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Get My Free Estimate →No — a straight switch at renewal no longer requires requalification at the minimum qualifying rate. OSFI stopped prescribing the MQR for uninsured straight switches on 21 November 2024; insured mortgage holders could already switch without requalifying; and the requirement was removed for low-ratio mortgages on 16 December 2024. A straight switch means no increase in the loan amount and no increase in the remaining amortization (the low-ratio rules allow up to $3,000 for transaction costs). Three limits: take equity out and it is a refinance; OSFI does not regulate provincially regulated credit unions; and a lender may still apply its own criteria.
For years the answer to “can I move my mortgage to another lender at renewal without being stress-tested” was no, and that fact quietly handed your existing lender a great deal of pricing power. That changed in November and December 2024, in three separate announcements covering three different kinds of mortgage. The change is real, and it is narrower than most summaries suggest.
The stress test, as it stands
OSFI’s minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages is the greater of the mortgage contract rate plus two percentage points, or 5.25 per cent. That is the rule for new borrowing and it has not changed.
What changed, by mortgage type
| Mortgage type | What changed | Announced | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uninsured | OSFI “will no longer prescribe the minimum qualifying rate… when uninsured mortgage borrowers switch to a new institution at renewal.” | 21 Nov 2024 | 21 Nov 2024 |
| Insured (high ratio) | “Insured mortgage holders can switch lenders at renewal without requalifying.” | 19 Nov 2024 | 21 Nov 2024 |
| Low ratio / portfolio insured | The minimum qualifying rate requirement is removed on low-ratio mortgages switching from a federally regulated lender to any new lender at renewal. | 16 Dec 2024 | 16 Dec 2024 |
What counts as a straight switch
OSFI’s definition, quoted:
“An existing stand-alone uninsured mortgage; from one federally regulated financial institution to another; with no increases in the remaining contractual mortgage amortization period or the loan amount.”
For the low-ratio rules, the conditions are similar with one useful allowance: the unpaid principal may increase by a maximum of $3,000, for transaction costs only. No equity take-out.
The three limits that matter
1. Take a dollar out and it is not a switch. Increase the loan amount or extend the amortization and the exemption is gone — you are refinancing, and refinancing is qualified at the minimum qualifying rate. Rolling a credit card balance into the mortgage at renewal, however sensible it looks, ends the exemption.
2. OSFI regulates federally regulated financial institutions, not everyone. Banks, foreign bank branches, trust and loan companies. Provincially regulated credit unions are outside OSFI’s scope, as are various non-federally-regulated lenders. The exemption does not compel them, and if you are moving to or from one of them the analysis is different. Ask directly who regulates the lender you are talking to.
3. OSFI removed a requirement. It did not create a right. A lender is no longer required to apply the minimum qualifying rate on a straight switch. It is still entitled to underwrite to its own criteria, and it will still look at your income, your credit and the property. “You cannot be stress-tested at renewal” is not accurate. “Your new federally regulated lender is no longer required by OSFI to apply the minimum qualifying rate” is.
Why this matters more than it sounds
Before the change, a borrower whose finances had tightened since origination was effectively captive. They could renew with their existing lender without requalifying, or they could shop — and be re-tested at contract rate plus two. For anyone whose income had fallen or whose property had declined in value, shopping was not a real option, and their lender knew it.
The renewal offer that arrives in the mail is a starting position. Since these changes, a straight switch to another federally regulated lender is genuinely available to most borrowers, which means the offer is now negotiable in a way it was not before. Getting a competing quote costs an afternoon.
What has not changed
- New purchases are qualified at the minimum qualifying rate as before.
- Refinances are qualified at the minimum qualifying rate.
- Any increase in the loan amount or the amortization takes you out of the exemption.
- Discharge and set-up costs still exist on a switch, even though the low-ratio rules allow up to $3,000 to be added for transaction costs. Ask for them in writing before you commit.
I am a realtor, not a mortgage professional. This page sets out the rules as the regulators publish them so you can ask your broker or lender the right questions. It is not a recommendation about your mortgage and I am not qualified to give you one.
Renewal decision tangled up with a possible move?
If part of what you are weighing is whether to stay in the property at all, that is where I am actually useful. I will tell you what the place is worth today and what your realistic options look like — including staying put, which is often the right answer.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pass the stress test to switch lenders at renewal?
Not for a straight switch. OSFI stopped prescribing the minimum qualifying rate for uninsured straight switches on 21 November 2024. Insured mortgage holders could already switch at renewal without requalifying, and the requirement was removed for low-ratio mortgages on 16 December 2024.
What is a straight switch?
OSFI defines it as an existing stand-alone uninsured mortgage moving from one federally regulated financial institution to another with no increase in the remaining contractual amortization period or the loan amount. For low-ratio mortgages the unpaid principal may rise by up to $3,000 for transaction costs only.
Can I add debt to my mortgage at renewal and still avoid the stress test?
No. Increasing the loan amount takes you out of the exemption entirely — that is a refinance, and it is qualified at the minimum qualifying rate. The same applies to extending the amortization.
Does this apply to credit unions?
OSFI regulates federally regulated financial institutions: banks, foreign bank branches, trust and loan companies. Provincially regulated credit unions are outside its scope, so OSFI’s guidance does not compel them. Ask directly who regulates the lender you are dealing with.
Does this mean a lender cannot turn me down?
No. OSFI removed a requirement rather than creating a right. A lender is still entitled to underwrite to its own criteria and will still assess your income, credit and the property. What changed is that OSFI no longer requires the minimum qualifying rate to be applied on a qualifying straight switch.
What is the minimum qualifying rate right now?
For uninsured mortgages, the greater of the mortgage contract rate plus two percentage points, or 5.25 per cent. That rule is unchanged for new purchases and refinances.
Related reading
- Renewing a mortgage in 2026: what the payment increase actually looks like
- When the renewal maths does not work: what the options are
- Renting now, buying later: the deposit and financing timeline
Sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these, and each was read on 30 August 2026. Primary sources only — statute, regulation, and the government or agency that administers the rule. Where I could not verify something from a primary source, the page says so instead of guessing.
- Minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages. Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. The greater of the contract rate plus two percentage points, or 5.25 per cent. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- OSFI exempts uninsured mortgage straight switches from the prescribed minimum qualifying rate. Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, 21 November 2024, effective the same day. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- Straight switches and portfolio insurance. Department of Finance Canada, 16 December 2024. Low-ratio switches; unpaid principal may rise by at most $3,000 for transaction costs. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- Boldest mortgage reforms in decades come into force today. Department of Finance Canada, 15 December 2024. Thirty-year insured amortizations for all first-time buyers and all buyers of new builds; insured mortgage price cap raised to $1.5 million. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- Canadian Mortgage Charter. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Sets out the Charter’s commitments and confirms it states expectations rather than binding law. Accessed 30 August 2026.
About the author — Jatin Dua, Etobicoke real estate agent
I’m the Broker of Record at RE/MAX Quantum Realty, 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke. I write these pages the same way I work a file: read the primary source, quote it, date it, and say plainly where the source is silent or where two sources disagree. If a figure on this page has no citation beside it, that is a mistake and I want to hear about it.
I work with buyers, sellers, renters and investors across Etobicoke, Mimico, Humber Bay Shores, New Toronto, Long Branch, Alderwood and Stonegate–Queensway. connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.