RBC Mortgage Renewal: Review Your Offer Before You Sign
Can you renew an RBC mortgage early?
RBC says you can renew up to 120 days early without penalty, and it starts contacting you about 120 days before your renewal date. If you break a closed fixed-rate RBC mortgage instead, RBC says the charge is the greater of three months’ interest or an interest rate differential (IRD) amount.
Sources: rbcroyalbank.com · rbcroyalbank.com. Your mortgage agreement controls.
Already have a RBC renewal offer? Check if the rate is fair, free →Already have a RBC renewal letter? Review the written rate, term, scheduled payment, remaining amortization, penalties, prepayment privileges, portability, fees, deadline, and genuinely comparable current context before you sign.
Already received a renewal offer from your lender?
Compare the rate with dated Canadian public context before you sign. The free check does not authorize a broker introduction. Paid educational reports are optional.
Free · no credit check · currently supports Canadian 3-year and 5-year fixed renewal offers
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By Andy Atchison, FairRate founder · Updated
How does RBC mortgage renewal work?
RBC says it starts contacting you about 120 days before your renewal date and lets you renew up to 120 days early without penalty. You can negotiate the rate before you sign. At maturity you can switch lenders without a prepayment penalty, though discharge, legal or appraisal costs may apply.
Quick facts
- Unless you renew early, RBC says a renewal form arrives about three weeks before your term ends.
- RBC says renewing at maturity protects you from a rate increase in the 30 days before your scheduled renewal date.
- As a federally regulated lender, RBC must send a renewal statement at least 21 days before your term ends.
- FCAC says you may qualify for a lower rate than the one in your renewal letter, so ask before you sign.
- Doing nothing can mean an automatic renewal, so read the default terms in your renewal notice.
Compare every lender's early-renewal window
Checked 2026-10-11 against official sources. Your signed agreement and renewal notice control.
How RBC calculates your prepayment penalty
- Closed fixed-rate mortgage: RBC says the prepayment charge is the greater of three months’ interest on the amount prepaid at the interest rate, or interest for the remainder of the term on the amount prepaid calculated using the interest rate differential (IRD).
- RBC describes the IRD as the difference between your interest rate and RBC’s posted rate on the prepayment date for a mortgage with a term similar to the time remaining and the same prepayment options, less your rate reduction.
- RBC says its IRD calculation uses present value and accounts for the declining balance over the remaining term, which reduces the IRD amount.
- Closed variable-rate mortgage: RBC says the charge is three months’ interest on the amount prepaid.
- RBC publishes separate prepayment-charge details for clients who migrated to RBC in 2024.
Reviewed 2026-10-11 from RBC's own pages. Your mortgage agreement and RBC's payout statement determine the actual charge.
Quick RBC penalty estimate
The quick estimate below is a simple rate-gap calculation without present value, so it will usually be higher than the IRD RBC calculates.
This is an estimate only. Confirm the method and the exact figure with RBC, or ask for a dated payout statement covering any discharge, assignment or other fees, before you act.
Sources: RBC: understanding mortgage prepayment charges · RBC: details for clients who migrated in 2024
Confirm with RBC →Staying at renewal? Check RBC's offer →RBC renewal facts
Reviewed 2026-10-08. Your signed agreement and current renewal notice control.
- Legal entity
- Royal Bank of Canada
- Regulation
- Federally regulated bank: OSFI prudential supervision; federal consumer mortgage rules apply.
- Early renewal
- Use the early-renewal eligibility and response deadline in your written offer; a new-mortgage rate hold is a separate policy.
- If you do not sign
- Read the automatic-renewal clause in your renewal statement. Do not assume silence preserves your old rate or term.
- Discharge and switching fees
- Ask for a dated written payout statement itemizing discharge or assignment charges, registration costs, and any early-payment charge. There is no verified universal fee for every agreement.
Primary sources: Federal bank list · OSFI supervision · FCAC renewal rules
Is your RBC renewal offer too high?
Compare the written rate with dated context for the same term, rate type, insurance status and product conditions. A gap is a reason to investigate; an advertised rate does not establish that you qualify or that your lender's offer is unfair.
Have the balance, remaining amortization, scheduled payment and renewal deadline ready. Review prepayment privileges, penalties, portability, fees and any actual competing offer together.
Check my 3-year or 5-year fixed renewal offer →Ask RBC to review your renewal rate
Adapt this request to the written offer you received:
I am reviewing my RBC mortgage renewal offer before signing. Please confirm the quoted rate, term, rate type, scheduled payment, remaining amortization, penalty wording, prepayment privileges, portability, fees and restrictions. Is another renewal option available for my file? Please send any revised offer and its expiry date in writing.
A review request does not guarantee a lower rate. Refer to a competing offer only if you actually have it, and compare its eligibility conditions, product terms and switching costs.
How should you review a RBC mortgage renewal offer?
Do not judge the offer from the lender name or rate alone. Confirm the full written terms, compare the offer only with genuinely comparable current options, and account for the costs and restrictions that could change the value of staying, asking for another option, or switching.
- ✓Confirm the exact rate, term, scheduled payment, and remaining amortization.
- ✓Compare the same term and mortgage structure rather than unrelated advertised rates.
- ✓Review penalties, prepayment privileges, portability, fees, and restrictions.
- ✓Check the renewal deadline early enough to investigate alternatives.
