BC Mortgage Rules: the full reference

Maximum home purchase price eligible for default mortgage insurance (CMHC, Sagen, Canada Guaranty). Raised from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 effective December 15, 2024. Below this cap, buyers can put as little as 5% down on the first $500,000 + 10% on the portion above. Above this cap, conventional 20%-down mortgage required. CMHC's Purchase and Home Start pages (read 2026-11-04) word the limit as a price "below $1,500,000" (re-read 2026-11-06), so a price of exactly $1,500,000 is not insurable.

CMHC-insured mortgages permit 30-year amortization (vs. standard 25-year max) for two specific borrower categories: (1) all first-time home buyers regardless of property type, and (2) any buyer purchasing newly constructed housing (new build). Effective December 15, 2024.

Federally-regulated lenders (banks, federal credit unions) must qualify uninsured borrowers at the GREATER of (a) the contract rate + 2 percentage points, or (b) the 5.25% minimum qualifying rate, a floor the federal bank regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, sets and reviews each year (it is not a Bank of Canada rate).

Insured borrowers are qualified at the same higher-of test by CMHC. Applies to new originations and to refinances — any increase in loan amount or remaining amortization. It does NOT apply to a straight switch at renewal (see osfi.b20.renewal_no_stress_test), and it never applied to renewing with the existing lender, which is not a new origination.

Effective November 21, 2024, the federal banking regulator no longer prescribes the minimum qualifying rate when an uninsured borrower switches to a different federally-regulated lender at renewal, provided it is a "straight switch": no equity taken out, the balance rises by at most $3,000 for transaction costs, and the remaining amortization is not extended.

The new lender still assesses the borrower under B-20 and calculates debt service ratios appropriately stressed. Renewing with the existing lender never required the test, because a renewal is not a new origination. Refinances, new originations and any other increase still fall under the qualifying test.

Loan-to-Value (LTV) is the ratio of the mortgage loan amount to the lower of (a) the purchase price or (b) the appraised value of the property, expressed as a percentage. LTV is the binding constraint on whether a mortgage requires default insurance: any loan above 80% LTV (i.e., a down payment below 20%) requires CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty default insurance under federal rules.

CMHC default-insurance premium tiers are LTV-banded (95.01–90.00% LTV, 90.01–85.00% LTV, etc.), with higher LTV brackets carrying higher premium percentages. OSFI Guideline B-20 also references LTV in its underwriting expectations for federally regulated lenders. The Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act set the statutory 80% LTV ceiling above which insurance is required.