Your Energy Rebate - Mixed Use

What is a mixed use property?
A mixed use property is a property that is assessed as partially residential taxable along with other classes of property.

Does a mixed use property qualify for Your Energy Rebate?
The fuel used to heat the residential portion of mixed use property is eligible for the rebate. The purchaser is required to apply for the rebate.

If you own a property that is both a home and a business and pay for home energy costs then you may qualify for Your Energy Rebate.
Your Energy Rebate is a provincial program designed to help Nova Scotians with home energy costs. The program does not cover business energy costs. However, if you own a property that is used as both a residence and a business, you may be eligible for Your Energy Rebate. These properties are also mixed-use properties.

Program changes announced in the April 29, 2008 Budget

Commercial Electricity Customers
If you are charged commercial service rates for your electricity you will continue to be able to claim a rebate on your full power bill issued until the end of August, 2008. The new thresholds will apply to commercial service rates billed on or after September 1, 2008. The threshold of 27.4 KWh per day will apply to each residential unit and the common area to the residential units as a separate unit. The example below illustrates how this is to be applied when applying for your rebate for power bills issued on or after September 1, 2008.

The demand charge will no longer be eligible for billings issued on or after September 1, 2008.

Sample Commercial Electricity Rebate Calculation
Billing Date: September 5, 2008.
(Floor space - 80% Residential)
(400 residential units)

Service July 31 to August 31, 2008

Residential Electricity Customer
The electricity portion of the Your Energy Rebate Program is being refocused on electricity used for heating. As a result, effective September 1, 2008 only electricity used on or after September 1, 2008 that exceeds a threshold of 27.4 kilowatt hours per day times the number of days on the bill on or after September 1, 2008, will be eligible for the rebate. If you are billed at domestic service rates, you will receive your rebate from the electrical supplier at the time of billing.

The base charge will no longer be eligible as of May 15, 2008.

The rebate on domestic service rates for residential customers has resumed as of September 1, 2008 for electricity consumption in excess of the threshold.

For more details about the rebate on domestic service rates for electricity, go to the "What's New" page.

How do I know if I qualify?
You are eligible to apply as a 'mixed-use' property for Your Energy Rebate if :

• You pay for the home energy costs;
  
• Your property is defined as "partly residential" under Section 26 of the Assessment Act; and
• Your property includes other classes of property along with a portion classified as "residential taxable" based on the current property assessment issued under the Assessment Act.

When did the program begin for 'mixed-use' property owners?
Starting December 1, 2006, the Government reduced the cost you pay for your energy costs on the residential portion of your property. This was done by providing an 8 per cent rebate on the before tax price of eligible home energy costs, such as heating oil, firewood, wood pellets, kerosene, natural gas or propane - that's equal to the provincial portion of the HST.

Will my rebate be automatically removed from my home portion of energy costs?
As an owner of a 'mixed-use' property, your rebate will not be automatically deducted from your home heating oil, firewood, or natural gas bills. It may be rebated on your electricity bills. For example, if the power company is charging you the domestic service rate, you will receive the rebate automatically off your power bill.

What if my commercial space is in a separate building?
There may be extenuating circumstances that allow a portion of the commercial property to be omitted from the calculation. Each situation will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

Possible cases

Separate commercial building that is shut down for part of the year and not heated while shut down.

In this case, if the consumer provides additional documentation verifying the situation with their application, only the residential square footage actually being heated with the fuel shall be used to calculate the portion of the bill that is eligible for the rebate.

The additional documentation to be provided by the consumer must include the following information:

• Dates of operation of the commercial activity on the property;

• The commercial property is a separate building from the building containing residential space;

• Type of energy (if any) used to heat the commercial building when in operation;

• Square footage of the commercial building; and,

• Square footage heated by the fuel the rebate is being claimed for.

If the commercial building has no heat at all and the consumer has sent supporting documentation with their application, the space for the commercial building may be excluded from the calculation of the rebate.

If the commercial building is heated by the same energy type as the building containing the residential space, the total property space and total energy bill must be used for dates when the commercial activity occurred.

Separate commercial building with a separate fuel source for heating for commercial building vs building containing residential space.

If the consumer feels it is more beneficial for them to do so, they may send in additional documentation verifying that the separate commercial building is heated by a different energy type than the building containing the residential space.

If the consumer sends in the additional documentation, the energy bill along with the square footage for the commercial property may be excluded from the rebate calculation. To calculate the rebate, the consumer is entitled to only the space usage in the building containing the residential property and the energy bill for it. To put it in plain terms: if you want to exclude the commercial space, you have to exclude the commercial energy bill as well.

The additional documentation to be provided by the consumer must include all of the following information:

• The commercial property is a separate building from the building containing the residential space;
• Type of energy used to heat the commercial building;
• Type of energy used to heat the building containing the residential space
• Square footage of the commercial building;
• Square footage of the building containing the residential space.
• Energy bill for commercial building; and,
• Energy bill for the building containing the residential space.

What if I have no commercial assessment on my property, no business activity and the only building I heat is my residence?
A Consumer with a mixed use property has to submit a mixed use application form the first time that they apply for a rebate. The mixed use application form was revised to include instructions on how to fill it out if you only buy fuel for residential use.

There are several ways to get an application form:

• Visit any Access Nova Scotia centre
• E-mail yourenergyrebate@gov.ns.ca
• Call 424-5200 (Metro Halifax)
• Call 1-800-670-4357 (toll-free province-wide)
• Download the Application
  

How do I apply?
You may submit one application each quarter (April, July, October, January).
You will need to apply for the rebate on all your home energy sources (home heating oil, electricity, natural gas, propane, firewood, wood pellets, etc.), although there may be some properties that receive the rebate for electricity automatically.

• Complete the application form in full
• Include all receipts for the home energy purchases

• Supplier's HST number ;
• Amount of HST paid ;
• Date of the purchase ; and,
• Nature of the product (e.g. firewood, wood pellets)