Guide
The Cape Cod AquiFund septic loan, rate by rate
Who gets 4% and who gets 5%, what a betterment means for your tax bill and your closing, and the four documents the county wants.
Written by the Cape Cod Septic Experts editorial team · How we check our facts
The Cape Cod AquiFund is Barnstable County’s loan for septic work: 4% for repairs, replacements, cesspool upgrades and I/A systems, 5% if the property is a rental, seasonal home, condominium or on the market, and 0% or 2% for income-qualified owner-occupants connecting to a new municipal sewer. Terms run up to 20 years and you repay it as a betterment on your property tax bill. The program line is (774) 330-3010.
Four rates, and which one applies to you
The county publishes four borrowing rates plus a penalty rate. Septic repairs, replacements, cesspool upgrades, distribution box and leach field work and I/A installations are 4%, provided the property is not listed for sale or expected to be listed within 12 months. Where it is, or where the home is a rental, seasonal, secondary or a condominium, the rate is 5%. Accounts in arrears are charged 14% (Cape Cod AquiFund).
The 0% and 2% tiers are narrower than most people expect. They apply to new municipal sewer connections only, for a single-family, owner-occupied, year-round primary residence with no business use beyond a home office, and they are income-qualified for new applications. The underlying state Community Septic Management Program sets tiers at 0% below 120% of area median income, 2% from 120% to 180%, and 4% above that (Mass.gov), but AquiFund’s own income cut-offs live on the application and were not verified for this page, so ask the county for the current figures rather than relying on the state tiers.
Which costs the county will finance
AquiFund covers the work itself and the paperwork around it: the tank, leaching area, distribution box, pumps, cesspool upgrade, I/A unit or sewer connection, plus engineering and design. It also covers incidental landscaping, driveway repair and plumbing changes made necessary by the job, which matters because the state tax credit does not pay for restoration.
The county page states no maximum loan amount, and none was verified in the research behind this guide, so treat the ceiling as a question for the loan office rather than a published number. The money is there: the program received $13 million from the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust in November 2024 (CAI) after disbursing about $5 million in the year to July 2024. Some towns add their own help on top for sewer work: Chatham sought $50,000 and Orleans has $100,000 to supplement connection and abandonment costs for year-round residents, reported as proposals in April 2025 (Cape Cod Chronicle), so confirm with your town before you assume either. The sewer connection page covers what the homeowner side of a hookup involves.
Who can borrow, and where the county line stops it
Residential property in Barnstable County qualifies, including primary, seasonal and secondary homes and condominiums. There is no minimum income. Commercial property is not eligible, and rental, seasonal and secondary properties are limited to the 4% and 5% septic tiers rather than the sewer tiers.
Plainly: AquiFund is a Barnstable County program and it does not reach the South Shore. If your house is in Plymouth, Wareham, Kingston, Duxbury, Marshfield, Pembroke, Carver or Middleborough, you are looking at a different set of programs. The Town of Plymouth runs a Title V Septic Loan Program at 5% fixed over 5, 10 or 15 years, repaid twice yearly as a betterment, with no credit check but a documented failure required and every municipal account current (Plymouth Redevelopment Authority). The Old Colony Planning Council administers betterment loans for several member towns including Kingston (OCPC). MassHousing lends up to $25,000 through participating banks for owner-occupied 1-4 family homes anywhere in the state, and MassDEP keeps the master list of options.
A betterment, not a bank loan: how repayment works
This is the part that surprises borrowers. AquiFund is not a personal loan with a monthly statement; it is a betterment assessment secured against the property. The county records a Notice of Betterment Assessment at the Registry of Deeds and the repayment appears on your property tax bill, spread over a term of up to 20 years.
Three consequences follow. First, the debt runs with the land, so when you sell, an unpaid balance typically has to be settled at closing or assumed by the buyer under the purchase agreement; have your attorney check the Registry early and write the treatment into the contract. Second, paying it off quickly is not free: a $400 fee applies if you pay within one year of the first payment, and you pay the cost of recording the discharge. Third, because it sits on the tax bill, staying current matters more than with an ordinary loan, and arrears carry the 14% rate. Buyers inheriting a system should read the buyer’s guide on what to check at the Registry.
Four documents and a 48-hour turnaround
The county asks for four things: the signed application, your most recent federal 1040 or other proof of income, your most recent mortgage statement, and a signed contractor bid. A complete package can be processed in as little as 48 hours.
Sequence matters more than speed. The bid is the item that holds people up, and a bid needs a design, which needs a soil evaluation. So the practical order is: get the failure documented, have the system designed, take that one plan out to installers, then apply with the signed bid in hand. Do not sign a contract on the assumption that financing will follow, and do not wait until the contractor is scheduled. Call the program line at (774) 330-3010 with questions about eligibility before you spend money on design. The septic system replacement page sets out the same sequence from the construction side.
Running the loan and the state credit together
The loan and the credit are designed to be used together, and from 2023 onward they no longer fight each other. The old rule reducing the Title 5 credit by the interest subsidy on a below-market betterment loan was eliminated for credits generated in tax years 2023 and later (TIR 24-4), so a 4% county loan no longer shrinks your $18,000.
The two do different jobs. The loan pays the contractor now, over 20 years on your tax bill. The credit returns 60% of eligible costs, up to $18,000 at $4,000 a year, through your Massachusetts return, and only for a principal residence (Mass.gov). A seasonal-home owner borrowing at 5% gets no credit at all, which is worth knowing before you budget. Program terms are set by the agencies and change; confirm with the state or county page linked here.
