When should I start my mortgage renewal in Ontario?
About four months before your maturity date. That is not a round number for its own sake: around that point most lenders can hold a rate, and moving to a different lender needs a full application, which takes weeks. Start later and the work does not shrink — the choices do.
The date that matters is on your renewal letter. If it arrives with nothing signed, the lender’s terms take effect on their own. That is the default, not the exception.
What each window actually means
12 months out
Nothing to do beyond knowing the date. Put it somewhere you will see it.
4–6 months out
The working window. Gather documents, and find out what your options actually are while you still have all of them.
1–4 months out
Enough time for a new lender application, but it is no longer comfortable. Decisions start narrowing here.
Final month
Practically, the choice is the current lender’s offer. Anything else needs time you no longer have.
After maturity
The lender’s default terms are already applying. Every month counts.
Work out your own dates
The planner takes your maturity date and returns the days remaining, the window you are in, the documents to gather and the questions worth asking. No rate, no quote, no promise.
Open the Renewal PlannerCommon questions
- When should I start my mortgage renewal in Ontario?
- About four months — roughly 120 days — before your maturity date. Most lenders can hold a rate for you around that point, and moving to a different lender requires a full application, which takes weeks rather than days. Starting later does not reduce the work; it removes the option of doing anything other than signing what your current lender sent.
- What happens if I do nothing before my maturity date?
- The renewal does not simply lapse. In most cases the lender moves the mortgage onto the terms in their renewal letter, or onto a short or open term at their posted rate, and it takes effect automatically. Doing nothing is a decision that gets made for you.
- Can I switch lenders at renewal?
- Yes, and at renewal is when it is most straightforward, because the term has ended. It is a new application with a new lender, so it needs documents and time, and there can be costs such as an appraisal, legal or discharge fee. A licensed mortgage agent can tell you whether the numbers work in your case.
- Is the renewal offer from my bank negotiable?
- The first offer a lender sends is an offer, not a fixed price. What you can do about it depends on your situation, which is exactly the conversation a mortgage agent has with you before the date arrives.
- My maturity date has already passed. What now?
- Then you are most likely on whatever the lender applied by default, and each month at that rate is a month you did not choose. This is worth raising with a licensed mortgage agent now rather than at the next anniversary.
This planner organises dates and paperwork. It is not mortgage advice, it is not an approval, and it quotes no rate — no rate, product or outcome can be determined from a form. A licensed mortgage agent reviews your situation and your lender confirms your own terms.