Mortgage Renewal Canada: How a Broker Gets You the Best Rate

Why shouldn’t I just sign the renewal letter my bank mailed me?

Because that first letter is engineered to be the most profitable outcome — for the bank. It quotes a posted or lightly-discounted rate and counts on your inertia: most Canadians sign it without comparing anything. Banks know that every basis point you don’t negotiate is pure margin, and they reserve their sharpest pricing for clients who show a competing offer.

Start about 120 days before maturity, when many lenders will hold a rate for you, rather than waiting for the renewal statement a federally regulated lender only has to send 21 days before maturity¹. We take your letter and benchmark it against 100+ Canadian lenders, including the big banks, monolines, and credit unions.

Frequently your current lender will match a better quote once they see one; sometimes a switch wins outright. Either way, the letter becomes your floor, not your ceiling. As an FSRA-licensed brokerage (#13737), our compensation is paid by the funding lender and disclosed in writing — there’s no fee to you for the comparison.

How do I compare a renewal offer properly — beyond the headline rate?

Look past the rate to the terms that decide what the mortgage costs if your plans change: prepayment privileges (how much extra you can pay each year without a penalty), the penalty method if you ever break the term early, portability if you might move, and whether the term length fits your plans. A rate that is a hair lower but comes with restrictive prepayment terms can cost more than a slightly higher rate with room to breathe.

Then net out the switch costs. Moving lenders at maturity carries no prepayment penalty, a straight switch no longer needs the stress test², and any appraisal or discharge fee is often covered by the new lender. If your lender offers to “match any offer,” get it in writing and check it matches the whole package — rate, term and prepayment privileges — not only the rate.

Sometimes staying is the right call: after a competing quote, your current lender’s sharpened renewal can genuinely be the best available for your file, and staying keeps terms you already understand. We’ll say so plainly. The point of comparing is that the decision is deliberate rather than the default. For the tactics that move a lender’s number, see our renewal negotiation tips.

Renew, switch, or refinance — which one is right for me?

These are three different decisions, and conflating them costs money.

Renewing means staying with your current lender on a new term — fastest, no re-qualification, but only as good as the rate you negotiate. Switching (a transfer) moves the same balance to a new lender for a better rate; the new lender often covers discharge and appraisal, so it’s often $0-cost, and a straight switch no longer requires the stress test² (the new lender still reviews your file). Refinancing changes the loan itself — pulling equity, consolidating high-interest debt, or resetting amortization — and re-registers the mortgage.

Switch when it’s purely about a lower rate on the same balance. Refinance when your situation has changed and you need to restructure. Renew when speed or qualification constraints outweigh a marginal rate gain. We run all three side by side so the math, not a sales pitch, picks the winner. See refinancing options or a HELOC if you need access to equity, and our guide to switching mortgage lenders at renewal for the transfer itself.

For the full picture, read our complete guide to working with a mortgage broker in Canada. Find your local mortgage broker through our mortgage broker pages for Toronto, Vaughan and Mississauga.

Can I always switch lenders at renewal, or is my mortgage “stuck”?

Not always — and this is the trap most people never hear about. Some lenders register your mortgage as a collateral charge rather than a standard charge. TD and Tangerine do this by default, and any readvanceable or HELOC-bundled mortgage is collateral-charged.

A collateral charge generally can’t be assigned to a new lender at renewal, so switching isn’t a simple paperwork transfer — it requires discharging the old registration and creating a new one, which usually means legal fees of around $1,000 that a standard switch wouldn’t incur.

That doesn’t mean you’re trapped; it means the math is different, and we check your charge type before recommending a move. Often the rate savings still beat the registration cost, but you deserve to see the real net number first. We confirm how your mortgage is registered up front so there are no surprises at the lawyer’s office.

Will switching lenders make me re-qualify under the stress test?

It depends entirely on whether you stay or move. If you stay with your current lender and accept a renewal, you generally do not re-qualify or re-pass the stress test — even if your income dropped or your credit changed, the renewal is offered without fresh underwriting.

If you switch to a new lender, you’re treated as a new applicant — the lender reviews your credit, income and property. But since November 21, 2024, a straight switch (same balance, same amortization) doesn’t require the stress test, insured or uninsured²³. Add money or extend your amortization and you must qualify at the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%⁴.

The lender’s review still matters if your income fell or debts rose since you last qualified. And if you need to add money, many provincially-regulated credit unions aren’t bound by B-20 and can qualify you on your actual contract rate, which can be the difference between approval and decline. We flag which lenders will approve your file, so a tight file still has a path. FSRA #13737; service available in 15+ languages.

How can I lower my payment at renewal if money is tight?

You have more levers than the rate alone. The biggest is amortization: re-amortizing over a longer period, up to 30 years with many lenders on an uninsured mortgage, can meaningfully cut the monthly payment when payment shock threatens your cashflow. Extending isn’t a straight switch, so you’ll re-qualify under the stress test, and insured mortgages generally can’t be extended past their original schedule.

The trade-off is more lifetime interest, so it’s a cashflow tool, not a savings one; use it deliberately. A blend-and-extend stays with your current lender and blends your existing rate with current pricing into a new, longer term — sometimes worthwhile, but banks rarely price the blend in your favour, so we always benchmark it against a clean switch.

We can also structure prepayment privileges so you can accelerate later once your finances recover. The goal is a payment you can sustain today without quietly signing up for years of avoidable interest. We model each option net of penalty and registration cost before you commit, and disclose every fee in writing.