Mortgage Renewal • June 2026
By Isha Grewal, Mortgage Agent Level 2 (FSRA) — serving Brampton, Mississauga and the wider GTA
If your mortgage is coming up for renewal this year, the smartest move is simple: don't sign your lender's first renewal offer without comparing it against the rest of the market. Banks rarely lead with their best rate at renewal, and switching to another lender is usually free or low-cost. With the five-year fixed sitting near 4% in mid-2026, shopping your renewal can save you thousands over the term.
That's the short version. Now let me explain why so many people in Brampton and Mississauga get this wrong — and how to be one of the people who gets it right.
I'm Isha Grewal, a licensed mortgage agent here in the GTA, and renewals are most of what I'm helping families with right now. Over a million Canadian mortgages come up for renewal in 2026, and a huge share of them were locked in back in 2020 and 2021 when rates were under 2%. Those homeowners are now staring at a renewal near 4% — and the difference shows up in the monthly payment.
This is the single most expensive habit I see, and it's completely understandable. The letter arrives, it has your name on it, it quotes a rate that looks "fine," and it has a little box to sign. Easy. Done.
Here's the problem. The rate in that letter is almost never your lender's best rate. It's the rate they're hoping you'll accept because you're busy and loyal and not in the mood to shop. Lenders count on inertia. I've reviewed renewal letters quoting a homeowner half a percent — sometimes more — above what the same lender would offer if they thought you were about to walk.
On a $600,000 mortgage, half a percent is roughly $170 a month, or over $10,000 across a five-year term. You don't have to become a rate expert to fix this. You just have to not sign on the first ask.
A lot of people think renewal means staying put. It doesn't. At renewal, you're free to move your mortgage to a different lender, and on most uninsured mortgages the cost of switching is small — often the new lender even covers the legal and appraisal fees to win your business.
When I compare 30+ lenders on a renewal, I'm not just looking at the big banks. Credit unions and monoline lenders are often the ones with the sharpest rates, and most homeowners never see those offers on their own.
One caution: if your mortgage is insured (you put less than 20% down originally), switching is usually still easy and cheap. If it's uninsured, there can be a small cost to switch — but it's almost always far less than what you'd lose by overpaying for five years.
By the time your renewal date arrives, your leverage is mostly gone. You're under a deadline, your current lender knows it, and you don't have time to properly compare.
You can lock in a new rate up to 120 days before your maturity date. That four-month window is your friend. It lets you hold a rate while you shop, so if rates rise (and with inflation back up to 3.2% in May and the Bank of Canada hinting its next move could be a hike, that's a real risk), you're protected. If rates fall, you simply take the lower one.
My honest advice: if your term ends anytime in 2026, start the conversation now. Six months out is even better. Early is free. Late costs money.
Renewal isn't just "what's the rate." It's also "what kind of mortgage fits my life for the next few years." Fixed or variable. Five years or a shorter term. Whether you want the flexibility to break early or make big lump-sum payments.
Right now this is a genuinely live decision. The five-year variable (around 3.45% in late June 2026) is cheaper today than the five-year fixed (around 4%), but variable carries the risk that rates climb from here. Fixed costs a little more but buys you certainty. There's no universal right answer — it depends on your budget headroom, how long you plan to stay, and frankly how much rate news you want to think about at 11pm.
I've written a separate guide on fixed vs variable for 2026 if you want to go deeper. The mistake is renewing into a five-year fixed on autopilot because that's what you had last time. Your situation may have changed. The market certainly has.
A renewal is a reset button, and most people don't use it. If you're carrying high-interest credit card or line-of-credit debt, renewal can be the moment to roll that into your mortgage at a far lower rate, or to access some of your home's equity if you genuinely need it.
I'm not right for everyone — refinancing has costs, and stretching debt over a longer period can mean paying more interest in total even at a lower rate. But if you're treading water on credit card payments at 20%+ while sitting on home equity, your renewal is exactly the time to look at the refinance numbers honestly. Sometimes the answer is "leave it alone." Sometimes it changes everything.
Here's the simple version I give every client: Find your maturity date — it's on your annual mortgage statement. Start 120 days out, minimum. Don't sign the bank's letter; treat it as the opening offer. Get your renewal shopped across multiple lenders (that's what I do for you, at no cost). Decide on the product, not just the rate. Lock and protect — hold a rate so you're covered if the market moves.
If your renewal is coming up in 2026, I'm happy to do a free renewal review — I'll pull your numbers, shop across 30+ lenders, and show you in plain language what staying versus switching actually costs you.
Not automatically. Your bank's renewal letter rarely shows their best rate. Before you sign, compare it against other lenders — including credit unions and monoline lenders, which often have lower rates. On most mortgages, switching at renewal is free or low-cost, so comparing first usually saves money.
You can lock a new rate up to 120 days before your maturity date, so start at least four months early. If your term ends in 2026, starting six months out gives you the most room to compare and protect yourself if rates rise.
Often, yes. Many lenders will cover the legal and appraisal costs to win your business, and the rate savings can total thousands over a five-year term. The exception is some uninsured mortgages where a small switch cost applies — a mortgage agent can run that comparison for you before you decide.
If you locked a rate under 2% in 2020–2021 and renew near 4% in 2026, expect a meaningful jump — often several hundred dollars a month depending on your balance and remaining amortization. Options like switching lenders, choosing variable, or extending amortization can soften the increase.
A single mortgage application causes a small, temporary dip from the credit check, but it recovers quickly and is far outweighed by the potential savings. Shopping through one mortgage agent means your credit is typically pulled once, not by every lender separately.
Free, no-obligation review. I'll compare 30+ lenders and show you the real numbers — what staying costs vs. switching.