Investors
Investment Property Mortgages in Toronto: The 2026 Investor Playbook
Rental offsets, add-backs, DSCR-style programs, and the structures experienced investors use.
Down payment rules for rentals
Non-owner-occupied 1–4 unit residential investment properties require a minimum 20% down payment. Owner-occupied 2–4 unit properties can go as low as 5–10% down with insurance.
Rental offset vs rental add-back
Some lenders subtract 50–80% of expected rent from the PITH (principal, interest, taxes, heat) before calculating your debt ratios — this is rental offset. Others add 50–100% of net rent to your qualifying income — this is rental add-back. The same purchase can qualify with one lender and fail with another based purely on this methodology.
BRRRR and value-add refinances
Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refinance, Repeat works in Toronto when you can force appreciation through legal basement suites, garden suites, or full renovations. The refinance step requires an A or B lender appraiser to validate the new value, with refinances capped at 80% of the new appraised value.
Frequently asked questions
+Can I count Airbnb income for an investment property mortgage?
Most A lenders will only use long-term lease income at standard market rent. A handful of credit unions and B lenders will consider short-term rental income with 12+ months of documented Airbnb history.
+How many investment properties can I qualify for?
There's no hard cap, but rental income methodology and total debt servicing become the constraints. Many serious investors move to lenders who use rental add-back at a higher percentage as their portfolio grows.
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