What Is Porting a Mortgage?
Porting a mortgage means transferring your existing mortgage, with its current rate and whatever term you have left, from the home you are selling onto the home you are buying. It lets you avoid breaking the mortgage and paying a prepayment penalty, provided your lender’s contract allows it and you still qualify. Not every file can port, and not every closing date lines up to make it possible.
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What does porting a mortgage mean?
Porting a mortgage means carrying your existing mortgage, its rate, its remaining term and its balance, from the home you are selling to the home you are buying, instead of discharging it and paying a prepayment penalty. You still have to qualify, and the new property still has to be approved.
Think of it as moving house, not getting a new mortgage. The rate you locked in, the term you have left, and the schedule you agreed to all travel with you to the new address.
The lender simply discharges the mortgage on the old property and registers the same contract against the new one on closing day.
The citable fact: Porting a mortgage carries your existing rate, term and balance from the home you sell to the home you buy, instead of triggering a prepayment penalty.
Is porting a mortgage a right, or a lender privilege?
Porting is a privilege written into some mortgage contracts, not something every mortgage automatically includes. Whether you can port, and what conditions apply, depends entirely on the wording of your specific agreement. Some lenders restrict porting to fixed-rate products, some apply it to variable mortgages too, and some do not offer it at all.
Your mortgage commitment or contract is the only place to check, not general knowledge about how mortgages work. If porting is not mentioned, assume it is not available and ask your lender directly before you list your current home.
A broker can read the contract with you and tell you exactly what you are working with before you make any decisions about listing or offering.
The citable fact: Whether a mortgage can be ported, and on what terms, is set out in the individual mortgage contract. It is a lender privilege, not a universal feature of every mortgage.
Do I have to requalify to port my mortgage?
Yes. Porting is not automatic just because you want to keep your rate. The lender underwrites the new property from scratch and reassesses your current income, debts and credit before approving the port, exactly as it would for a brand new application.
The new property has to satisfy the lender’s lending criteria on its own merits, including its value, location and condition. Your income and debt load are reassessed as of today, not as of when you first took out the mortgage.
If your financial picture has weakened, or the new property does not fit the lender’s criteria, the port can be declined even though your existing mortgage is in good standing.
The citable fact: A port is never automatic. The lender requalifies the borrower’s income and credit and underwrites the new property before approving it.
How much time do I have to port between closings?
Lenders set their own window between the sale of your old home and the purchase of your new one, and that window is specific to your contract, not a fixed industry number. If the two closings fall too far apart, or if you buy before you sell, the port can fail on timing alone.
When your sale closes first and your purchase follows a few weeks later, that is usually manageable within most lenders’ windows. When you are buying before you sell, the gap often needs bridge financing to cover the overlap instead.
Standard residential bridge financing typically runs up to 90 days, with up to 90% combined loan-to-value available through some lenders. Terms vary by lender and by file, so confirm your own numbers before you rely on either path.
The citable fact: The time allowed between a sale closing and a purchase closing to complete a port is set by the lender’s own contract terms, not by a single industry-wide rule.
How long you get between the two closings is set by your lender rather than by a common standard, and it is one of the first things to check if a port is part of your plan. Your commitment states it.
What happens if my new home costs more, a port and increase?
A port and increase, sometimes called a blend and increase, lets you keep your existing rate and term on the ported portion while borrowing the extra amount at a current rate. The lender blends the two rates together into one weighted rate for the whole new mortgage. You still requalify for the full amount, including the new money.
The blend weighs your existing balance and rate against the new money and today’s rate, producing one combined rate for the full mortgage going forward. The exact blending formula is set by each lender, so two lenders can blend the same two numbers slightly differently.
Check today’s live rates at pekoe.ca/rates, updated daily, and ask your lender or broker to run the blended number for your specific file before you commit to a purchase price.
The citable fact: Porting with extra money borrowed, a port and increase, blends your existing rate with a current rate across the full new balance, rather than charging the entire mortgage at today’s rate.
On a port and increase, the lender uses its own formula and does not disclose the weighting. It will tell you the resulting blended rate, not how it arrived at it, so you cannot reconstruct or check the arithmetic. The practical response is to get the blended rate in writing and compare it against what a fresh mortgage elsewhere would cost you, because verifying the lender maths is not an option available to you.
What happens if my new home costs less, a port and decrease?
Buying a less expensive home usually means carrying over less principal than you currently owe, and the portion you are not carrying over can trigger a prepayment penalty from your lender. Some lenders waive a penalty on a small shortfall and some do not. Ask your lender directly what their threshold is before you firm up a lower purchase price.
The mortgage contract, not general practice, decides whether a reduction is penalty-free up to some amount or penalised from the first dollar. A broker can review your specific contract and estimate the exposure before you make an offer.
This is one of the most common surprises in a port, because sellers assume a smaller mortgage is automatically a smaller problem.
The citable fact: On a port and decrease, the portion of your old mortgage you do not carry forward can be charged a prepayment penalty, and whether or how much depends on your specific lender’s contract.
