When to Start Shopping Your Mortgage Renewal in Canada
Most Canadian lenders offer 120-day rate holds, which means roughly four months before your renewal date is the right time to engage the market. Starting earlier rarely helps (holds aren't long enough), and starting inside 30 days usually means accepting whatever your current lender sends without meaningful leverage. The 120-day window is both insurance (against rate rises) and negotiating leverage (against your existing lender).
Who this is for
Homeowners with a renewal 3-8 months away, deciding whether to negotiate with their existing lender or switch to a new one.
- Typical rate hold
- 120 days from approval
- Renewal letter timing (existing lender)
- Usually 30-60 days before renewal
- Typical existing-lender 'first offer' premium
- 30-60 bps above best market
- Negotiation leverage floor
- A written competing offer in hand
Framework
The 120-day window
Start the conversation with a broker or a second lender 120 days before your renewal date. They can issue a formal approval with a rate hold, which protects you against rate rises while you decide. The hold has no cost if you don't proceed. Your existing lender will usually mail a renewal letter 30-60 days out — with a competing written offer in hand, their first offer almost always improves.
Stay vs switch — the OSFI factor
As of the 2024 B-20 amendments, uninsured borrowers doing a straight switch to another federally regulated lender no longer need to requalify under the stress test. This removed a long-standing friction — your decision is now genuinely price-driven. Switching still incurs discharge and legal fees (~$800-1500) plus sometimes an appraisal; the rate improvement needs to clear those costs.
Key considerations
- The rate-hold clock starts from approval, not from application. If it takes a week to submit documents, you effectively have 113 days.
- Rate holds don't always transfer to a different product — if rates drop, some lenders will float down, others won't. Ask explicitly.
- If you're considering a variable at renewal, holds work differently — the hold locks the discount to prime, not the absolute rate.
- Breaking a rate hold has no cost; you're not contractually committed until you sign the renewal or switch paperwork.
Common mistakes
- Waiting for the renewal letter to arrive. By the time it lands, 60 of your 120 days are already gone.
- Accepting the first rate your existing bank offers. In most cases, it's 30-60 bps above what they'll move to with competition present.
- Not factoring switching costs into the comparison. A 10 bps improvement over 5 years on a $400k balance doesn't always clear $1,200 in discharge fees.
Action steps
- 01Mark 120 days before your renewal date and put a reminder to contact a broker that day.
- 02Get one competing approval with a rate hold in writing before your existing lender's renewal letter arrives.
- 03When the renewal letter arrives, use the competing offer as an opening number, not the one you signal willingness to sign at.