Porting a Mortgage: Moving Your Rate to a New Home
By Hami Tahm · Last reviewed July 2026
What does porting a mortgage mean in Canada?
Porting a mortgage means carrying your existing mortgage — its interest rate, remaining term, and conditions — from your current home to a new one you're buying, with the same lender. It lets you move without breaking your mortgage, which is how you avoid the prepayment penalty a closed mortgage would otherwise charge. Porting still needs your lender's approval, and both your sale and your purchase usually have to close inside the lender's window — commonly up to 90 to 120 days at the major banks. Whether your mortgage can be ported at all depends on your specific contract.
Why people port a mortgage
Breaking a closed mortgage before the end of its term normally triggers a prepayment penalty that can run into the thousands of dollars. Porting sidesteps that: instead of ending the contract, you move it to your new property. It's most valuable when your current rate is lower than the rates on offer today — you keep the cheaper rate instead of re-borrowing at a higher one. A port stays with your current lender; if you want a new lender, you break the mortgage and pay the penalty. For the balance you carry over, porting generally avoids that penalty — though some lenders instead charge it and refund all or part once the port completes, so ask how yours handles it. To see the penalty you'd face if you didn't port, use the Mortgage Penalty Calculator.
Port-and-increase: buying a more expensive home
If your new home needs a bigger mortgage than your current balance, lenders use a "port-and-increase." Your existing balance keeps its original rate, the extra money is advanced at today's rate, and the two are combined into a single blended rate. Depending on the lender and the type of port, the blended portion may keep your remaining term or move to a new one — confirm which before you sign. A large ported balance at a low rate softens the cost of borrowing the top-up at current rates. If your new home needs a smaller mortgage, porting a reduced amount can still trigger a partial prepayment penalty on the portion you don't carry over.
Two kinds of "portability": the contract vs. the insurance
These are easy to confuse. Porting the mortgage moves your rate and term to the new property with your lender. Separately, if your mortgage is CMHC-insured, CMHC's own portability can transfer that existing insurance to the new property — through "straight portability" (same or lower loan amount, no requalification and no new premium) or "portability with increase" — and may credit part of the premium you already paid if the request meets CMHC's timeframes. The two run in parallel: your lender approves the port; CMHC handles the insurance side. See CMHC Portability.
What can stop a port
Two things commonly derail a port. First, approval: porting isn't automatic — your lender reviews your income, debts, credit, and the new property against its current criteria, and at federally regulated lenders that assessment includes the OSFI B-20 stress test. A port can be declined if your finances have changed since you first qualified — the same income verification and qualifying rules apply. Second, your contract: not every mortgage is portable, and some lenders "replace" a product rather than port it. Portability is a feature of your specific mortgage, so confirm in writing that yours has it before you rely on it.
Porting vs. blend-and-extend
Porting moves a mortgage to a new property. Blend-and-extend is a different tool — it blends your current rate with a new term's rate so you can renew early, without a prepayment penalty, on your existing mortgage. If you're changing your rate or term, that's blend-and-extend; if you're moving home, that's a port. Compare renewal options with the Mortgage Renewal Calculator.
Key Takeaways
- Porting a mortgage carries your existing rate, remaining term, and conditions to a new home with the same lender.
- It's used to avoid the prepayment penalty of breaking a closed mortgage — most valuable when your current rate is below today's rates; some lenders charge the penalty and refund it instead.
- You port within the same lender; switching lenders means breaking the mortgage and paying the penalty.
- Buying a more expensive home uses "port-and-increase," blending your existing rate with today's rate on the extra funds.
- Whether a mortgage can be ported depends on your specific contract, and a port still needs lender approval; CMHC's separate insurance portability can transfer your existing premium.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- FCAC — Tips to reduce or avoid prepayment penalties (porting your mortgage)
- FCAC — Breaking your mortgage contract (prepayment penalty, blend-and-extend)
- CMHC — Portability (transferring mortgage loan insurance to a new property)
- OSFI — Guideline B-20, residential mortgage underwriting (re-qualification / stress test)
▶ Related tools and guides
- Mortgage Penalty Calculator— the penalty you avoid by porting instead of breaking.
- Mortgage Renewal Calculator— compare blend-and-extend and switch scenarios at renewal.
- Mortgage income verification— what re-qualifying a port requires.
- How to Qualify for a Mortgage in Canada— the full qualifying framework a port is re-tested against.