Under a contractual power of sale, which nearly every institutional charge contains, section 32 of the Mortgages Act requires fifteen days of continued default before notice may be given and thirty-five days after notice before a sale. Where the mortgage contains no power of sale, the statutory route needs three months of default and forty-five days notice. Both are floors — section 37 preserves any longer period your charge sets. Section 22(1) lets you cure at any time before the sale, and section 22(3) suspends the mortgagee’s enforcement rights if it fails to answer a written arrears request within fifteen days. A consumer proposal does not stop a power of sale: sections 69.2(4) and 69.3(2) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act preserve a secured creditor’s right to realise. Property tax arrears run a separate and much longer clock — a public sale is four years out at the earliest.
You are behind on the mortgage, or about to be, and you want to know how long you actually have and what stops the clock. This page answers that from the statute rather than from a blog, and it corrects two things that circulate constantly.
The timeline, and why the numbers you have read conflict
Ontario has two power-of-sale routes and which applies depends on whether your mortgage document itself contains a power of sale. Almost all institutional charges do. That is why you keep seeing different numbers.
| Contractual power of sale (Part III) | Statutory power of sale (Part II) | |
|---|---|---|
| When it applies | The mortgage itself confers a power of sale — the normal case | Only where the mortgage contains no power of sale (section 30) |
| Default before notice | 15 days of continued default (section 32) | 3 months from default (section 24); notice may be given after 15 days (section 26(2)) |
| Notice period before sale | 35 days after notice (section 32) | 45 days after notice (section 26(1)) |
Section 32 is the source of both familiar numbers, and its wording is precise: notice “shall not be given until the default has continued for at least fifteen days, and the sale shall not be made for at least thirty-five days after the notice has been given.”
Section 38 is what confines the thirty-five days to contractual powers: it lists sections 31 to 36 as applying to a power of sale in a mortgage, but pointedly omits section 32 from the list of sections applying to the section 24 statutory power. And the Government of Ontario states both routes in a single paragraph in its own policy document on power of sale assignments.
Fifteen and thirty-five are floors, not the deal. Section 37 provides that nothing in the Part abridges a longer period of default or a longer notice period where the mortgage provides one. If your charge says thirty days of default and sixty days of notice, the charge governs. Read the standard charge terms before you assume you have thirty-five days.
The prescribed notice is Form 1 under the Mortgages Act, version dated 3 November 2021 and effective 1 January 2022, and it carries both alternatives on its face.
You can cure right up to the sale
Section 22(1) preserves the right to reinstate at any time before sale under the mortgage, or before an action is commenced to enforce the mortgagee’s rights, “and thereupon the mortgagor is relieved from the consequences of such default.”
The notice of sale is not the end. Curing the default before the sale ends the process. Most people believe the notice is a point of no return and stop trying at exactly the moment they still have leverage.
And section 22(2) gives you a tool almost nobody uses: once in default, you may require the mortgagee in writing to state the amount you are in default and the expenses it has incurred. Section 22(3) requires an answer within fifteen days, and provides that if the mortgagee fails without reasonable excuse, or answers incompletely or incorrectly, “any rights that the mortgagee may have to enforce the mortgage shall be suspended until the mortgagee has complied.”
Who gets served
Section 31 makes the notice list register-driven rather than people-driven. Where the property is in Land Titles, notice goes to “every person appearing by the parcel register and by the index of executions” to have an interest. That captures second and third mortgagees, execution creditors, construction lien claimants, condominium corporations with registered liens, and the Crown where it holds a statutory lien and the mortgagee has written notice of it. Prior-ranking interests are expressly excluded.
Service is by personal service or registered mail (section 33), and a mailed notice is “deemed to have been given on the day on which it was mailed” (section 34).
What section 27 does and does not do
Section 27 sets the order in which sale proceeds are applied: expenses of sale, then interest and costs, then principal, then subsequent encumbrancers by priority, then tenants’ rent deposits under section 106 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 — “and the residue shall be paid to the mortgagor.”
Section 27 is a surplus provision only. It says nothing whatever about a shortfall. There is no provision in Part II creating, capping, preserving or barring a deficiency. The word does not appear. A shortfall survives on the personal covenant in your charge, and section 17(3) states that nothing in that section “affects or limits the right of the mortgagee to recover by action or otherwise the principal money so in arrear.” If you are told the debt ends when the house is sold, that is wrong.
