The short version
- One missed payment does not put your home at risk. Ontario's Mortgages Act builds in mandatory waiting periods specifically so a homeowner has time to catch up.
- Under section 32 of the Mortgages Act, a lender cannot give a formal Notice of Sale until a default has continued for at least 15 days, and cannot complete a sale until at least 35 days after that notice is given.
- A separate notice requirement under the Family Law Act can extend that effective window further when a spouse lives in the home.
- The right to pay the arrears owing and stop the process — called the right of redemption — generally stays open until the sale is actually completed, not just during the initial notice window.
- Federally regulated lenders are expected to offer tailored relief — extending amortization, deferring a payment, waiving certain fees — to a borrower at risk of default, according to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.
The First Missed Payment Isn't a Crisis — It's a Conversation
A missed mortgage payment feels like an emergency the moment it happens. Legally, in Ontario, it starts a process with mandatory waiting periods built in specifically to prevent an emergency from becoming a home lost overnight.
The single most useful thing to do after missing a payment is call your lender before they call you. According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada's guidance on mortgage relief options, federally regulated banks are expected to work with borrowers experiencing financial difficulty, offering measures that can include extending the amortization period, allowing a temporary payment deferral, adjusting the payment schedule, or waiving certain fees. None of these are automatic — they exist because a lender recovers a mortgage worth having a homeowner keep paying it, not one forced into a sale.
The options narrow the longer arrears sit unaddressed, so the FCAC's own advice is to reach out as early as possible, ideally before you actually miss a payment if you can see it coming.
The Legal Timeline, If It Gets That Far
If arrears go unresolved, the process a lender can use in Ontario is called power of sale, and it's governed by the Mortgages Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.40. It's a specific, dated legal process, not something a lender can move through at their own pace.
- Section 32 of the Act sets the floor: notice of the exercise of a power of sale cannot be given until a default has continued for at least 15 days, and the sale itself cannot proceed until at least 35 days after that notice is given.
- That combined window is commonly called the redemption period, because it's the time a homeowner has to bring the mortgage back into good standing, refinance, arrange a private sale, or otherwise resolve the default.
- A separate notice requirement under the Family Law Act applies when a spouse who is not on title lives in the home, which can extend the effective window further.
- The right to pay the arrears and costs owing and stop the process — the right of redemption — generally continues to apply right up until the sale is actually completed, not just during the initial notice period.
Add it up and a homeowner typically has well over a month from the point a formal notice is served before a sale can complete — and that clock only starts once the lender chooses to begin the formal process at all, which is itself often delayed while a workout conversation is still underway.
Power of Sale Is Not the Same as Foreclosure
Power of sale is the process used in the overwhelming majority of Ontario mortgage defaults, and it's worth distinguishing from foreclosure, a separate and much rarer court process where a lender takes ownership of the property outright rather than selling it.
Under power of sale, the lender sells the property, and any amount left over after the mortgage, costs and other registered claims are paid is returned to the homeowner. That distinction matters for how a homeowner should think about the equity in the property even in a worst-case scenario — a sale is not automatically a total loss the way a foreclosure could be.
What to Actually Do If You're Behind
Contact your lender directly and ask what relief options are available on your specific mortgage — this is the step that resolves the largest share of arrears situations before they go anywhere near a Notice of Sale.
If your term is coming up regardless, it's worth knowing that a straight renewal with your existing lender doesn't re-run the stress test the way switching lenders does, which can matter if your circumstances have changed since you first qualified. Our Mortgage Renewal page covers that distinction in full.
And if a Notice of Sale has already been served, get advice from a real estate lawyer immediately — the redemption period is real time, but it is not unlimited, and the options for using it well are narrower once the clock has started. Our Collective network includes a lawyer who can be brought in quickly if you need one.
Nearly thirty years in Canadian financial services, based in Waterloo Region and working across Ontario. Most people are handed a product — you deserve a plan.
This article describes the general legal process under Ontario's Mortgages Act and is not legal advice. Specific timelines, notice requirements and available relief measures depend on your individual mortgage contract, lender and circumstances — consult your lender and a licensed lawyer directly. Everything here is general information only, illustrative, and subject to full qualification, lender approval and final terms.
Sources: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Mortgage relief options · Mortgages Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.40 — CanLII