Free Mortgage Renewal Consultation: Find Competitive Rates in Alberta

Your mortgage term is ending, your lender has mailed you a renewal offer, and signing it is the easiest thing in the world to do. That convenience is exactly what it is designed to exploit.

A renewal is the one moment in your mortgage where you have full leverage and no penalty. You can move lenders, change your amortization, switch between fixed and variable, or negotiate your rate down, all without breaking anything. Most people give that leverage away by signing the first letter that arrives.

This guide covers what actually happens at renewal, what to do if your new rate is higher than your old one, and how to use the 120-day window before your maturity date.

What Happens When Your Mortgage Comes Up for Renewal?

When your term ends, the balance you still owe has to be placed under a new term. Your existing lender will send a renewal offer, typically four to six months before your maturity date, quoting a rate and a term.

You have three options, and all three are open to you:

• Sign the offer. Fastest, and almost never the best rate available.
• Negotiate with your existing lender. Often works, especially with a competing offer in hand.
• Switch to a different lender. Usually the strongest position, and at renewal there is no prepayment penalty for doing it.

The important thing to understand is that a renewal is not a new mortgage application in the way a purchase is. You are not re-qualifying to own your home. But if you switch lenders, the new lender does underwrite you, which means income, credit, and property all get reviewed again.

Why Shouldn’t You Just Sign the Renewal Offer?

Because the offer you receive in the mail is rarely the best rate your lender will give you, and it is almost never the best rate on the market.

Lenders know that renewal is a low-effort moment for most borrowers. The renewal letter is priced accordingly. When you take that letter to a broker and we shop it against the wider lender market, the gap is frequently 30 to 50 basis points, and sometimes considerably more.

On a $400,000 balance, 40 basis points is roughly $80 a month, or about $4,800 over a five-year term. That is the cost of signing a letter without asking a question.

What If Your Renewal Rate Is Higher Than Your Current Rate?

This is the situation facing a large number of Alberta homeowners right now, and it deserves a straight answer rather than reassurance.

If you locked a five-year fixed term in 2021, you did so at rates that are not coming back. Your renewal will be priced against today’s market, where the Bank of Canada’s policy rate sits at 2.25% and prime is 4.45% (Bank of Canada, 2026). Best available five-year fixed pricing is near 3.94%.

Here is what that looks like on a real balance. Assume $400,000 remaining with 20 years left on the amortization:

Scenario	Rate	Monthly payment
Your expiring term	2.00%	$2,022
Renewing today	3.94%	$2,405
Difference		+$383/month

Illustrative example. Assumes a $400,000 balance, 20-year remaining amortization, and Canadian semi-annual compounding. Your actual figures depend on your balance, amortization, and rate.

That is roughly $4,600 a year, and pretending otherwise helps nobody. What matters is that you have levers, and they are worth more than the rate shopping alone:

• Extend the amortization. Stretching a 20-year remaining amortization back out reduces the payment materially. It costs more interest over the life of the loan, but it is the difference between manageable and not.
• Shorten the term. A three-year fixed lets you re-price sooner if rates fall, rather than locking five years at today’s level.
• Shop the whole market. The gap between the best and worst renewal offer is wider than most people assume.
• Blend and extend. Some lenders will blend your existing rate with current pricing, softening the step up.

We work through each of those levers in detail, including the amortization-extension math and what it actually costs in total interest, in what happens when your mortgage renews at a higher rate.

If your renewal is coming and the new payment worries you, call before your maturity date, not after. Options narrow considerably once the term has already rolled over.

Can You Switch Lenders at Renewal?

Yes, and at renewal it is free of the penalty that would normally apply.

If you break a mortgage mid-term, you pay a prepayment penalty, usually three months’ interest or an interest rate differential calculation. At maturity, that penalty does not apply. You can move your mortgage to a different lender for the cost of the switch itself, which is typically legal and appraisal fees, and many lenders cover those to win your business.

What you should know before switching:

• You will be re-underwritten. The new lender verifies income, credit, and property value. If your circumstances have changed since you first qualified, factor that in.
• A straight switch is not the same as a refinance. Moving the same balance to a new lender is simpler than increasing it. If you want to pull equity out, that is a refinance and it is underwritten differently.
• Timing matters. Start 120 days out so the switch completes before your maturity date.

The full process, what it costs, the OSFI straight-switch rules, and the situations where staying put is the better call are covered in should you switch lenders at renewal.

When Should You Start the Renewal Process?

120 days before your maturity date. That is not a soft recommendation, it is the window in which you can hold a rate.

Most lenders will hold a rate for you 90 to 120 days out. A rate hold costs nothing and works entirely in your favour: if rates rise before your renewal, you keep the held rate; if they fall, you re-shop and take the better one. There is no version of this where holding early costs you money. We cover the mechanics in rate holds explained.

Starting at 120 days also leaves time to switch lenders if that is the better outcome, since a switch needs several weeks to complete cleanly.

If you are inside 30 days of maturity, you still have options, but they narrow. Signing your existing lender’s offer becomes more likely simply because there is not enough runway to do anything else.

Can You Renew Your Mortgage Early?

You can, and it sometimes makes sense, but the arithmetic has to work.

Renewing early means breaking your current term, which triggers a prepayment penalty. That penalty is worth paying only when the interest saved over the new term exceeds it. In a falling-rate environment that math often works. In the current environment, where the Bank of Canada has held at 2.25% through six consecutive decisions and fixed rates have drifted up rather than down, early renewal is much less likely to pay for itself.

The honest answer is that this is a calculation, not a rule. Bring us your current rate, balance, maturity date, and penalty terms, and we will tell you whether it clears.

What Do You Need for a Mortgage Renewal?

If you are renewing with your existing lender, often very little. If you are switching, expect a full document package:

• Recent pay stubs and a letter of employment, or two years of financials if self-employed
• Two years of T4s or Notices of Assessment
• Current mortgage statement showing balance and maturity date
• Property tax statement
• Proof of property insurance
• Photo identification

Self-employed borrowers should start earlier than 120 days. Income documentation takes longer to assemble and lenders scrutinise it more closely.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far in advance should I start my mortgage renewal?
120 days before your maturity date. That is when most lenders will hold a rate for you, and it leaves enough time to switch lenders if that turns out to be the better option.

Do I have to renew with my current lender?
No. At maturity you can move to any lender without a prepayment penalty. Your existing lender’s offer is a starting point, not an obligation.

Will I have to requalify at renewal?
Not if you stay with your current lender. If you switch, the new lender underwrites you, which means income, credit, and property are all reviewed again.

What happens if I do nothing before my renewal date?
Most lenders will automatically roll your mortgage into a new term, often at a posted rate that is well above what you could have negotiated. Doing nothing is the most expensive option available.

Can I change my payment amount or amortization at renewal?
Yes. Renewal is the natural moment to adjust amortization, change payment frequency, or switch between fixed and variable. None of it carries a penalty at maturity.

Is it worth switching lenders to save 0.2%?
On a large balance, often yes. On $400,000, 20 basis points is roughly $40 a month, about $2,400 over five years, against switch costs that many lenders will cover. Run the numbers before assuming it is not worth the paperwork.

Get Your Renewal Reviewed Before You Sign

If your maturity date is within the next six months, the review costs you nothing and the downside is zero. We will price your renewal against the broader lender market, tell you whether your existing lender’s offer is competitive, and hold a rate while you decide.

Call 780-974-1270 or get in touch.