Private Mortgage Fees in Canada: What You Actually Pay in 2026

Every private mortgage carries two separate costs. There is the interest you pay across the term, and there is the money it takes to get the loan funded in the first place. Bank borrowers rarely think about the second one, because an A lender absorbs most of it. Private lending works differently. The fees are real, they are disclosed in writing, and they usually come out of your advance.

Why the money you receive is smaller than the money you borrow

On most private files the lender registers a mortgage for the full face amount, then funds the net figure once fees are taken off. Say you borrow $150,000, the disclosed lender and broker fees total $6,000, and legal costs add another $2,800. Roughly $141,200 reaches your lawyer. You still owe interest on the full $150,000 and you still repay $150,000 at the end of the term. That gap is the most common surprise on a first private mortgage.

The charges people forget to budget for

Appraisal and title work appear on almost every file. So do discharge costs at the end, and an extension fee if your exit takes longer than planned. None of them look large on their own. Together, on a twelve month term, they can move your all-in cost more than a full point of interest would. Budget for them at the start.

Two offers can carry the same posted rate and cost you very different amounts of money. The APR is what separates them, because under Canadian cost of borrowing rules the annual percentage rate has to account for certain fees rather than interest alone. That framing comes from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, and it holds for every credit product a Canadian can sign. Rate is the price of the money. APR is the price of the deal.

The 3-Number Private Mortgage Cost Check

Before you compare anything, get these three figures in writing from every lender you are talking to.

1. Net advance. The dollar amount that will actually reach your lawyer once every fee has been deducted.
2. Total payout at maturity. What it takes to clear the mortgage on the last day of the term, including interest, discharge and any administration charges.
3. APR on your actual term. The annualised cost with fees included, calculated on the term you are signing rather than a five year assumption.

Picture two lenders quoting an identical rate on a one year term. One charges a single lender fee. The other splits its cost between a lender fee and a broker fee, then adds an administration charge at renewal. Same headline rate. Different net advance, different APR, different amount owing twelve months later. Honestly, if a lender will not put those three figures in writing before you sign, that is your answer.

Fees count as interest under federal law

Here is the part most borrowers never hear. Section 347 of the Criminal Code defines interest broadly enough to capture fees, commissions, penalties and similar charges paid for the advancing of credit. Since January 1, 2025, the criminal rate has been 35% APR, reduced from an effective annual rate of 60%. Across a long term that ceiling sits far away. On a three month bridge loaded with front end fees, the arithmetic moves closer than people expect, which is one more reason to read the disclosed APR rather than the rate. The same reasoning sits behind the 35% cap on Canadian business lending.

Fee disclosure on a private mortgage is not a courtesy extended by a polite lender. It is a regulatory requirement, and the rules sit at the provincial level.

Ontario

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario requires every fee payable to a mortgage brokerage to be disclosed to the borrower in writing, and included in both the cost of borrowing disclosure and the APR. Under the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act and its regulations, a brokerage also cannot require or accept an advance payment or deposit for services on a mortgage of $400,000 or less. If someone asks you for money up front on a smaller file, that is a problem rather than a process.

British Columbia and Quebec

The BC Financial Services Authority applies an equivalent written disclosure duty, and in Quebec mortgage brokers fall under the Autorité des marchés financiers. Wording differs by province. The principle does not. You are entitled to see, on paper, what you are paying and who is being paid, before you commit to anything.

Five questions to ask before you sign

• What is the net advance after every fee has been deducted?
• Which fees go to the brokerage, and which go to the lender?
• What is the APR on the term I am signing?
• What does an early payout cost, and is there a minimum interest period?
• Is there a renewal or extension fee if my exit takes longer than planned?

Ask them in that order, and ask for the answers by email. A lender who handles all five without hesitating has done this properly before. One who talks around them has told you something useful.

Fees on a private mortgage are priced off risk, and risk on these files comes down to two things. How much equity sits behind the loan, and how you plan to get out of it.

Equity does most of the work. A lower loan to value ratio gives a lender more room if something goes sideways, and that shows up in the fee structure as much as in the rate. If you are not certain where your property sits, our guide to how much equity you need for a private mortgage walks through the arithmetic.

Your exit carries similar weight. A private mortgage is short term money with a job to do, whether that is clearing arrears, repairing credit, bridging a sale or seasoning income until a B lender will look at the file again. A dated, specific exit gets priced differently from a vague one. Writing that plan down before you apply costs nothing and changes the offers you receive. Our private mortgage exit strategy guide covers the routes that actually work.

Paperwork is the last lever you control. Mortgage statements, property tax status, an appraisal if you have a recent one, and a clean explanation of what happened to your credit. None of it is interesting. All of it shrinks the amount of unknown a lender has to price for, and unknown is expensive. You will find more of these breakdowns across our lending guides.

Solid Capital is a Canadian alternative lender working with homeowners and business owners who have been declined or under served by the big banks. We read the full file, which means bank statements, property, revenue and context rather than a credit score on its own, and a Canadian advisor reviews every application personally. Start your application at solidcapital.ca. It takes about five minutes, there is no impact to your credit to apply, and you see the numbers before you commit.

The rate is the figure lenders advertise. The fees decide what you actually receive and what you actually owe. Get the net advance, the payout at maturity and the APR in writing, line those three up across every offer on your table, and the right choice usually picks itself. Read the disclosure. Then sign.

What fees do you pay on a private mortgage in Canada?

Most private mortgage files carry a lender fee, a broker fee, legal costs for both sides, an appraisal, and title and registration charges. Discharge and extension fees can apply at the end of the term. Percentages vary by lender and by file, so ask for the total in dollars rather than in percentages.

Are private mortgage fees deducted from the loan or paid up front?

On most private files the fees come off the advance, so the money reaching your lawyer is less than the amount registered against your property. You still owe the registered amount and pay interest on it. That is why the net advance is the figure to ask for first.

Can a mortgage brokerage charge an up front fee in Ontario?

Not on a mortgage of $400,000 or less. Ontario regulations prohibit a brokerage from requiring or accepting an advance payment or deposit for services on those files. Above that threshold an up front fee is allowed, and it still has to be disclosed in writing and paid to the brokerage rather than to an individual agent.

Do private mortgage fees count as interest under Canadian law?

For the purposes of section 347 of the Criminal Code, yes. Interest is defined broadly enough to include fees, commissions and similar charges paid for the advancing of credit. The criminal rate has been 35% APR since January 1, 2025, which is one reason a fee heavy short term deal deserves a careful APR calculation.

How do you compare two private mortgage offers with the same rate?

Compare the net advance, the total payout at the end of the term, and the APR. Two offers with an identical posted rate can differ by thousands of dollars once fees, administration charges and renewal terms are counted. The APR exists so that comparison is possible.

Can private mortgage fees be negotiated?

Often they can. Fees are priced off risk, so a lower loan to value ratio, a documented exit plan and complete paperwork all give you room to ask. Outcomes depend on the file, but borrowers who request a written fee breakdown before accepting an offer generally do better than borrowers who do not.