Property taxes are a separate clock, and a slower one
People conflate mortgage arrears with tax arrears. They run on entirely different timetables and the municipal one is much longer than most sellers fear.
| Stage | Timing under the Municipal Act, 2001, Part XI |
|---|---|
| Taxes become “tax arrears” | Unpaid on 1 January of the year following the year they were added to the roll (s. 371(1)) |
| Treasurer may register a tax arrears certificate | Where arrears remain owing on 1 January in the second year following the year the taxes became owing (s. 373(1)). Note “may” — it is permissive |
| Notice to owner and interest holders | Within 60 days of registration, including to the spouse of a registered owner (s. 374) |
| Final notice | If unpaid 280 days after registration, within 30 days after that (s. 379(1)) |
| Public sale | If unpaid at the end of the one-year period from registration and no extension agreement subsists (s. 379(2)) |
So taxes levied in year one become arrears on 1 January of year two, a certificate can be registered from 1 January of year three, and the sale happens in year four at the earliest. There is no shorter track for residential property.
Two things worth knowing. Section 375(1) lets any person cancel the certificate by paying the cancellation price, and where a person other than the owner or spouse pays it they get a lien on the land — which is exactly why mortgagees pay municipal arrears and add them to your mortgage. And section 378 allows the municipality to enter an extension agreement with an owner, spouse, mortgagee, tenant in occupation, or any person the treasurer is satisfied has an interest.
Once a certificate is registered, section 347(3) bars part payment except under an extension agreement. So the moment to arrange payments is before registration, or through a section 378 agreement after it — not by sending what you can afford.
One more thing sellers should know: section 379(14) provides that the treasurer “is not under any duty to obtain the highest or best price for the land,” and section 379(10) says a tax deed does not oblige the municipality to provide vacant possession. A tax sale is not a market sale.
A consumer proposal will not stop a power of sale
This is the correction that matters most, because the opposite belief is common and it costs people their houses.
Section 69.2(4) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act provides that filing a consumer proposal “does not prevent a secured creditor from realizing or otherwise dealing with his security in the same manner as he would have been entitled to… unless the court otherwise orders” — and where the court does order a postponement, for a debt due at approval or within six months after, “that right shall not be postponed for more than six months.” Section 69.3(2) says the same for a bankruptcy.
A proposal clears the pressure from credit cards, lines of credit and CRA, which frees cash flow to keep the mortgage current. That is a real and often decisive benefit. But it does not freeze the mortgage, and the power of sale keeps running on its own timetable.
Section 66.28(2) confirms the reach: an approved proposal binds creditors in respect of all unsecured claims, and secured claims only where a proof of claim has been filed.
The numbers on a consumer proposal
| Published figure or rule | |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | Aggregate debts, excluding debts secured by the principal residence, not more than $250,000 (BIA s. 66.11) |
| Maximum term | “The term of a consumer proposal cannot exceed five years” (OSB) |
| Creditors’ window | 45 days to accept or reject; deemed accepted if no meeting is requested in that time |
| Vote threshold | Simple majority by dollar value of proven claims — 50 per cent plus one |
| Court approval | Deemed approved if no review is requested within 15 days |
| Annulment | Deemed annulled on three missed monthly payments |
| Credit record | Term of the proposal plus three years |
| Over $250,000 | A Division I proposal — but if creditors reject it, “you become bankrupt automatically” |
OSB is explicit on the asset point: in a consumer proposal “you keep your assets so long as you make your payments to your secured creditors.”
Bankruptcy and the house
Section 67(1)(b) of the BIA excludes from the estate any property exempt from execution under provincial law. Ontario’s exemption is in section 2 of the Execution Act: a principal residence is exempt “if the value of the debtor’s equity in the principal residence does not exceed the prescribed amount,” and if it exceeds that amount the residence “is subject to seizure and sale.”
The prescribed amount, under O. Reg. 657/05 as last amended by O. Reg. 393/25, is $12,997.
