

NHA approved lenders include federally regulated financial institutions, such as banks and federal credit unions. Only National Housing Act (NHA) approved lenders are able to offer mortgages with CMHC mortgage insurance. Not all mortgage lenders can offer CMHC-insured mortgages. In these cases, you must make a down payment of 20% or higher to get a mortgage.Ĭan I get CMHC insurance for a mortgage from any lender? Your amortization period is longer than 25 years.Your purchase price is $1,000,000 or above, or.However, your mortgage lender can still require you to get CMHC insurance even if you make a higher down payment in certain cases, such as if you’re purchasing in a remote location where it might be difficult to find a buyer. If you make a down payment of at least 20% or more, you do not need CMHC insurance. Thus any mortgage with a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of greater than 80% requires mortgage default insurance by law. An exception is made to this rule if the portion of the loan over 80% of the collateral is insured against the risk of default by the borrower. The Bank Act, Trust and Loan Companies Act, Insurance Companies Act, and Cooperative Credit Associations Act all limit Canadian financial institutions to lend no more than 80% of the value of the collateral when a loan is secured by real property. You won’t be able to get an uninsured mortgage from any major bank in Canada if your down payment is less than 20%.

CMHC insurance is required if your down payment is less than 20%.
