $2,250 | $120–280 |
| Battery backup | $400–900 | 80% to $300 | $100–600 |
| Backwater valve, with permit and excavation | $3,000–6,000 | 80% to $1,600 | $1,400–4,400 |
| Weeping tile severance and capping | $500–1,200 | 80% to $400 | $100–800 |
The sump pump is where the programme is most generous relative to the job — the cap is well above eighty per cent of a typical installation. The backwater valve is the opposite: the cap bites early, because excavating to the main drain is the expensive part. Both are still worth claiming. Our plumber price list has the wider context on what plumbing work costs.
Which device does what — and which you need
They solve different problems and are not alternatives.
| Device | The problem it solves | When it is the answer |
|---|---|---|
| Backwater valve | Sewage backing up into the house from an overloaded City sewer during heavy rain | You have had sewage come up through a floor drain or basement fixture |
| Sump pump | Groundwater collected by the weeping tile around the foundation | You have seepage, a wet basement floor or a pit that fills |
| Battery backup | A sump pump that cannot run because the power is out | Always, if you have a sump pump — the storm that floods you is the storm that cuts the power |
The battery backup deserves its own sentence. A sump pump without one is a device that stops working at precisely the moment it is needed. The $300 subsidy exists for a reason, and it is the cheapest line in the whole programme.
How to do this in the right order
Red flags
What to do next
Two emails today. One to the City asking what your property has already claimed. One to a licensed plumber asking for a home plumbing assessment. Between them they cost you an hour and about eighty dollars, and they tell you whether you are looking at a $300 job or a $5,000 one.
And if you had this work done any time since November 2025, check whether you claimed at the old rate.
Compare home services in Ontario on Ontario24 and contact businesses directly. Ontario24 is a classified directory — we help you find and compare, and we do not vet anyone. Also useful: plumber rates and price list and what finishing a basement costs.
Before you call anyone, it helps to know what this job should cost and what the next one will. What things cost in Ontario in 2026 puts 75 service prices in one table.
Frequently asked questions
Up to $6,650 per property. The City expanded the programme on 1 May 2026, and the higher amounts apply to eligible work completed on or after 12 November 2025 — so work already done may still qualify. Each item is reimbursed at up to 80 per cent of the invoiced cost, up to its own maximum.
A home plumbing assessment up to $500; installation or replacement of backwater valves and alarms up to $1,600 per device for a maximum of two devices; a sump pump with alarm up to $2,250 for one device; a battery backup up to $300; and severance and capping of a foundation drain or weeping tile connection up to $400.
Owners of a single-family, duplex, triplex or fourplex residential home in Toronto, applying online. Eligible costs include labour, materials and taxes. Properties have a lifetime maximum for each type of work, so if you are unsure what a previous owner claimed, check the history with the City before you spend.
Disconnecting downspouts from the eavestrough system is not eligible for a subsidy, even though it is good practice. Additional devices beyond the stated maximums are not covered either — a third backwater valve is on you.
No. The City states plainly that you are not required to implement any of the plumber’s recommendations to receive the subsidy for the home plumbing assessment. That makes the assessment close to free advice about your own house, which is an unusual thing to be able to say.
Market quotes in the GTA generally run $600 to $1,400 for a sump pump installation, $3,000 to $6,000 for a backwater valve where excavation and a permit are involved, and $250 to $500 for a plumbing assessment. The subsidy covers a meaningful share of the smaller items and a smaller share of the valve.
A backwater valve installation is plumbing work and is permitted work in Toronto. Use a licensed plumber who handles the permit, and keep the itemised invoice — you will need it for the subsidy application, and the City requires the battery backup to be itemised separately from the sump pump.
Sources and how current this is
Checked 18 September 2026. The $6,650 maximum per property, the 80 per cent reimbursement, every individual cap, the eligible property types, the exclusion of downspout disconnection, the lifetime maximum per type of work, the contact for checking subsidy history, the expansion effective 1 May 2026 and its application to work completed on or after 12 November 2025 all come from the City of Toronto’s Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program page. This programme is Toronto’s — other GTA municipalities run their own, with different amounts and rules. Prices are market quotes published by GTA businesses that sell the work, not an independent survey, and the out-of-pocket column is arithmetic on those ranges rather than a quote. Programme terms change; confirm at source before you spend. Ontario24 is a classified directory and does not administer subsidies, install equipment or vet the businesses listed.