A closing date moves for reasons that are rarely your fault and almost never within your control. What matters is what it costs you, who can fix it, and how fast you have to act. By the time a delay is obvious you are usually dealing with lawyers rather than lenders.
Pekoe Mortgages is licensed in Ontario (FSRA #13321) and Alberta (RECA). This branch page routes you to the answer. It does not replace it.
Who is actually able to move the date, and what the gap costs while it is open. A delay is a legal problem before it is a financing problem. Your lawyer handles the date, your broker handles the money, and the two have to talk to each other on the same day.
There is no standard late-closing charge in Canada and no standard per diem formula. Whatever applies to you is written in your own loan and purchase documents, which is the first thing to read and the last thing anyone thinks to check.
Act the hour you suspect the date will move. Almost every option below gets worse, or disappears, with a day’s delay.
| Step | Who does it | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Tell your lawyer and your broker the same day | You | Both sides working the same timeline instead of discovering it separately |
| Read what your own documents say about a missed date | Your lawyer | Your actual exposure, rather than a general rule |
| Ask the lender whether the commitment and the rate survive the new date | Your broker | Whether the financing still exists at the new date |
| Agree an amendment to the closing date | The two lawyers, with both parties’ consent | A new date in writing, which is the only date that counts |
| If the gap is between a sale and a purchase, price a bridge | Your broker | Funding to cover the gap, if a lender will write it |
The citable fact: a closing date can only be changed by agreement between the parties, documented by their lawyers. Neither a broker nor a lender can move it.
The only person who can negotiate and document a new date, and the only one who should advise on what missing the original one exposes you to.
Confirming whether the commitment and the rate hold survive the change, and pricing a bridge if there is a gap to fund.
Deciding whether to honour the commitment at a new date. An extension is at its discretion, not yours.
A delay needs their agreement. A seller with another offer behind yours has very little reason to give it.
| Cost | When it applies | What we can say about the amount |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge financing interest | When your sale closes after your purchase | Usually floating at prime plus roughly 2% to 4%, and it accrues for every day the gap is open |
| Bridge setup fee | On most bridge loans | A couple of hundred dollars up to about $1,000. Private bridges price higher on both |
| Bridge extension | If the gap stretches past the original term | At the lender’s discretion. No standard fee or per diem formula exists, so check your own loan documents |
| How long a bridge runs | Set when the bridge is written | Standard residential bridge financing is typically up to 90 days. Longer terms may be considered by exception or through alternative lenders |
| How much can be bridged | Sized against the equity in the property you are selling | Up to 90% combined loan to value with some lenders, varying by lender, equity and how the transaction is structured |
| Extra legal work | Amending the agreement, re-registering, re-reporting | Your lawyer will quote it. It is not usually included in the original fee |
| Rate hold expiry | If the new date falls outside the hold | You are repriced at whatever is available then |
| Removal, storage, accommodation | Whenever possession moves | Yours, and rarely recoverable |
Lenders generally state the maximum term up front, and standard residential bridge financing typically runs up to 90 days. Ask for your own number before you sign rather than once the gap has stretched. If the gap you are facing is longer than that, say so early: it changes which lender the file should go to.
If the gap is between selling and buying. How bridge financing works in Canada, and the provincial detail for Ontario and Alberta.
If the bridge itself is running out. When a bridge loan expires in Ontario and how long an Alberta bridge can run.
If your sale has collapsed entirely. A failed sale and what bridge options remain.
The people who move the date. Your lawyer in Ontario, in Alberta, and who pays the lender’s legal fees.
If the hold-up is a discharge or a payout figure. A lender that will not discharge and a payout statement higher than you expected.
New builds, where the date was never firm. Interim occupancy in Ontario, and deposit protection under Tarion and the Alberta programme.
The rest of closing. Closing costs in Ontario, in Alberta, and what title insurance covers.
Only the parties to the agreement, through their lawyers, and only by mutual consent. Your broker and your lender cannot move it, whatever the reason for the delay.
There is no standard charge in Canada. What applies to you is set out in your own purchase agreement and loan documents, which is why your lawyer reads those first rather than quoting a general figure.
Often, but it is the lender’s decision and not automatic. Ask your broker the same day, because a commitment that lapses has to be rebuilt from the documents up.
That gap is what bridge financing exists for. Interest usually floats at prime plus roughly 2% to 4% and accrues daily, with a setup fee from a couple of hundred dollars up to about $1,000.
At the lender’s discretion, and by that point it is usually handled through the lawyers. Standard residential bridge financing typically runs up to 90 days and lenders generally state that maximum up front, so ask for your own number before you sign.
Up to 90% combined loan to value with some lenders, though it varies by lender, by the equity in the property you are selling and by how the transaction is structured. It is sized against that sale, not against your income.
Only if the new date falls outside your rate hold. If it does, you are repriced at whatever is available then, which may be higher or lower.
The mechanics are the same: lawyers move the date and the lender decides on the commitment. The registration systems differ, so the practical steps your lawyer takes differ, which is why the provincial pages are separate.
Pekoe Mortgages is a licensed brokerage in Ontario (FSRA #13321) and Alberta (RECA). This page is general information, not financial advice, and does not create a broker and client relationship.