SELLING AND BUYING
Porting a Mortgage in Canada: How It Works When You Move
Last updated: October 2026 · By Jason Polonski, REALTOR®, Right at Home Realty
Porting a mortgage means taking your existing mortgage, with its interest rate, remaining term and balance, from the home you’re selling to the home you’re buying, so you don’t pay a prepayment penalty to break it. Most fixed-rate closed mortgages in Canada are portable, but only within the lender’s porting window and only if you requalify for the new home.
For Ottawa homeowners selling and buying at the same time, porting is often the single biggest lever on cost. A penalty on a fixed-rate mortgage can run into five figures, and a rate you locked in when rates were lower may be worth keeping. Porting can also go wrong. Closing dates drift outside the window, the new home needs more money than the lender will approve, or the mortgage turns out not to be portable at all.
This guide explains how porting your mortgage works, what happens when you move up or down in price, the timing traps that catch people out, and how to decide whether porting is better than breaking your mortgage and starting fresh.
Before you rely on this: this guide is general information, not financial or legal advice. Mortgage terms, penalties and lending rules vary by lender and change over time, so confirm the details with your lender or mortgage broker and your real estate lawyer. Jason Polonski is a REALTOR®, not a mortgage advisor, lawyer or accountant.
What Does Porting a Mortgage Mean?
A mortgage has two parts that matter here: the loan and the property that secures it. When you port, the lender releases the charge on the home you’re selling and registers a new charge on the home you’re buying. The loan itself keeps going. Your rate, your remaining term and your payment schedule carry over as if nothing happened.
Without porting, selling your home means paying the mortgage off at closing. On a closed mortgage, paying it off before the term ends usually triggers a prepayment penalty. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada explains that on fixed-rate mortgages this is commonly the greater of three months’ interest or an interest rate differential (IRD), and the IRD is where the large numbers come from.
What moves with you, and what doesn’t
The things that port are the balance you owe, the interest rate on that balance, and the time left on your term. What doesn’t automatically carry over is your approval. The lender treats the new home as a fresh application for underwriting purposes, which means a new appraisal, updated income documents and a credit check.
Prepayment privileges, such as annual lump-sum allowances, usually follow the mortgage. Any cash-back you received when you took the mortgage normally stays settled as long as you don’t break the contract, but check the clawback terms in your commitment.
Porting vs breaking vs assuming
Porting keeps your mortgage with you. Breaking means paying it out early and taking a new mortgage for the next home, usually with a penalty. Assuming is the reverse of porting: the buyer of your home takes over your mortgage. Assumption is rare and needs the lender’s approval of the buyer, but it occasionally comes up when your rate is well below market.
If you’re still deciding whether to sell your house first or buy first, settle that before you talk to the lender about porting. The order you choose decides how much room you have.
How Does Porting a Mortgage Work?
The mechanics differ between banks, credit unions and monoline lenders, but the sequence is close to universal. Start it before you list, not after you’ve sold.
1. Read your mortgage commitment
Look for a section on portability. It will say whether the mortgage can be ported, how long the porting window is, and whether the penalty is waived outright or charged and then refunded. Windows vary by lender. Some are as short as 30 days, others run for several months. If you can’t find the wording, ask the lender for it in writing.
2. Call the lender before you list
Ask three questions: Is my mortgage portable? How long is the window, and when does it start? What will the penalty be if the port fails? The lender must disclose how it calculates the penalty, and the FCAC guide to breaking a mortgage contract covers what you’re entitled to know.
3. Get pre-approved for the port
A port approval is a real approval. The lender confirms your income, reviews your debts and decides whether you qualify for the new amount. If you’re borrowing more, the new money is underwritten under current rules, including the federal minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages. Our guide to the mortgage stress test walks through how that rate is applied.
4. Sell, then buy, inside the window
The cleanest port has the sale and purchase closing on the same day, or the purchase closing a few days after the sale. When the sale closes first, many lenders charge the penalty at closing and refund it once the new mortgage is registered within the window. Ask whether your lender works that way so you can plan the cash.
