Your Renewal Payment Went Up. Here's What You Can Actually Do.

Payment increases vary widely by mortgage type, balance, remaining amortization, and renewal date. The Bank of Canada reported that many borrowers renewing in 2025 and the first half of 2026 managed higher payments. It estimates that the final group of pandemic-era five-year fixed-payment mortgages, about 12% of outstanding mortgages, will renew over the following 12 months with an average payment increase of about 15%. That is a group-level estimate, not a forecast for your mortgage.

• Compare the new payment with your household cash flow and other debt payments
• Ask your lender to show the payment, total interest, and amortization for each option
• If you may miss a payment, contact your lender as soon as possible and ask about tailored mortgage relief

Before you can pick an option you need four figures. Call your lender or log into your mortgage account and write these down.

Your mortgage insurance status can affect a transfer or refinance. Check your original documents and ask both lenders how the insurance and any change to your balance or amortization affect the application.

Compare your lender's offer with other lenders before you renew. Compare the full terms, fees, prepayment privileges, and penalty calculation as well as the interest rate.

Federal qualifying-rate rules for straight switches changed in November 2024 for certain uninsured mortgages. Exemptions have conditions, and the new lender still assesses your application. Confirm how the rules apply to your mortgage before assuming you can transfer without qualifying.

1. 1Compare your current lender with other banks, credit unions, and mortgage brokers
2. 2Ask each provider for the rate, payment, fees, prepayment privileges, penalty calculation, and portability terms
3. 3Ask your current lender whether it can improve the offer and compare the revised terms in writing
4. 4Confirm who pays appraisal, legal, discharge, or transfer costs before you switch

A longer amortization can lower the required payment by spreading the balance over more time, but it increases total interest and may extend the debt into later years. Whether you can extend at renewal, and whether you need to requalify, depends on your lender, mortgage, and circumstances.

If your budget improves later, you may be able to increase payments or make lump-sum prepayments. The amount and timing allowed without a charge depend on your mortgage contract. Ask the lender to show the total interest cost and any plan for returning to your original amortization.

A blend-and-extend lets you renew early, before your term is up. Your lender mixes your existing rate with their current rate, weighted by how much time is left on your term versus how long the new term runs, and gives you the blended result.

The lender may offer an early renewal that blends rates and extends the term. Fees, penalties, and the rate calculation depend on the contract and offer, so ask for the full cost and compare it with waiting until maturity.

• May be worth comparing if you want to renew before maturity
• Ask for the calculation, new term, fees, and any effect on prepayment privileges
• Compare the offer with switching at maturity and with other options

Option 4: Switch between fixed and variable

A variable-rate offer may start below or above a fixed-rate offer. Its rate and payment behavior depend on the lender and contract, and future rates can move in either direction. Compare the starting payment with scenarios where the rate rises before choosing.

Option 5: Change your payment frequency

Be careful here, because the intuition runs backwards. Accelerated biweekly payments make you pay the equivalent of one extra monthly payment per year — great for paying down the mortgage faster, bad if you are trying to lower your monthly cost. If cash flow is the problem, switching from accelerated biweekly to standard monthly frees up money. Ask your lender to model both.

Option 6: Use prepayment privileges before you renew

If you have savings beyond your emergency needs, ask whether your contract allows a lump-sum prepayment before renewal and what limits or charges apply. A lower balance may reduce the amount renewed, but compare this with keeping accessible savings and paying other higher-cost debts.

Contact your lender as soon as you think you may have trouble making payments. FCAC expects federally regulated mortgage providers to assess your situation and offer tailored support when you are at risk of mortgage default on your principal residence. Provincial and other lenders may have different obligations.

Ask what relief measures are available, who will assess your request, and what each option will cost. Before you consent, request the new payment, total mortgage cost, interest rate, and amortization in writing.

• A payment deferral or pause, if your lender offers one
• A temporary change to payment amount or frequency
• A longer amortization or another restructuring, if appropriate and approved
• Other relief tailored to your mortgage and financial circumstances

Call before missing a payment if possible. If your federally regulated lender agrees to let you miss a payment as part of a mortgage relief measure, FCAC expects it not to report that agreed missed payment to the credit bureaus. Ask how any arrangement will be reported and recorded.

Every option so far reduces the payment. This one raises the income available to meet it, and for a lot of households it does more than any refinancing trick.

• Rent out a basement, a spare room, or a parking spot — check your municipal bylaws and your insurance first, and declare the income
• Rent out the whole home and move somewhere cheaper temporarily, if the numbers work
• Ask a qualified adviser whether debt restructuring is appropriate. Securing other debts against your home can lower the rate but puts the home at risk and may increase total interest or require a refinance
• Recheck your benefits. If your income has dropped, you may now qualify for the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB), the Canada Workers Benefit, or a higher Canada Child Benefit payment

Sometimes the gap is too big to close with restructuring. That is not a moral failure, and there are still ordered steps to take.

1. 1If you are considering an alternative or private lender, compare the full interest rate, fees, term, and exit costs in writing before signing.
2. 2Consider whether selling is the right financial and personal choice. Get an independent estimate of sale proceeds, mortgage payout costs, and other obligations.
3. 3Speak with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee or a non-profit credit counsellor about your options and costs.
4. 4Get province-specific legal advice promptly if you receive a default, power-of-sale, or foreclosure notice. The process and timelines vary by province.