COVID-19 Payment Relief

With uncertain times both the Canadian government and many lenders are offering programs to help home owners. If you have questions or concerns please contact us directly.

COVID-19 Payment Relief

In response, banks in Canada have affirmed their commitment to working with customers to provide flexible solutions, on a case-by-case basis, for managing through hardships caused by recent developments. This may include situations such as pay disruption, childcare disruption, or illness. Canada’s ban ks and lender s have confirmed that this support will include up to a 6-month payment deferral for mortgages, and the opportunity for relief on other credit products. These targeted measures respond to immediate challenges being faced across the country and will help stabilize the Canadian economy.

You may qualify for up to 6 months payment relief if:

You have been laid off and work in an industry directly impacted by COVID-19
You have been laid off and work in an industry NOT directly impacted by COVID-19
You are still working but other factors are impacting your ability to make your mortgage payments
You own a rental property and your tenants have been laid off and work in an industry directly or indirectly impacted by COVID-19

Continue making ALL of your regular payments until you have been approved for the program by yo ur lend er. You may negatively affect your credit score if you miss your payments prior to being approved for relief.

What is Skip-a-payment?

In the case you don’t qualify for COVID-19 Payment Relief, Some lenders will allow you to skip a mortgage payment, or hold a mortgage payment in cases where life happens. Each lender that offers this feature has slight differences in rules. The major common element is you must ask for a mortgage skip-a-payment in advance, NOT after you’ve missed a payment.

Which lenders offer the skip-a-payment feature?

The lenders below offer the skip-a-payment feature but in some cases only on specific products, and they usually just add any missed interest to your mortgage balance. In some cases lenders offer skip-a-payment but don’t clearly state so on their website or even in the mortgage approval. We have done our best to list all the lenders that offer skip-a-payment privileges but we may have missed some. Most lenders now offer a skip-a-payment option given the current global pandemic. Your best bet to determine if you have a skip-a-payment feature with your mortgage is to contact your lender directly.

BMO - Skip up to one month's worth of payments per calendar year. Some conditions do apply. Not applicable on the BMO Smart Fixed Mortgage.
CMLS Financial - Skip a regular payment once per year, assuming you have made prepayments or accelerated payments on your mortgage greater than or equal to the amount of your payment. Some conditions apply.
CIBC - You may be able to skip a mortgage payment with CIBC subject to certain conditions. There is no official feature listed in the terms of their mortgage.
First National Financial - You may be able to skip a payment subject to certain conditions. Please request skip a payment through your online customer portal or by emailing customer service.
Lendwise - You may be able to defer a regular payment. Some conditions apply.
MCAP - You can defer a regular payment. This feature is not applicable to the MCAP Value-Flex Product. Some conditions apply. COVID-19 update: Skip-a-payment feature is temporarily available on all MCAP mortgage products.
MERIX Financial - you may be able to defer a regular payment. Some conditions apply.
RMG Mortgages - Defer a regular payment. This feature is not available on all RMG products. Some conditions apply. COVID-19 update: Skip-a-payment feature is temporarily available on all RMG mortgage products.
RBC - Skip a payment once every 12 months assuming you are not currently late on your mortgage payments, and your balance plus the amount of your payment is not more than your original starting balance. Some other conditions apply.
TD Bank - Take a payment pause of one month up to 4 times over the life of your mortgage with TD. Additionally, if you have made pre-paid or accelerated payments on your mortgage you may qualify for up to a 4 month payment vacation. Some other conditions may apply.

Contact your lender

COVID-19 UPDATE: Lenders are asking that you contact them through your online mortgage portal OR via a servicing email. It may take up to 5 days to receive a response even via email so please be prepared to wait. To confirm if you qualify for payment relief, ideally, please go to your lenders website to inquire, unfortunately we aren't able to act as an intermediary for you while seeking payment relief.