5. The new property is appraised
The lender needs to confirm the new home supports the loan. If the appraisal comes in under the purchase price, you’ll need to cover the gap with a larger down payment. This is one reason to keep firm-offer conditions in mind when you buy.
6. Your lawyer handles the switch
Your real estate lawyer receives instructions from the lender, discharges the old charge on closing of your sale and registers the new charge on your purchase. Give your lawyer both deals’ paperwork early, especially if the closings are on the same day.
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Porting to a More Expensive Home: Blend and Increase
Most move-up buyers need more money than their current balance. Lenders handle this with a blend and increase. Your existing balance keeps its rate, the new money is priced at the lender’s current rate for the term you choose, and the two are blended into one rate.
Here is a simple illustration with round numbers, not a quote. Say you owe $400,000 at 3.5% and need another $250,000 for the new home, and the lender’s current rate is 5%. A weighted blend lands close to 4.1% on the full $650,000. That’s above your old rate but below the new-money rate, and you’ve avoided the penalty on the $400,000.
How lenders calculate the blended rate
Lenders don’t all blend the same way. Some weight the rates by balance and remaining term. Some reset the term to a full new term, which changes the maths. Some blend against their posted rate rather than a discounted rate. Ask the lender to show the calculation in writing and compare it with what a new mortgage elsewhere would cost. Our mortgage porting calculator lets you run your own numbers side by side.
Qualifying for the increase
The increase is new borrowing, so you qualify on the full amount at today’s rules. If you’re putting less than 20% down on the new home, mortgage default insurance applies and the purchase price must sit under the insured limit. Federal reforms in December 2024 raised that limit to $1.5 million. Most move-up buyers have enough equity to clear 20%, but run it anyway, especially in the $1 million to $1.5 million range.
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Can You Port Your Mortgage to a Cheaper Home?
Downsizers face the opposite problem. If the new home needs a smaller mortgage than your current balance, you can port part of the mortgage, but the portion you repay is a prepayment. Depending on your contract, that portion may carry a penalty.
Two things reduce the hit. First, use your annual prepayment privilege before closing. Many mortgages let you pay a percentage of the original balance each year without penalty, so a lump sum paid in the right calendar year can shrink the exposed amount. Second, ask whether the lender calculates the penalty only on the amount repaid, not on the whole balance.
If you’re moving down in price, the downsizing in Ottawa guide covers the rest of the plan, from timing the sale to choosing between a bungalow, a condo and a townhouse.
Selling and Buying at the Same Time? Plan the Timing First
A porting window only helps if both closings land inside it. Jason Polonski maps your sale, your purchase and your mortgage timeline before you list, so a penalty never catches you on closing day.
When Does Porting a Mortgage Not Work?
Porting fails more often from timing than from anything else. These are the situations that come up most in Ottawa move-up deals.
The closings are too far apart
If you sell in May and can’t find the right home until September, a short porting window will have expired. The penalty becomes payable and isn’t refunded. If you expect a gap, either negotiate a longer closing on your sale or confirm the window covers it before you list.
You buy before you sell
When the purchase closes first, there’s nothing to port yet. Some lenders allow a port with bridge financing to cover the overlap. Others require you to take a new mortgage on the purchase and pay the penalty when the old home sells. If you’ve already bought, read bought a house before selling for the options.
Your mortgage type limits it
Many fixed-rate closed mortgages are portable. Variable-rate mortgages are portable at some lenders and not others. Some low-rate, no-frills products restrict porting or prepayments in exchange for the discount. Collateral-charge mortgages and readvanceable products port differently again. Our comparison of fixed vs variable rate mortgages covers the trade-offs.
The lender won’t approve the new home or the new amount
If your income has dropped, your debts have risen, or the new property is something the lender doesn’t like, such as certain rural acreage or a home with a well and septic the lender wants inspected, the port can stall. Rural buyers heading to Dunrobin, Carp or Manotick should raise this with the lender early.
You want to change lenders
Porting keeps you with the same lender. If another lender offers a much better rate or the product you need, you’ll be comparing the penalty against the savings, which is the next section.