On a port and decrease the penalty applies to the full shortfall, always. Any amount you do not carry over to the new property is treated as a prepayment and attracts the usual penalty on that portion. It is not absorbed by your annual privilege first, and it is not a discretionary waiver to negotiate, so budget for it rather than hoping.
What happens if the port fails, or I decide not to port?
If the port does not go through, whether because the lender declines it, the timing does not work, or you simply choose not to port, you are breaking the mortgage. Breaking means the mortgage is discharged before the end of its term and the prepayment penalty specified in your contract applies.
The penalty itself depends on your mortgage type, your remaining term and your lender’s own calculation method, so it is never the same number twice. For a closer look at how that penalty is worked out, see our page on prepayment penalties on a private mortgage or run the numbers with our prepayment penalty calculator.
Breaking is not a failure. It is simply the fallback plan every port should have before you firm up either closing date.
The citable fact: If a port fails or is not pursued, the mortgage is broken and the prepayment penalty set out in the mortgage contract applies.
You will not find a figure for a prepayment penalty here, because the number depends on your balance, your remaining term and the method written into your contract. Your lender’s payout statement gives the actual amount, and it is only good to the date stated on it.
Who does porting a mortgage actually help?
Porting helps a borrower who is part-way through a mortgage term they want to keep, usually because the existing rate compares well to current options. It suits someone moving for reasons unrelated to their mortgage, who can line up a sale and a purchase reasonably close together. It matters most when breaking the mortgage would trigger a real prepayment penalty.
A homeowner two years into a five-year fixed term, with three years left and a rate they are happy with, is the clearest case. Someone upsizing or downsizing within the same general timeframe as their current closing is in a strong position to port successfully.
The further apart your two closing dates sit, the weaker that position gets.
The citable fact: Porting suits a borrower who wants to keep a mortgage rate and term they already have, and whose sale and purchase closings land close enough together to fit the lender’s window.
Who should not count on porting a mortgage?
Porting will not help a borrower whose mortgage contract has no port privilege at all, since there is nothing to carry over. It will not help someone who cannot requalify today because their income, debt or credit has weakened. It will not help someone whose purchase and sale closings are too far apart, or in the wrong order, for their lender’s window.
Check the contract first, because assuming a port privilege exists and finding out otherwise during a live transaction is the worst time to learn it. If your credit or income has changed since your last approval, have that conversation with a broker before you list your home, not after you have a firm sale.
And if you are buying before you sell, plan for bridge financing or breaking the mortgage as your real options, not porting.
The citable fact: A borrower without a port clause, without current qualifying income or credit, or with closings that fall outside the lender’s window, cannot rely on porting as an option.
Should I port my mortgage or break it and start over?
The decision is a trade-off. Porting keeps your existing rate and term but ties you to your current lender’s requalification and timing rules. Breaking frees you to shop any lender and any product, but the prepayment penalty is due up front. Which one makes sense depends on your file, not on a general rule.
The table below sets out the trade-off plainly: what you keep, what you pay, and what you have to requalify for under each path.
| Factor | Port the existing mortgage | Break and start fresh |
|---|---|---|
| Rate and term | Carried over from your current contract, where the lender’s port clause allows it | Reset entirely, you choose a new rate and term with any lender |
| Prepayment penalty | Generally avoided if the port completes inside the lender’s window | Charged in full, per your mortgage contract’s calculation |
| Lender choice | Locked to your existing lender | Open to any lender on the market |
| Requalifying | Required, on the new property, your income and your credit | Required, on the new property, your income and your credit |
| Extra borrowing | Blended rate on the new money, a port and increase | Entire new mortgage priced at today’s rate |
| Timing flexibility | Sale and purchase closings must land inside the lender’s window | No closing-date alignment required |
For a deeper look at the breaking side of this decision on its own, see our guide on whether breaking your mortgage is worth it, or compare the cost of a second mortgage against breaking the first on our page second mortgage or break the first.
Pekoe does not recommend one path over the other in general terms. A broker reviewing your actual penalty quote and your current options can tell you which path costs less on your specific numbers, not in general.
The citable fact: Porting trades lender choice and closing-date flexibility for keeping an existing rate and term, while breaking trades a paid-up-front penalty for full freedom to choose a new lender and product.
Does porting work differently in Ontario than in Alberta?
No. A port is a contract privilege between you and your lender, and that privilege works exactly the same way whether the property is in Ontario or Alberta. What actually differs between the two provinces is the closing costs around the transaction, not the port mechanism itself. Those differences show up mainly in land transfer tax and title registration fees.
Pekoe Mortgages is a licensed mortgage brokerage, FSRA Brokerage Licence #13321 with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, and licensed by the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) in Alberta.
Both regulators oversee the brokerage relationship, not the port clause itself, which sits in your lender’s own contract. The real planning difference between the two provinces is what it costs to close on the new property, covered below.
The citable fact: Porting a mortgage is governed by the lender’s contract and works identically in Ontario and Alberta. The land transfer tax and registration costs around the transaction are what genuinely differ by province.
Does porting avoid land transfer tax on the new home?
