Ontario's power of sale process moves fast — often 35-45 days from notice. Understanding the timeline and your rights is critical to stopping it.
Power of sale is the most common method mortgage lenders use to deal with defaulted mortgages in Ontario. Under the Mortgages Act of Ontario, a lender has the right to sell your property without going to court — making it significantly faster than judicial foreclosure.
The key difference from foreclosure: in a power of sale, the lender does not take ownership of your property. They sell it as your agent. Any surplus above what you owe goes back to you. This is actually better for homeowners than true foreclosure, where the lender takes title and keeps everything.
You miss a mortgage payment. Most lenders wait 15-90 days before initiating power of sale proceedings, depending on their policies and your payment history.
The lender issues a formal Notice of Sale Under Mortgage. This is the legal starting point. You have 35 days from the date of this notice before the lender can sell.
During these 35 days, you have the right to redeem your mortgage by paying all arrears plus the lender's legal costs. If you pay in full, the power of sale stops completely.
After the 35-day redemption period, the lender can list your property for sale. They must make reasonable efforts to get fair market value — they can't dump it for below-market price.
Once sold, the mortgage and legal costs are paid from proceeds. Any surplus goes to you. If there's a shortfall, the lender can pursue you for the deficit (unlike true foreclosure in Alberta).
During the 35 days after a Notice of Sale Under Mortgage is issued, you can pay all arrears and legal costs to stop the power of sale immediately. This is your strongest right under Ontario's Mortgages Act.
You can list and sell your home on your own terms at any point before the lender completes the sale. A private sale typically achieves a better price than a lender-forced sale.
The lender sells as your agent, not as the new owner. Any proceeds above what you owe — mortgage balance, arrears, interest, and legal costs — must be returned to you.
The lender must follow the Mortgages Act's notice requirements exactly and conduct the sale in a commercially reasonable manner to obtain fair value. If they don't, you may have grounds to challenge the sale.
Within the 35-day notice period, pay all arrears plus legal costs to stop the process immediately.
A private lender can refinance fast enough to pay off your mortgage before the sale. They focus on equity, not credit score.
List and sell on your terms before the lender lists the property. You'll get a better price and protect your credit.
Having an advocate negotiate on your behalf can result in payment plans or modifications that stop the power of sale process.
We help homeowners facing power of sale in cities across Ontario. Select your city for local information.
35 days is not a lot of time. Get a free assessment today and understand your options.
Common questions about the foreclosure process and your options.
Ontario's power of sale is among the fastest processes in Canada. After the Notice of Sale Under Mortgage is issued, homeowners have only 35 days before the lender can list the property. From that point to a completed sale, the full process typically runs another 2 to 4 months depending on market conditions — meaning the entire process from notice to closed sale can be as short as 3 to 5 months.
Yes — but the window is short. During the 35-day redemption period after the Notice of Sale is served, you can pay all arrears plus the lender's legal costs and stop the process entirely. After that period closes, the most practical options are selling privately before the lender completes the sale, or refinancing through a private lender who can close based on your home's equity rather than your credit history.
Yes. Ontario uses power of sale under the Mortgages Act of Ontario — not judicial foreclosure. The lender does not need a court order to sell your property and does not take ownership; they sell as your agent. Any proceeds above what you owe must be returned to you. The 35-day statutory notice period is the shortest homeowner window in any Canadian province, making early action critical.
Yes. You can list and sell privately at any point before the lender completes the power of sale. Acting during or immediately after the 35-day notice period gives you maximum control over price, timeline, and outcome. A private sale in Ontario will almost always outperform a lender-forced sale and returns all equity above the mortgage balance, arrears, and legal costs directly to you.
Ontario's statutory redemption period is 35 days from the date the Notice of Sale Under Mortgage is issued. During those 35 days you have the right to pay all arrears plus legal costs to stop the power of sale entirely. Once the 35 days expire the lender can list the property; there is no further court-set redemption period as exists in judicial foreclosure provinces — those 35 days are your primary window.