Starting an application this week
If a Title 5 report has already failed your system, the useful order is: call the health department for your as-built, book the soil evaluation, get the design drawn, collect bids on that plan, then apply. If you are only exploring, call the county first and ask which rate your property falls into, because the 4% and 5% answer changes the arithmetic on whether to sell as-is or fix first.
Two pages to read alongside this one. The Title 5 guide explains how a system gets classified as failed and what the 2-year upgrade clock does to your timeline. And if the quote you are financing is for a nitrogen-reducing unit, the I/A systems page covers the operating contract that starts the day it is commissioned, which no loan covers; a cesspool replacement is financed at the same 4% rate.
Money
Help paying for septic work
Two public programs pay for a large share of most Title 5 upgrades. Which one applies depends on the county the house is in.
Statewide, principal residence
State income tax credit for Title 5 work
- 60% of qualifying repair or replacement costs, on up to $30,000 of expenses
- Up to $18,000 in total credit per household, taken at up to $4,000 a year
- Unused credit carries forward for up to 5 years
- Applies to the home you live in, not a rental or second home
Barnstable County homeowners only
Low-interest county financing (AquiFund)
- County-run Community Septic Management Loan Program
- Interest tiers from 0% to 5%, set by the type of work and whether you live there year-round
- Repaid over up to 20 years as a betterment on your property tax bill
- Covers Title 5 repairs, replacements and nitrogen-reducing upgrades
Plymouth County homeowners
Financing for South Shore homes
- AquiFund does not extend past the Cape Cod Canal
- The Town of Plymouth runs its own Title V septic loan, repaid as a betterment on the tax bill
- MassHousing offers a septic repair loan for eligible owner-occupants statewide
- Ask your board of health which town programs are open this year
Program terms are set by the agencies and change; confirm with the state or county page linked here before you count on a number.
Licensing
Check the credentials before you sign
Massachusetts has no single statewide septic contractor license. Two separate approvals matter. A Title 5 inspection is valid only when a System Inspector approved by MassDEP performs it. Installation and repair work is permitted town by town: each board of health licenses installers and issues the Disposal System Construction Permit for the job.
You can check both yourself. The state publishes the inspector training and approval program, and the regulation itself sets out who may do what.
Three questions to ask
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Which of you holds the Title 5 System Inspector approval, and can I see the certificate?
Only a MassDEP-approved System Inspector may sign an official inspection form. The approval is personal to the inspector, not to the company.
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Are you on this town’s current list of approved septic installers?
Installation licenses are issued by each board of health, one town at a time. A crew licensed in Falmouth is not automatically licensed in Bourne.
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Who pulls the permit, and will I get the as-built plan and the Certificate of Compliance?
The permit and the final sign-off are what a future buyer’s inspector will ask for. Get it in writing that both come to you when the work closes out.
The process
From your request to a site visit
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Your request goes to one local septic company
It goes to a single septic company that works in your town and handles your kind of job. It is not sold to a list, and you will not get calls from five companies.
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They call to set up a site visit
Expect a call, usually within one business day. The contractor asks about the house, the inspection report if you have one, and your timing, then books a visit.
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You get a written quote and decide
After the visit you receive a written estimate with the scope and the permit plan. There is no fee and no obligation. If it is not a fit, say so and that is the end of it.
Questions homeowners ask
What is AquiFund and what does it charge?
It is Barnstable County's betterment loan for septic work, run by the Department of Health and Environment through the Clean Water Center and formerly called the Community Septic Management Loan Program. Rates are 0% or 2% for income-qualified owner-occupant sewer connections, 4% for septic repairs, replacements and I/A systems, and 5% for rentals, seasonal and secondary homes, condominiums and listed properties. Terms run up to 20 years.
Can I get AquiFund if my house is for sale?
Yes, for septic and I/A work, at the 5% rate. The county applies 5% rather than 4% when a property is a rental, seasonal home, secondary home or condominium, or when it is listed for sale or expected to be listed within 12 months. The 0% and 2% sewer-connection rates are reserved for year-round owner-occupants and exclude homes on the market.
How long does an AquiFund loan take to approve?
A complete application can be processed in as little as 48 hours, according to the county. Complete means the signed application, your most recent federal return or other proof of income, your most recent mortgage statement and a signed contractor bid. The bid is the piece most people are missing, so get the design and quote done before you apply rather than after.
Does the septic betterment loan transfer to me when I buy?
A betterment is recorded against the property, not just against you, so an unpaid balance typically has to be settled at closing or assumed by the buyer under the purchase agreement. Ask your closing attorney to check the Registry for a Notice of Betterment Assessment early, and put the treatment of any balance in writing rather than discovering it on the settlement statement.
Is there a septic loan program in Plymouth?
AquiFund stops at the Barnstable County line. The Town of Plymouth runs its own Title V Septic Loan Program at 5% fixed over 5, 10 or 15 years, repaid twice yearly as a betterment on the tax bill, with no credit check but a documented Title 5 failure required and all municipal accounts current. Other South Shore towns run their own betterment programs; MassHousing lends up to $25,000 statewide.
Does a betterment loan reduce my tax credit?
Not for work done in 2023 or later. The rule that cut the Title 5 credit by the interest subsidy on a below-market betterment loan was eliminated by TIR 24-4, so an AquiFund loan at 4% and the 60% state credit now stack. Certificates issued before 2023 still follow the older subsidy rule. Amounts covered by a grant are never your expense for credit purposes.
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