Should You Port or Break and Start Fresh?
Porting isn’t automatically the cheapest path. It wins when your current rate is lower than today’s rates, the penalty is large, and the lender’s blend is fair. Breaking can win when today’s rates are lower than yours, when the penalty is small, or when you want a different product or lender.
To compare honestly, look at the total cost over the remaining term, not just the monthly payment:
- Penalty to break, from your lender’s written estimate.
- Interest you’d pay over the remaining term at the blended rate if you port.
- Interest you’d pay over the same period on a new mortgage at today’s best available rate.
- Fees on each path: appraisal, discharge, legal, and any cash-back clawback.
The Bank of Canada’s policy rate moves variable rates directly and influences fixed rates through bond yields, so the comparison can change between the day you list and the day you close. Re-run it when you have a firm sale. You can sanity-check payments with the federal FCAC mortgage calculator or our Ottawa mortgage calculator.
Questions to ask your lender before you list
- Is my mortgage portable, and is there a fee to port?
- How long is the porting window, and does it start at my sale closing?
- Is the penalty waived, or charged and refunded?
- How will you calculate a blended rate, and will the term reset?
- Can I port if the purchase closes before the sale?
- What happens to the penalty if I port a smaller amount?
If you use a mortgage broker, they’re licensed in Ontario through FSRA, and a good one will get these answers for you and compare them against new-mortgage offers. You can also read the FCAC’s guide to choosing a mortgage and its explainer on mortgage terms and amortization.
Whichever path you take, know your numbers before you list. The home sale net proceeds calculator shows what you’ll walk away with after the mortgage, penalty and selling costs, and the mortgage prepayment penalty guide explains how to estimate the penalty before the lender confirms it.
Working out the timing? See coordinating closing dates when buying and selling and the selling and buying a home at the same time guide.
How Jason Polonski Helps You Port Without a Timing Mistake
Most porting problems are timing problems, and timing is the part your REALTOR® controls. Jason Polonski starts every move-up plan by asking for your mortgage commitment, so the porting window, the penalty and the blend are known before your home goes on the market. He then sets your sale’s closing date and the conditions on your purchase so both deals close inside that window, and he works alongside your lender or broker and your lawyer so the switch happens on the day it should.
Jason has more than 15 years of experience as a REALTOR® with Right at Home Realty, has helped hundreds of buyers and sellers across Ottawa, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University with a double major in Marketing and Finance. That finance background is useful when you’re comparing a blended rate against a penalty. He isn’t a mortgage advisor, but he’ll make sure the right questions get asked. Learn more about Jason, read what clients say on his Google Business Profile, or call or text (613) 601-9333 to talk through your move.
Porting a Mortgage (FAQs)
Porting a mortgage means moving your existing mortgage, with its rate, balance and remaining term, from the home you sell to the home you buy, so you avoid the prepayment penalty for breaking it early.
Most fixed-rate closed mortgages are portable, and some variable-rate mortgages are too. Your mortgage commitment says whether yours is portable and how long the porting window lasts. Ask your lender to confirm in writing.
Yes. The lender reviews your income, debts and credit and appraises the new home. If you borrow more, the new money is underwritten under current rules, including the stress test.
The lender usually offers a blend and increase. Your existing balance keeps its rate, the new money is priced at today’s rate, and the two are blended into one rate for the new mortgage.
Many lenders allow a gap, known as the porting window. Some charge the penalty when your sale closes and refund it once the new mortgage is registered within the window. If the window expires, the penalty usually stands.
Usually yes, but the part of the balance you repay is a prepayment and may carry a penalty. Using your annual prepayment privilege before closing can reduce that.
No. Porting tends to win when your current rate is below today’s rates and the penalty is large. If today’s rates are lower or the penalty is small, breaking and taking a new mortgage can cost less over the term.
No. Porting keeps the mortgage with your current lender. Moving to a different lender means breaking the mortgage and paying any penalty, though the new lender may offer a rate that makes that worthwhile.
