Mortgage renewal
A renewal happens at the end of your mortgage term when your existing contract matures. You sign a new term with your current lender, switch to a new lender, or pay the mortgage off. There is no penalty to switch at renewal.
Roughly 60% of Canadian mortgages come up for renewal each year. The federal renewal rules require lenders to send an offer at least 21 days before maturity. That offer is almost always negotiable — first offers are typically 0.20%–0.60% above what the lender's retention team can actually approve.
Since November 2024, uninsured borrowers switching lenders at renewal are exempt from the OSFI stress test, provided the loan amount and amortization don't increase. This makes shopping at renewal materially easier than it used to be.