B-20 Straight-Switch Renewal Exemption
Also known as: Switching lenders at renewal · B-20 renewal exemption · Renewal stress test waiver
You can move an uninsured mortgage to a different federally-regulated lender at renewal without re-passing the stress test. The rule took effect November 21, 2024 and covers only a straight switch, where the loan amount does not go up and the remaining amortization is not extended. Renewing with your existing lender never required the test at all.
Effective November 21, 2024, a borrower may move an existing UNINSURED mortgage to a DIFFERENT federally-regulated lender at renewal without re-applying the B-20 stress test, provided the loan amount does not increase and the remaining amortization is not extended — a "straight switch". This was the most material loosening of the federal stress test since its 2018 introduction, and it closed a gap: insured borrowers had already been freed from re-qualifying on a switch in January 2024. Before the change, borrowers who could not requalify were locked into whatever rate their existing lender offered, because leaving triggered the test and the incumbent knew it.
The exemption covers straight switches only. A refinance — any increase in the loan amount or extension of the amortization — still triggers the stress test, whoever the lender is. The change materially shifts borrower leverage on renewal cycles, because the incumbent can no longer use the test to keep a borrower at an uncompetitive rate. Practical effect: renewal offers have had to compress, since a borrower who can credibly threaten to leave can now actually leave.
Work it out with your own numbers
Affordability and stress-test calculatorRelated terms
- OSFI Mortgage Stress Test (B-20) — OSFI Guideline B-20 requires federally-regulated lenders to qualify mortgage borrowers at the greater of (a) the contract rate plus 2 percentage points or (b) the Bank of Canada qualifying rate (5.
- CMHC Default Insurance Cap — The maximum home purchase price eligible for CMHC default mortgage insurance — raised from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 effective December 15, 2024.
- Gross Debt Service Ratio (GDS) — The share of your gross income that housing alone takes up: the mortgage payment, property tax, heat, and half of any strata fee.
- Total Debt Service Ratio (TDS) — Gross debt service widened to every debt you carry: car payments, credit cards, lines of credit and student loans on top of the housing costs.
See also
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@misc{bronsonjob-osfi_b20_renewal_no_stress_test,
author = {Job, Bronson},
title = {{Straight switch at renewal — no stress test (Nov 2024+)}},
howpublished = {BC Real Estate Codex},
year = {2024},
url = {https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#osfi.b20.renewal_no_stress_test},
urldate = {2026-08-02},
note = {Fact ID: osfi.b20.renewal_no_stress_test, version 2.}
}Job, B. (2024). Straight switch at renewal — no stress test (Nov 2024+). *BC Real Estate Codex*. Retrieved 2026-08-02, from https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#osfi.b20.renewal_no_stress_test
Straight switch at renewal — no stress test (Nov 2024+) — Bronson Job PREC, BC Real Estate Codex (2026-08-02). https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#osfi.b20.renewal_no_stress_test
Fact id: osfi.b20.renewal_no_stress_test · v2 · machine-readable: /api/v1/facts/by-id/osfi.b20.renewal_no_stress_test.json
Verified sources (1)· re-verified 2026-08-02Click to expand
Every claim on this page is sourced to a primary government, regulator, or industry-association URL. We re-verify quarterly; the verification dates below show when each source was last confirmed against the live government page.
- OSFIretrieved 2026-08-02· published 2024-09-24OSFI exempts uninsured mortgage straight switches from the prescribed MQRhttps://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/en/guidance/guidance-library/osfi-exempts-uninsured-mortgage-straight-switches-prescribed-mqr-implements-portfolio-lti-limits
osfi.b20.renewal_no_stress_test · v2View in Codex →License: This definition is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: "B-20 Straight-Switch Renewal Exemption", BC Real Estate Glossary by Bronson Job, https://www.bronsonjob.com/glossary/b20-renewal-no-stress-test.