Read that exemption carefully. It protects the home from the trustee and from execution creditors where equity is under $12,997. It is not a shield against your mortgagee — BIA sections 69.2(4) and 69.3(2) expressly preserve a secured creditor’s right to realise. A homeowner with real equity who files a bankruptcy generally has to buy that equity back from the estate or lose the house. The consumer proposal exists so that does not have to happen.
If you have tenants
Part V of the Mortgages Act governs, and it prevails over any agreement to the contrary and applies whether the mortgage was registered before or after the tenancy.
Section 47(1) deems a mortgagee in possession, or a person who obtains title by foreclosure or power of sale, to be the landlord under the tenancy agreement. Section 47(3) subjects them to the tenancy agreement and to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. Section 48(1) is blunt: “No person exercising rights under a mortgage may obtain possession of a rental unit from the mortgagor’s tenant except in accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.”
The Landlord and Tenant Board states the same in its Interpretation Guideline 21: a mortgagee in possession “is deemed to be a landlord under a tenancy agreement… collects the rent, maintains the rental unit, and acts as the landlord for all purposes.”
There is one narrow exception. Section 53 allows possession to be obtained on behalf of a purchaser, but only for a “single family home” as section 45 defines it — a complex with not more than two subsidiary dwelling units that was not subject to a tenancy agreement when the mortgage was registered. Section 45(2) states plainly that a duplex or triplex is not a single family home. The purchaser must give a written undertaking that they require it for occupation by themselves, a spouse, or a child or parent of either, and the notice takes effect at least sixty days after it is given regardless of any fixed term.
Two further protections worth knowing. Section 49 releases a tenant who in good faith pays rent to a mortgagee who first served notice. And section 51 makes it an offence, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 for an individual and $25,000 for a corporation, to deliberately interfere with a reasonable supply of heat, fuel, electricity, gas, food or water, or to substantially interfere with reasonable enjoyment, with the intent of making a tenant give up possession.
Where things actually stand, in numbers
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Ontario mortgages three or more months in arrears | 7,010 of 2,150,129, a rate of 0.33% — month ended 30 June 2026, Canadian Bankers Association |
| The same figure in June 2022 | 1,282, a rate of 0.06 per cent — a more than fivefold rise |
| Ontario insolvencies, Q2 2026 | 15,029, up 10.0% year over year. Bankruptcies alone 3,549, up 22.1% |
| Ontario insolvencies, twelve months to 30 June 2026 | 57,377, up 8.3 per cent |
| Homeownership among insolvent debtors | 14% owned a home in 2024, down from 16 per cent in 2021, with a median home value of $322,000 and a median mortgage of $248,000 |
No government or regulator in Ontario publishes a count of powers of sale. I checked the Ontario open data catalogue, Ontario Court Services, FSRA and CMHC. Nothing exists. Every “power of sale listings up X per cent” figure traces to a private data vendor, a listing aggregator or a brokerage, and cannot be verified against any public registry. Treat those numbers accordingly.
Where to get free help, and only places a government page names
- A Licensed Insolvency Trustee. Federally regulated, and OSB states that “typically, LITs do not charge for the first consultation.” The official directory is on the Government of Canada site — use it rather than an advertisement.
- A non-profit credit counsellor. FCAC warns that “credit counsellors aren’t legally required to have any specialized training” and that “no reputable credit counselling agency will charge you for the first meeting.” The two national bodies FCAC names are Credit Counselling Canada and the Canadian Association for Financial Empowerment.
- Your municipality, on property taxes. Section 319 of the Municipal Act, 2001 requires every upper-tier and single-tier municipality to have a deferral or cancellation by-law for low-income seniors and low-income persons with disabilities. Section 357 allows an application to cancel or reduce taxes on the ground of sickness or extreme poverty, by the last day of February in the following year.
- Ontario 211 — free, twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year, in English, French and over 150 languages through a tele-interpreter service, funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.
- A Legal Aid Ontario community legal clinic, where there is a tenancy dimension.
What I would do, in order
- Send the section 22(2) request today if you are in default. Written, asking for the amount in default and the expenses incurred. The mortgagee has fifteen days and non-compliance suspends its enforcement rights.
- Read your charge for the default and notice periods. Section 37 means yours may be longer than fifteen and thirty-five days.
- Call the lender’s default management or special loans department. Not the branch. Ask specifically about deferral, amortization extension, capitalisation and a sale by borrower plan.
