This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Speak with a licensed mortgage professional before making any mortgage decisions.
Yes — in most cases you can port a mortgage in Canada. The majority of major Canadian lenders allow you to transfer your existing rate, balance, and remaining term to a new property when you move, but the port is not automatic: you must re-qualify under the OSFI B-20 stress test, stay with the same lender, and close both the sale and the new purchase inside the lender’s portability window, typically 30 to 120 days. If your new mortgage is larger, the top-up amount is priced at today’s rate and blended with your existing rate. Some products, including many variable-rate and no-frills mortgages, are not portable at all. Admin fees for porting typically range from $100 to $300, meaningfully less than a typical prepayment penalty for breaking the mortgage.
Why this question matters right now
Around 1.8 million Canadian mortgages are set to renew in the 12 months around mid-2026. Many of those mortgages were locked in during 2020 to 2022, when rates were at multi-decade lows. If you took out a five-year fixed rate at 2% in 2021 and you are now thinking about selling and moving to a new home, you face an awkward choice. Break the mortgage and pay a prepayment penalty, sometimes thousands of dollars, and refinance at today’s rates. Or, find a way to take that 2% rate with you.
That second option is mortgage porting. It is one of the most powerful tools available to movers right now, but it comes with strict rules, tight deadlines, and product-by-product limits that catch many homeowners off guard. For more context on the 2026 renewal wave, our companion guide goes deeper.
What mortgage portability actually means
The clause in your contract that allows this is the portability clause. Most major Canadian lenders include one in their standard fixed-rate closed mortgages, but the conditions vary widely.
What you keep when you port: your interest rate, your remaining term, and your amortization schedule. What you do not get to keep is total flexibility on lender choice or a free pass on re-qualification. A port stays with the same lender. If you want to switch lenders during the move, you have to break the mortgage, not port it. For deeper detail on every clause, our deeper porting guide covers it.
Quick start: pick your path
Before reading the rest of this article, identify which scenario fits your move. Each branch points you to the section that matters most for you.
Moving in 30 to 120 days to a similar-priced home. A straight port is usually possible. You typically pay a small admin fee and keep your existing rate intact.
You may need a port-and-increase, also called a blend-and-extend. The extra money you borrow is priced at today’s rate, then blended with your existing rate.
You may be able to use your prepayment privileges to shrink the balance, sometimes avoiding any penalty entirely. The port-and-decrease scenario typically costs less than people expect.
You cannot port to a new lender. You would need to break your current mortgage and shop the market. See the port vs break section below before deciding.
Who can port and who can’t
Portability by mortgage product type
Which Canadian mortgage products typically allow porting, and which do not.
| Product type | Portability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed-rate closed (5-year) | Typically portable | The standard portable product at most banks and credit unions. |
| Variable-rate closed | Often not portable | May require conversion to fixed before porting. |
| Hybrid or combination | Conditional | Lender-specific rules apply to each portion. |
| No-frills or restricted | Typically not portable | Deeply discounted products often lack a portability clause. |
| HELOC | Not portable | Tied to the original property and discharged on sale. |
| Insured high-ratio | Portable | Subject to re-approval by CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty. |
A few specific rules apply across the industry. A port must stay with the same lender — there is no such thing as a port to a different bank. If you want a new lender, you have to break the existing mortgage and pay the prepayment penalty. Insured high-ratio mortgages can be ported, but the default insurer — CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty — needs to re-approve the new property under its guidelines.
Variable-rate mortgages are the most common surprise. Many homeowners assume their variable mortgage is portable because it is otherwise flexible. In practice, several Canadian lenders require you to convert a variable rate to a fixed rate before porting. Some do not allow porting variable rates at all. No-frills products — the deeply discounted restricted mortgages some banks offer — almost always lack a portability clause. Read your contract before listing your current home.
The step-by-step roadmap
- 1Confirm your clause and product typeStart with a phone call to your lender or a quick look at your mortgage commitment letter. Confirm the mortgage is portable and ask whether there are any product-specific conditions.
- 2Check the portability windowEvery lender’s portability clause specifies a window — the time allowed between your sale closing and your new purchase closing. Windows typically range from 30 to 120 days. Knowing your number before you list is critical because it constrains every other decision.
- 3Coordinate the closingsYour real estate lawyer or notary can line up the dates. If there is a gap between the sale and the purchase, you may need short-term bridge financing to cover it. Bridge financing is a separate loan, not part of your port.
- 4Re-qualify under OSFI B-20Even though you are staying with the same lender, you must pass the federal stress test on the new property — qualifying at the greater of contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%. Your income, credit, and debt service ratios are all re-checked.
- 5Close with the blended rate applied if porting upIf the new mortgage is larger than the old one, the additional amount is priced at today’s rate and blended with your existing rate. The full porting walkthrough covers every step in depth.
The port timeline — sale, purchase, and the lender’s window
A lender’s portability window of 30 to 120 days pins your sale and purchase closings to a single calendar.
Port-and-increase vs port-and-decrease
Port-and-increase, also called blend-and-extend, is the most common scenario for movers in 2026 because most homeowners are buying up. Say you have a $400,000 balance at a 2% locked-in rate with three years remaining, and you need $500,000 for the new home. The $100,000 in new money is priced at today’s lender rate, then blended with your 2% on the $400,000. The result might land somewhere between 2% and the current market rate — your blended rate depends on the math the lender applies. Most lenders also reset the term to a new five-year period as part of the blend.