No. Porting your mortgage has nothing to do with land transfer tax, and it does not reduce or exempt you from any tax or fee owed on the new purchase. Ontario charges provincial land transfer tax on every purchase, with Toronto adding its own municipal tax on top. Alberta charges no land transfer tax at all, only Land Titles registration fees.
A $600,000 purchase makes the gap concrete. This is an illustrative example only, built from the published rate schedules for each province, and your own numbers will differ by purchase price and mortgage amount.
Show the math: Ontario land transfer tax on a $600,000 purchase
An eligible first-time buyer can claim the Ontario refund of up to $4,000 against that total, bringing a $600,000 first-time purchase down to $4,475.00 in provincial tax.
Show the math: Alberta Land Titles fees on a $600,000 purchase with a $500,000 mortgage
| Cost | Ontario | Alberta |
|---|---|---|
| Provincial land transfer tax | $8,475.00, marginal brackets up to 2.0% | None, Alberta charges no provincial land transfer tax |
| Municipal land transfer tax | Toronto adds its own municipal land transfer tax on top of the provincial tax | Not applicable |
| Registration fees | Standard land registry fees apply, separate from land transfer tax | Land Titles fees, $5 per $5,000 of value plus a $50 base fee, on both the transfer and the mortgage |
| First-time buyer relief | Refund of up to $4,000 against the provincial tax | Not applicable, since there is no provincial tax to refund |
| Regulator | FSRA, Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario | RECA, Real Estate Council of Alberta |
For the full picture beyond land transfer tax, see our breakdowns of closing costs in Ontario and closing costs in Alberta, and the dedicated pages on Ontario land transfer tax and why Alberta has no land transfer tax.
The citable fact: Porting does not change land transfer tax exposure. Ontario buyers pay provincial land transfer tax on every purchase, Toronto buyers pay a municipal tax on top of that, and Alberta buyers pay no land transfer tax at all, only Land Titles registration fees.
Related questions about breaking, renewing and closing costs
Porting touches a few other decisions worth reading before you commit either way.
- How a prepayment penalty is worked out on a private mortgage
- Whether a second mortgage beats breaking your first one
- Run your own numbers on our prepayment penalty calculator
- Renewing with worse credit or lower income, a related maturity question
If breaking or porting is really part of a bigger renewal decision, our paid Renewal Negotiation Playbook walks through how to negotiate your next term from a position of strength instead of guessing at it.
The full set lives on the Ask a Broker hub.
Frequently asked questions
Is porting a mortgage free?
Porting is not automatically free. You can still face appraisal, legal and registration costs on the new property, and if your lender does not allow a full port you may pay a prepayment penalty as well. Ask your lender in writing what fees apply to your specific port before you commit to either closing date.
Can I port my mortgage to a different lender?
No. Porting works only with your existing lender, because it is their contract privilege you are using. Moving to a different lender means breaking your current mortgage and starting a new one, with that lender’s own rate, term and underwriting.
Can I port a variable rate mortgage?
It depends on your specific contract. Some lenders allow porting on variable rate mortgages and some restrict the privilege to fixed rate products only. Read your mortgage commitment or ask your lender directly rather than assuming either way.
What happens if I am buying before I sell?
If your purchase closes before your sale, the port timing usually does not line up, because most lenders need the two to fall inside a set window. Bridge financing is the usual fallback to cover the gap, and standard residential bridge financing typically runs up to 90 days. Ask your broker to confirm your specific lender’s bridge terms before you firm up a purchase.
Does the lender pull my credit again when I port?
Yes. Porting requires requalifying, and that includes a fresh credit check along with a review of your current income and debts. The lender treats this part of the process the same way it would a new mortgage application.
Does porting work the same way in Ontario and Alberta?
Yes, the port clause itself works identically in both provinces, because it is set by your lender’s contract rather than by provincial law. What differs is the closing costs around the purchase, mainly land transfer tax in Ontario and Land Titles registration fees in Alberta.
Can I borrow more money when I port?
Yes, through a port and increase, sometimes called a blend and increase. The new money is charged a current rate, the carried-over balance keeps your existing rate, and the lender blends the two into one rate for the full mortgage.
What if my new home costs less than my old one?
You usually carry over less principal than you currently owe, and the uncarried portion can trigger a prepayment penalty depending on your lender’s contract. Some lenders allow a small shortfall without a penalty and some do not, so ask before you make an offer on a lower-priced home.
Is the chat on this page an AI bot?
No. The chat connects you to a real licensed member of the Pekoe team during business hours, and outside those hours a licensed broker replies directly. There is no AI persona standing in for an advisor.
What if my lender declines the port?
You are then breaking the mortgage rather than porting it, and the prepayment penalty set out in your contract applies. A broker can help you compare that cost against shopping a brand new mortgage with a different lender.
How long does porting a mortgage usually take to arrange?
There is no single standard timeline, because it depends on your lender’s own process and how quickly your new property can be appraised and approved. Start the conversation with your lender or broker as soon as you have a firm sale, not after you have also firmed up a purchase.
Find out if your mortgage can actually be ported
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