- Deal with property taxes separately and earlier than you think. Ask about a section 378 extension agreement, and about section 319 and section 357 relief if you qualify.
- See a Licensed Insolvency Trustee before you see anyone selling you a private mortgage. The first consultation is normally free, and a consumer proposal that clears unsecured debt may be what lets you keep paying the secured one.
- Do not assume a proposal buys you time on the mortgage. It does not. Sections 69.2(4) and 69.3(2) are explicit.
- If a sale is the answer, start it before the notice, not after. A property sold on the open market with time is a different number from one sold under a notice with weeks left.
What is not on this page
No case law, so nothing on a mortgagee’s duty to obtain fair market value on a power of sale — that is a real issue and it needs a lawyer and a decision someone has actually read. No power-of-sale volume figures, because none are published. And no advice on whether to file anything: that is a Licensed Insolvency Trustee’s call, not mine.
Behind on a mortgage in Etobicoke or the GTA and weighing a sale?
Send me the address and where you are in the process. I will tell you what the property realistically clears against the payout, how much time the statute actually gives you, and whether selling on the open market beats waiting. If the honest answer is that you need a Licensed Insolvency Trustee or a lawyer before you need an agent, that is what I will tell you. No cost, no obligation, and nothing leaves this conversation.
connect@jatindua.com · 437-987-1925 · Book a free consultation
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Frequently asked questions
How long does power of sale take in Ontario?
It depends which route applies. Where the mortgage itself confers a power of sale, which is the normal case, section 32 of the Mortgages Act requires fifteen days of continued default before notice may be given, and the sale may not be made for at least thirty-five days after the notice. Where the mortgage contains no power of sale, the statutory power under section 24 requires three months from default and section 26(1) requires forty-five days notice. Section 38 confines section 32 to contractual powers, which is why the two sets of numbers both circulate.
Are the fifteen and thirty-five day periods fixed?
No. They are minimums. Section 37 of the Mortgages Act provides that nothing in the Part abridges a longer period of default after which notice may be given, or a longer period after notice before sale, where the mortgage provides one. Read your standard charge terms rather than assuming the statutory floor is your timeline.
Can I still save the house after I get a notice of sale?
Yes. Section 22(1) of the Mortgages Act permits a mortgagor to cure a default at any time before sale under the mortgage, or before the commencement of an action to enforce the mortgagee’s rights, and provides that on doing so the mortgagor is relieved from the consequences of the default. The notice is not a point of no return, and a great many people stop trying at the moment they still have the most leverage.
Does a consumer proposal stop a power of sale?
No, and this is the most costly misunderstanding on the subject. Section 69.2(4) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act provides that filing a consumer proposal does not prevent a secured creditor from realising or otherwise dealing with its security, unless the court orders otherwise, and even then a postponement is limited to six months for a debt due at approval or within six months after. Section 69.3(2) says the same for a bankruptcy. What a proposal does is clear unsecured pressure from credit cards, lines of credit and CRA, which can free the cash flow to keep the mortgage current.
Can I keep my house in a consumer proposal?
The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy states that in a consumer proposal “you keep your assets so long as you make your payments to your secured creditors.” Eligibility requires aggregate debts, excluding debts secured by the principal residence, of not more than $250,000, and the term cannot exceed five years. Above that threshold the option is a Division I proposal, but OSB warns that if creditors reject a Division I proposal you become bankrupt automatically.
What happens to my house if I declare bankruptcy?
Section 67(1)(b) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act excludes from the estate property that is exempt from execution under provincial law. In Ontario, section 2 of the Execution Act exempts a principal residence where the debtor’s equity does not exceed a prescribed amount, and provides that where equity exceeds that amount the residence is subject to seizure and sale. The prescribed amount under O. Reg. 657/05, as last amended by O. Reg. 393/25, is $12,997. That exemption protects against a trustee and execution creditors, not against your mortgagee.
How many years of unpaid property taxes before the city can sell my house?
Under Part XI of the Municipal Act, 2001 taxes unpaid on 1 January of the year following the year they were added to the roll become tax arrears. The treasurer may register a tax arrears certificate where arrears remain owing on 1 January in the second year following, and the certificate runs for one year before a public sale. So a sale is in the fourth year at the earliest, and registration is permissive so municipalities routinely wait longer. There is no shorter track for residential property.