Port-and-decrease is less common but typically simpler. If you are moving to a smaller home and the new mortgage is smaller than the existing balance, the difference is treated as a prepayment. Many borrowers can use their annual prepayment privileges to absorb part or all of the gap without triggering a penalty. If the reduction exceeds your prepayment privileges, a partial prepayment penalty may apply. Ask your lender to model both scenarios before you list.
Port vs break: which costs less?
Port vs break — illustrative cost comparison
$500,000 mortgage, three years remaining at a low locked-in rate. Illustrative ranges only — your numbers may differ.
The most useful way to think about this is total cost over a five-year window. Porting locks you into the existing lender at a blended rate. Breaking releases you to shop the entire market, but it costs you a prepayment penalty up front — typically calculated as the greater of three months’ interest or the interest rate differential (IRD) for fixed-rate mortgages. The IRD can run into five figures on a sizeable mortgage in a falling-rate environment.
When the gap between your existing rate and today’s market rate is wide — say, 1.5 to 2.5 percentage points — porting almost always wins because the blended rate stays well below current market rates. When the gap is narrow, under one percentage point, breaking and re-shopping can sometimes beat porting on total five-year cost. A broker can model both paths side by side. For background on the costs involved, see our guide to avoiding a costly prepayment penalty.
Costs, fees, and timing windows
A port is meaningfully cheaper than a break, but it is not free. Most lenders charge an admin or processing fee of around $100 to $300 to port the mortgage. You also typically pay an appraisal fee on the new property — usually in the $300 to $600 range. Legal fees on the new purchase apply as they would for any home buy, though porting often saves on some lender-side legal work.
The single biggest non-monetary cost is timing pressure. Portability windows of 30 to 120 days sound generous on paper but can feel tight in a busy market. If your purchase falls through after your sale closes, the port window may expire before you find another home, and the port can be lost entirely.
Bridge financing can cover a short gap between sale and purchase closings, but it is a separate facility and not unlimited. If you want to model what a missed-port scenario could cost, our prepayment penalty calculator gives a realistic range.
Common mistakes that kill a port
- ▸Timing mismatch on closings. Sale closes, purchase falls through, port window expires. The most common failure mode by a wide margin.
- ▸Assuming a variable rate is portable. Many are not. Always confirm in writing before you list.
- ▸Income drop kills re-qualification. A job change or income reduction between origination and port can cause your lender to decline the port even though the mortgage is portable.
- ▸Property type change triggers different rules. A house-to-condo port, or owner-occupied to rental, may require re-qualification under different loan-to-value rules.
- ▸Insured-to-uninsured transition above the $1.5M cap. If your existing mortgage is insured and the new purchase price crosses the $1.5 million insured-mortgage cap raised in December 2024, the entire mortgage may need to be restructured as uninsured.
- ▸Forgetting Quebec notarial requirements. In Quebec, closings must be done before a notary, which can affect the timeline.
When a broker changes the math
Most homeowners weighing a port talk only to their current lender. That conversation can tell you whether a port is allowed and what the blended rate might look like, but it does not tell you what a competing lender would offer if you broke the mortgage and switched. That is where a broker changes the math.
A broker shops the full Canadian lender market — banks, credit unions, monoline lenders, and trust companies — and models the port-and-blend offer from your current lender against a fresh mortgage net of your prepayment penalty. Sometimes porting still wins. Sometimes breaking and switching is materially cheaper over five years. Without that comparison, you are guessing.
Razi Khan, Founder and Mortgage Broker at Pegasus, has spent two decades modelling exactly these comparisons. If you want a clear view of working with an independent broker, it starts with running the math both ways.
Frequently asked questions
Can you port a mortgage to a more expensive house in Canada?
Can I port my mortgage to a different province?
What happens to my mortgage rate when I port it?
Can I port a variable-rate mortgage in Canada?
How long do I have to port my mortgage after I sell my home?
What fees will I pay when porting a mortgage?
Do I have to re-qualify when I port my mortgage?
Is porting cheaper than breaking my mortgage?
Your next move
Before you list your current home, find out what a port-and-blend offer might look like next to a competing lender’s fresh mortgage. Pegasus can run both numbers for you in minutes.
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About the author
Razi Khan
Founder, CEO & Licensed Mortgage Broker · Pegasus Mortgage Lending · Toronto, Ontario · FSRA Lic # 11479
Razi Khan is the Founder, CEO, and a licensed Mortgage Broker at Pegasus Mortgage Lending Center Inc., based in Toronto. With over 20 years of experience in the Canadian mortgage industry, Razi has personally guided more than 3,000 clients through some of the most complex and high-stakes financial decisions of their lives — from first-time purchases in the GTA to refinancing strategies, alternative lending solutions, and cross-border mortgages for Canadians buying in the United States.
Razi founded Pegasus in October 2008, launching the brokerage at the height of a global financial crisis. He works across the full spectrum of borrower profiles, with particular expertise in complex files including self-employed borrowers, credit-challenged clients, and investors building multi-property portfolios.
Learn more about Razi Khan →Sources & references
- Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), Guideline B-20. osfi-bsif.gc.ca
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Breaking your mortgage contract. canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency
- Bank of Canada — Policy interest rate. bankofcanada.ca
- Department of Finance Canada — Increase to the insured mortgage cap to $1.5M, effective December 15, 2024. canada.ca/en/department-finance
- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). cmhc-schl.gc.ca