RBC mortgage renewal review: what to check before you accept
If you already have an RBC renewal offer, review the written rate and the rest of the mortgage terms together rather than judging the offer from the headline rate alone. The renewal rate is only one part of the decision.
Confirm the term, scheduled payment, remaining amortization, penalty wording, prepayment privileges, portability, fees, restrictions, and renewal deadline. For a supported Canadian 3-year or 5-year fixed renewal offer, FairRate can place the written rate beside current dated, like-for-like comparison context without claiming that another rate is guaranteed or available to you.
What a RBC renewal offer does — and does not — prove
A renewal letter tells you what RBC is offering under the written terms shown. It does not, by itself, prove that the offer is fair, unfair, the lowest available rate, or the best overall mortgage for your circumstances.
Review the exact rate, term, fixed or variable structure, scheduled payment, remaining amortization, penalty wording, prepayment privileges, portability, fees, promotional conditions, cashback terms, collateral-charge terms, and other material restrictions together.
How to compare your RBC renewal rate
Start with the same term and product structure as the written offer. A public advertised rate for a different mortgage type, insurance status, transaction, lender channel, or borrower profile is not automatically a valid alternative.
If your RBC offer is a supported Canadian 3-year or 5-year fixed renewal, FairRate can place that written rate beside current dated comparison context and scheduled-payment information. It does not claim that a comparison rate is guaranteed or available to you.
Questions to ask RBC before signing
- What exact rate, term, and fixed or variable structure am I being offered?
- What scheduled payment and remaining amortization are being used?
- How is an early-break penalty calculated?
- What prepayment privileges and payment-increase options apply?
- Is the mortgage portable, and under what conditions?
- Are there fees, cashback terms, promotional conditions, collateral-charge terms, or other restrictions?
- When does the renewal offer expire?
- Can the lender provide the final material terms in writing before I decide?
Ask RBC whether another renewal option is available
You can ask the lender to explain the offer and whether another renewal option is available. Request the final rate, term, payment assumptions, penalty wording, prepayment privileges, portability, fees, and material restrictions in writing.
Do not claim that another lender has guaranteed you a lower rate unless you have an actual written offer. FairRate does not promise that RBC will improve an offer or that a public advertised rate is available to a particular borrower.
Comparing RBC with another lender at renewal
A lower headline rate can be attractive, but a same-lender renewal, straight lender switch, refinance, increased borrowing request, amortization change, borrower change, and other material changes can involve different qualification, documentation, fee, penalty, and timing requirements.
Before relying on an apparent rate difference, verify any discharge or transfer charges, appraisal, legal or notarial, title-insurance, registration, administration, promotional, and other possible costs or restrictions for the exact transaction.
Current FairRate Canada scope
FairRate Canada's benchmark-backed free checker and paid benchmark reports currently support Canadian 3-year and 5-year fixed renewal offers. A variable-rate or other-term offer should not be forced against those fixed-term references.
FairRate is not a lender, mortgage broker, mortgage agent, brokerage, law firm, underwriter, or financial advisor. It does not provide mortgage approval, guarantee another rate, or promise savings or a particular negotiation or switching outcome.
Related Canadian mortgage guides
Frequently asked questions
RBC mortgage review: is RBC a good lender to renew with?
FairRate does not rate or rank lenders, and a lender review cannot tell you whether your own offer is good. What RBC says about renewal: RBC says it starts contacting you about 120 days before your renewal date and lets you renew up to 120 days early without penalty. Unless you renew early, RBC says a renewal form arrives about three weeks before your term ends. RBC says renewing at maturity protects you from a rate increase in the 30 days before your scheduled renewal date. For your renewal, judge the written offer itself: rate, term, payment, amortization, penalty terms, prepayment privileges and fees, compared with current like-for-like rates and the cost of switching.
Is my RBC mortgage renewal offer fair?
Fairness cannot be determined from the lender name or quoted rate alone. Review the exact rate, term, fixed or variable structure, scheduled payment, remaining amortization, penalties, prepayment privileges, portability, fees, conditions, and current like-for-like market context. FairRate's benchmark-backed comparison currently supports Canadian 3-year and 5-year fixed renewal offers.
How do I know whether my RBC renewal rate is competitive?
Compare the written offer with current, dated, like-for-like context for the same term and product structure. A public advertised rate is not automatically comparable or available to you, so also review eligibility, fees, restrictions, mortgage features, and the cost of switching.
Can I ask RBC to review my mortgage renewal offer?
You can ask the lender to explain the offer and whether another renewal option is available. Request the final rate, term, payment assumptions, penalty wording, prepayment privileges, portability, fees, and material restrictions in writing before deciding. FairRate does not promise that a lender will improve an offer.
Should I switch away from RBC at renewal?
A generic website cannot answer that from the rate alone. Compare the full written offer with any genuinely comparable alternative and account for qualification requirements, discharge or transfer charges, appraisal, legal or notarial costs, registration, administration, promotional conditions, and other possible switching costs or restrictions.
Does FairRate publish a special RBC benchmark?
No. FairRate does not claim a lender-specific benchmark, typical RBC renewal rate, or guaranteed alternative rate. The current benchmark-backed checker supports Canadian 3-year and 5-year fixed renewal offers and uses fresh public comparison context when supported context can be verified.