Can I make partial payments on my property taxes to stop a tax sale?
Not once a tax arrears certificate is registered. Section 347(3) of the Municipal Act, 2001 bars part payment on taxes in respect of which a certificate is registered except under an extension agreement under section 378. Section 378 permits the municipality to enter such an agreement with an owner, a spouse, a mortgagee, a tenant in occupation, or any person the treasurer is satisfied has an interest in the land. Any person may also cancel the certificate outright by paying the cancellation price under section 375(1).
If my house sells for less than I owe, is the rest forgiven?
No. Section 27 of the Mortgages Act is a surplus provision. It sets the order in which proceeds are applied and directs the residue to the mortgagor, and it says nothing whatever about a deficiency. There is no provision in Part II creating, capping or barring a shortfall claim. Section 17(3) confirms that nothing in that section limits the mortgagee’s right to recover the principal in arrear by action or otherwise. The shortfall survives on the personal covenant in your charge.
I have tenants. What happens to them?
The tenancy survives. Section 47(1) of the Mortgages Act deems a mortgagee in possession, or a person who obtains title by foreclosure or power of sale, to be the landlord under the tenancy agreement, and section 47(3) subjects them to the agreement and to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. Section 48(1) provides that no person exercising rights under a mortgage may obtain possession from the mortgagor’s tenant except in accordance with that Act. The narrow exception in section 53 applies only to a single family home as defined in section 45, which excludes a property already subject to a tenancy when the mortgage was registered and excludes duplexes and triplexes outright.
How many people in Ontario are actually in this position?
The Canadian Bankers Association reported 7,010 Ontario mortgages three or more months in arrears at 30 June 2026, out of 2,150,129, a rate of 0.33 per cent, against 1,282 and 0.06 per cent in June 2022. The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy reported 15,029 Ontario insolvencies in Q2 2026, up 10.0 per cent year over year, with bankruptcies alone up 22.1 per cent. Note that only 14 per cent of insolvent debtors owned a home in 2024.
How many power of sale properties are there in Ontario?
Nobody publishes that. I checked the Ontario open data catalogue, Ontario Court Services, FSRA and CMHC and found no government or regulator series counting powers of sale, notices of sale or foreclosure actions. Every figure quoted for power of sale listings traces to a private data vendor, a listing aggregator or a brokerage, and cannot be verified against any public registry.
Related reading
- No equity in your house? What happens when the sale will not cover the mortgage
- Power of sale in Ontario: the fifteen-day clock and the Mortgages Act
- Mortgage prepayment penalties: the two ways lenders calculate them
- Your home is not selling: what the days-on-market number hides
Sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these, and each was read on 1 September 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.
- Mortgages Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.40, Parts II to V. Government of Ontario e-Laws, consolidated text read 1 September 2026 via the e-Laws JSON API. Section 32 requires fifteen days of continued default before notice may be given and thirty-five days after notice before a sale under a contractual power of sale. Sections 24 and 26 set the three-month and forty-five-day statutory route. Section 38 makes section 32 apply to contractual powers only. Section 37 preserves longer periods set by the mortgage. Section 31 lists who must be served. Section 22(1) preserves the right to cure at any time before sale. Part V deems a purchaser or mortgagee in possession to be the landlord. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Power of sale assignments, Policy PL 2.05.02 — Government of Ontario. Ministry of Natural Resources, issued 11 February 1997, page published 6 May 2019 and updated 2 August 2022. States that under Part III a mortgagee may exercise a power of sale where the mortgagor defaults for at least fifteen days and at least thirty-five days notice is given, and that where the mortgage contains no power of sale the statutory power under Part II requires three months of default and forty-five days notice. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Form 1, Notice of Sale under Mortgage — Ontario Court Services. Ontario Court Services, form version dated 3 November 2021 and effective 1 January 2022. The prescribed notice states on its face a day not less than forty-five days from service where the power of sale is exercised under Part II, and not less than thirty-five days from service where Part III applies. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25, Part XI — Sale of Land for Tax Arrears. Government of Ontario e-Laws, consolidated text read 1 September 2026. Section 371(1) defines tax arrears as taxes unpaid on 1 January of the year following the year they were added to the roll. Section 373(1) permits a tax arrears certificate to be registered where arrears remain owing on 1 January in the second year following. Section 373(2) gives one year from registration before public sale. Section 375(1) allows any person to cancel the certificate by paying the cancellation price. Section 378 permits an extension agreement. Section 379(14) provides that the treasurer is under no duty to obtain the highest or best price. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. B-3, sections 66.11, 69.2 and 69.3. Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada, Act current to 21 June 2026. Section 66.11 defines a consumer debtor as an individual whose aggregate debts, excluding debts secured by the principal residence, are not more than $250,000. Sections 69.2(4) and 69.3(2) provide that neither a consumer proposal nor a bankruptcy prevents a secured creditor from realising on its security. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Consumer proposals — Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, page modified 23 March 2015. States that a consumer proposal is available where total debts do not exceed $250,000 excluding a mortgage secured by the principal residence, that the term cannot exceed five years, that creditors have forty-five days to accept or reject, and that a proposal is deemed accepted if no meeting is requested within forty-five days. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Consumed by debt_ Information for consumers on the insolvency process — OSB. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, page modified 2 December 2015. States that in a consumer proposal a debtor keeps their assets so long as payments to secured creditors are made, that a first bankruptcy brings automatic discharge after nine months where conditions are met, and that a consumer proposal remains on a credit record for the term of the proposal plus three years. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Execution Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.24 and O. Reg. 657/05. Government of Ontario e-Laws, regulation consolidated from 19 December 2025, last amended by O. Reg. 393/25. Section 1(2) prescribes $12,997 as the amount of equity in a principal residence exempt from forced seizure or sale under section 2 of the Execution Act. The exemption operates against execution creditors and a trustee, not against a mortgagee. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Insolvency statistics in Canada, second quarter of 2026 — OSB. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, page modified 10 August 2026. Reports 15,029 total Ontario insolvencies in Q2 2026, up 10.0 per cent year over year, of which 3,549 were bankruptcies, up 22.1 per cent, and 57,377 in the twelve months to 30 June 2026, up 8.3 per cent. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Canadian Consumer Debtor Profile 2024 — OSB. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, page modified 27 November 2025. Reports that only 14 per cent of insolvent debtors owned a home in 2024, down from 16 per cent in 2021, with a median home value of $322,000 and a median mortgage of $248,000. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Interpretation Guideline 21, Landlords, Tenants, Occupants and Residential Tenancies. Landlord and Tenant Board, Tribunals Ontario, dated 8 March 2022. States that by virtue of the Mortgages Act a mortgagee in possession of a mortgaged residential complex is deemed to be a landlord under a tenancy agreement, collecting rent, maintaining the unit and acting as landlord for all purposes. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Number of Residential Mortgages in Arrears, month ended 30 June 2026 (PDF). Canadian Bankers Association. Reports 7,010 Ontario mortgages three or more months in arrears out of 2,150,129, a rate of 0.33 per cent, against 1,282 and 0.06 per cent in June 2022. Covers nine reporting banks only. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Mortgage relief options — Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Government of Canada, page modified 15 October 2025. Publishes the full menu of relief measures including payment deferral, extended deferral, amortization extension, capitalization, interest-only payments and the sale by borrower plan. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Guideline on Existing Consumer Mortgage Loans in Exceptional Circumstances — FCAC. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, issued 5 July 2023, page modified 25 September 2025. Sets out four measures expected of federally regulated financial institutions for consumers at risk of mortgage default, the first of which is waiving prepayment penalties where the consumer makes a lump-sum payment or sells the residence. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Getting help from a credit counsellor — FCAC. Government of Canada, page modified 14 October 2025. States that credit counsellors are not legally required to have specialised training, that no reputable credit counselling agency will charge for the first meeting, and names Credit Counselling Canada and the Canadian Association for Financial Empowerment. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Find a Licensed Insolvency Trustee — Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy official directory of licensed insolvency trustees. OSB states that trustees are federally regulated professionals and that typically they do not charge for the first consultation. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Shopping for a mortgage — FSRA. Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, read 1 September 2026. Consumer guidance stating that a borrower who foresees difficulty making a monthly mortgage payment should contact the lender immediately because there may be options to help. The page displays no date. Accessed 1 September 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.