Power of Sale in Ontario: The Timeline, and Where You Can Still Stop It
A notice of sale under mortgage is not an eviction notice, and not a court order. In Ontario, a lender cannot send that notice until you have been in default at least 15 days, and cannot sell for at least 35 days after it goes out. Inside that window you have a statutory right to bring the mortgage current — arrears and the lender’s necessary expenses, not the whole balance. The real question is not whether it can be stopped, but what has to happen, and when.
Power of sale and foreclosure are not the same thing
Power of sale is contractual and happens outside court. Nearly every residential mortgage in Ontario contains its own power of sale clause, and Part III of the Mortgages Act controls notice, timing and service. No judge, no statement of claim, no hearing.
Foreclosure is a court action under Rule 64 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. A defendant who wants to redeem files a request to redeem (Form 64A), which buys 60 days to pay once the account is taken. A final order of foreclosure vests the property in the lender outright, with no surplus to account for — one reason it is uncommon here.
A statutory power of sale exists under s. 24, but only where the mortgage has none of its own (s. 30): three months of default, then 45 days notice.
The timeline: 15 days, then 35
Section 32 sets both ends. Notice “shall not be given until the default has continued for at least fifteen days,” and “the sale shall not be made for at least thirty-five days after the notice has been given.”
Service is by personal service or registered mail (s. 33), and registered mail is deemed given on the day it was mailed (s. 34) — so the 35 days runs from the mailing date, not the day you opened it. Longer periods in your mortgage govern instead (s. 37), and these rules bind “despite any agreement to the contrary” (s. 38). The floor is therefore about 50 days from default to sale. It usually runs longer, but that is not a right.
The notice does not go to you alone. Section 31 requires it to reach everyone registered behind the lender — the parcel register or abstract index, plus the index of executions and writs. A second mortgagee, a lien claimant and a judgment creditor with a registered writ all get a copy, so check what sits on your title now.
What the notice must contain
The form is prescribed: Form 1, Notice of Sale under Mortgage, under O. Reg. 814/21. It must identify the mortgage, the parties and the property, state that default has been made, and itemize what is claimed — principal, interest, any taxes or insurance premiums, and costs. It must give a payment date “not less than thirty-five days from the service of the notice” and tell you that you “may be entitled to redeem the same.”
Read the itemization first: that figure, not your mortgage balance, is usually the real fight.
Bringing the mortgage current
Section 22 is the provision most homeowners never hear about. Despite any agreement to the contrary, at any time before sale you may pay the amount due “exclusive of the money not payable by reason merely of lapse of time,” plus “any expenses necessarily incurred by the mortgagee,” and you are “relieved from the consequences of such default.” In plain terms: arrears and necessary costs, not the accelerated balance, and the mortgage continues.
It also gives you a tool with teeth: you can demand, in writing, a statement of what you are in default and of the expenses claimed. The lender must answer within 15 days, and if it fails without reasonable excuse, or answers incompletely or incorrectly, its rights to enforce the mortgage are suspended until it complies. Costs are not a blank cheque: under s. 43 they can be assessed by an assessment officer without a court order.
After a sale: surplus and shortfall
Section 27 fixes how proceeds are applied: sale expenses, then the interest, costs and principal on the mortgage sold under, then subsequent encumbrancers by priority — “and the residue shall be paid to the mortgagor.” Any surplus is yours, but only after everything registered behind the mortgage is paid.
A shortfall does not disappear: whoever signed the covenant stays personally liable, and the lender can sue for the deficiency like any other creditor — see whether a creditor can take your house.
Second mortgages and private lenders
Same statute, same clock. A second mortgagee’s notice need not go to the first (s. 31 excludes interests ranking ahead of its own), and a second typically sells subject to the first or pays it out on closing. When a first mortgagee sells, the second’s security comes off title but is paid from the proceeds before any residue reaches you.
Private mortgages here are usually arranged through a licensed brokerage and serviced by a licensed administrator, both regulated by FSRA — which can check whether they followed the rules, but cannot settle a contract dispute or get compensation for you.
What realistically stops it
Roughly in order of how often it works: pay the arrears and necessary costs under s. 22 before the sale; refinance or redeem in full; sell it yourself, which usually nets more than a lender’s sale; or negotiate a forbearance. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada expects federally regulated lenders to consider deferrals, extended amortization and capitalizing missed payments; private lenders are not bound by that, but a sale costs them money too.
Court helps in narrow cases. Once an action has been commenced, s. 23 lets you pay $100 into court as security for costs and apply for relief: on payment of what is due plus the costs of the action, the court shall dismiss the action if no judgment has yet been recovered. Otherwise you are arguing defective notice or bad faith, and under s. 36, once notice has been given in professed compliance, the purchaser’s title cannot be impeached; your remedy is damages against whoever exercised the power. After a sale you are suing for money, not getting the house back.
An insolvency filing does not stop it on its own: under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, a consumer proposal (s. 69.2(4)) or bankruptcy (s. 69.3(2)) “does not prevent a secured creditor from realizing or otherwise dealing with his security.” It can still help indirectly — clearing unsecured debt may free the cash flow to carry the mortgage: see a consumer proposal versus defending a lawsuit.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I actually have after a notice of sale? At least 35 days from the date the notice was given — and if it came by registered mail, that is the day it was mailed. A longer period in your mortgage governs instead.
Do I have to pay off the whole mortgage, or just the missed payments? Section 22 lets you cure the default by paying the amount due excluding the portion accelerated by the default, plus the lender’s necessarily incurred expenses, at any time before sale.
Will a consumer proposal or bankruptcy stop the sale? Not by itself. The BIA stays say expressly that filing does not prevent a secured creditor from realizing on its security.
Don’t spend the 35 days deciding
The most expensive thing to do with a notice of sale is wait. Reinstating, refinancing, selling it yourself, a written forbearance — each needs lead time, and once the property changes hands the argument becomes a damages claim. Send us the notice and the mortgage, and we will work out what your redemption figure should be and which routes are still open.
Sources: Mortgages Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.40, ss. 22–27, 31–43 · O. Reg. 814/21 (Forms) under the Mortgages Act · Form 1, Notice of Sale under Mortgage — Ontario Court Forms · Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, r. 64 · Power of sale assignments — Government of Ontario · Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. B-3, ss. 69.2, 69.3 · Paying your mortgage when experiencing financial difficulties — FCAC · Mortgage relief options — FCAC · File a complaint against a mortgage brokerage, agent or administrator — FSRA. General information for Ontario, not legal advice.
General information for Ontario, not legal advice. Reviewed by Angelos Spingos. Last reviewed September 21, 2026.