A renewal statement arrives in the mail, it has your lender’s logo on it, and it has a rate printed on it. It looks official, and most people sign it and send it back. That’s the single most expensive default decision in Canadian personal finance, and it takes one conversation to avoid.
The letter is an offer
If your lender is federally regulated, that statement has to arrive at least 21 days before your term ends, and it has to set out your balance, the rate on offer, the payment frequency, the term length and any charges. The rate quoted can’t go up before your renewal date.
Those are requirements, not courtesies. And they tell you something useful: this is a document with rules attached, not a bill. It’s an offer, and it’s the first one you’ve received — not the only one available.
At maturity, your mortgage is completely mobile
This is the part people don’t realise. On your maturity date, the term has run in full. There’s nothing ending early, so there’s no prepayment charge for moving. Every lender in the country is available to you, and the terms are yours to negotiate.
What can apply instead are transfer costs — discharging the old charge, registering the new one, sometimes an appraisal. Plenty of lenders cover some or all of that to win the business, which is one of the first things I ask when I’m quoting.
The stress test rule changed, and most people missed it
If you’re staying with your current lender, there’s no new application at all. You aren’t requalified.
If you’re moving to a new lender, the rules shifted in your favour at the end of 2024. OSFI stopped prescribing the minimum qualifying rate for uninsured borrowers doing a straight switch at renewal, and the federal government matched it on the insured side shortly after. A straight switch means the same balance and the same remaining amortization, with no equity taken out.
In practice: shopping your renewal is a lighter piece of work than it was three years ago, and far more homeowners can do it than think they can.
Four things worth checking before you sign
- What else is available right now. Not as a guess — in writing, from lenders competing for the business.
- What it costs to move, if anything. Often the answer is nothing.
- Your amortization. Renewal is the easiest moment to shorten it if your income has grown, or extend it if cash flow is tight. Both are legitimate; the point is choosing rather than inheriting.
- Whether now is the moment to do more. If you were going to refinance in the next year anyway, doing it at maturity avoids a prepayment charge entirely.
Start six months out
Rate holds commonly open around four months before maturity, and some lenders go further. Starting at six months means we can confirm the details of your file, shop it properly, and hold a rate — which caps what you’ll pay while leaving you free to take something better if it appears.
There’s no cost to any of that, and no obligation attached to a hold.
If your mortgage is up for renewal in the next year, send me your mortgage statement and your maturity date. I’ll tell you what your options actually look like.