CMHC mortgage insurance offers flexible financing options to help developers build, buy or refinance student housing. This includes financing options like:
higher loan-to-value ratios
loan advances up to 75% of the lending value during construction
lower debt coverage ratios
preferred interest rates
amortization periods up to 40 years for existing properties and 50 years for new construction
Our flexibilities are available for first, second and pari passu mortgages for purpose-built student housing both on- and off-campus. To be eligible, your project must:
have at least 5 rental units
be at least 70% residential in terms of both floor area and the total loan value
have a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 85%
not be subject to any prohibition under the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act
On-campus projects can have a mix of self-contained and non-self-contained units. Off-campus projects can only be self-contained housing with at most 4 bedrooms per unit. They must also be within walking distance to campus or public transit.
In addition, the borrower must have:
5+ years' experience with a similar property (or a property manager with this record)
a net worth of at least 25% of the value of the loan
the capacity to cover a full year at 100% vacancy (for new construction)
the ability to guarantee 100% of the loan until you have 12 consecutive months of stable rents
Energy-efficient refunds
For applications received after March 7, 2022, please refer to the energy efficiency incentives available through our MLI Select product.
For applications received prior to March 7, 2022 borrowers with energy efficient projects may qualify for a 10-15% refund on their loan insurance premiums. For more information, please contact one of our Client Relationship Managers.
Find out more
For more details about our mortgage insurance tools, including:
fill out a Certificate of Insurance — application form (PDF) **Important: To use this interactive PDF, right click (Ctrl + click on Mac) the link to save the file, and then open it in Adobe Acrobat.