COMPLIANCE

Private mortgage disclosure in Ontario

Ontario regulates the investor side of a private deal as heavily as the borrower side. Two suitability assessments, not one.

Ontario's mortgage brokerage regulation imposes obligations that run in both directions on a private deal. The borrower gets suitability and cost disclosure. The investor or lender gets a suitability assessment, a material risks disclosure and a prescribed form. Missing either side is a finding.

The obligations that apply to a private file

  • A suitability assessment for the borrower, and a separate one for the investor or lender
  • Written disclosure of material risks, with the recipient's written acknowledgment
  • Disclosure of your role, your relationship to the parties, and your compensation in full
  • Cost of borrowing disclosure to the borrower
  • On request, the number of lenders involved and whether any one holds more than half the mortgage

Borrower disclosure runs two business days ahead

Written borrower disclosure is required no later than two business days before the earlier of the specified triggering events. It can be reduced to one business day with the borrower's written consent on the prescribed form — but that is a deliberate, documented step, not a default.

The investor forms

The investor or lender disclosure statement must be signed by a licensed mortgage broker, not an agent. Construction and development deals carry an additional addendum. Non-qualified syndicated mortgage investments carry further forms again, with a supplemental form for retail investors.

Timing requirements attach to each. The timeline is disapplied in defined circumstances where the investor is a permitted client, which is a narrow exception and not a general shortcut.

Reverse mortgages

Ontario separately requires that a borrower obtain independent legal advice before entering into a reverse mortgage. It is a discrete obligation that sits outside the general disclosure regime and is easy to overlook on a file that otherwise looks routine.

Common questions

How many suitability assessments does an Ontario private deal need?
Two. One for the borrower and a separate one for the investor or lender.
Can the two business day borrower disclosure window be shortened?
Yes, to one business day, but only with the borrower's written consent on the prescribed form. It is a deliberate documented step, not a default.
Who has to sign the investor disclosure statement?
A licensed mortgage broker, not an agent. Construction and development deals carry an additional addendum, and non qualified syndicated mortgage investments carry further forms again.

Where to verify this

FSRA publishes mortgage brokerage disclosure requirements and the prescribed forms at fsrao.ca. The underlying rules sit in O. Reg. 188/08 and O. Reg. 191/08. Current as of 1 September 2026.

Placing private deals with support

A.I.M.I. Collective brokers have a deal desk and a compliance team behind private files.

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