Reverse mortgage blog
Best Reverse Mortgage Companies & Lenders in Canada (2026)
General information for Canadian homeowners, not personal financial, legal, or tax advice. Rates and lender details verified as of July 18, 2026.
Key takeaways
- Canada has four reverse mortgage lenders — one until 2018, four since Home Trust launched in October 2025 — so the "best" company is the one that fits your age, home, and plan, not a fixed ranking.
- After all four cut rates in 2026, base 5-year fixed rates landed in the low-6% range: Equitable Bank and Home Trust at 6.23%, Bloom 6.33%, HomeEquity Bank (CHIP) 6.39%.
- Advertised set-up fees mislead. A $995 "setup-only" fee and a $1,795 "all-in" fee land close once the second lawyer is added — compare the all-in cost, not the sticker (FCAC).
- The prepayment penalties differ in kind, not just size — some charge a percentage of the balance, others months of interest — a gap that can be worth thousands in the first few years, and one a broker compares for your timeline (how they work).
- The market's top tier for borrowers 70 and older reaches up to 60% — Home Trust's Boost leads it, with HomeEquity's CHIP Max and Equitable's Flex Plus at 59%, all at higher rates than their base products (market data).
- Two of the four are effectively broker-only — Home Trust entirely, and HomeEquity Bank's highest-lending CHIP Max tier — so a homeowner phoning lenders directly cannot see the whole market (compare all four).
There is no single best reverse mortgage company in Canada — its four lenders (HomeEquity Bank’s CHIP, Equitable Bank, Bloom, and Home Trust) each win for a different borrower, so the best fit depends on your age, home, and plan.
Searching for the best reverse mortgage company is the right instinct, but the real answer surprises people: there is no single winner. Canada has exactly four reverse mortgage lenders, they are close competitors, and the one that lends you the most, or charges the least, changes with your age, your home, and how long you plan to keep the mortgage. The same two homeowners can get four different offers. This guide lays out all four side by side — who they are, 2026 rates, what they really cost, how their prepayment penalties compare, and which type of borrower each one tends to suit.
Who offers reverse mortgages in Canada?
Four lenders — and only four. All are federally regulated, and all four carry the No Negative Equity Guarantee, which means you or your estate can never owe more than the home’s fair market value at the time the mortgage becomes due, as long as the homeowner obligations are met — keeping property taxes paid, home insurance in place, the home in reasonable repair, and living there as your primary residence. There are no required monthly mortgage payments with any of them: interest is added to the balance instead, and the loan is repaid when you sell, move out, or pass away. Canada had a single reverse mortgage lender for more than three decades. It now has a genuine market.
| Lender | In the market since | Share of the market | Best known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| HomeEquity Bank (CHIP) | 1986 | ~75% | Canada’s first and largest reverse mortgage — the CHIP brand from television |
| Equitable Bank (Flex) | 2018 | ~23% | Sharp posted rates and borrower-friendly penalty and renewal terms |
| Bloom | 2021 | Under 2.5% combined | A lifetime fixed-rate option and a reloadable equity Mastercard |
| Home Trust (EquityAccess) | October 2025 | Under 2.5% combined | The newest entrant — a full three-tier lineup with sharp base pricing |
Market share tells you who is established, not who is best for you. HomeEquity Bank holds roughly three-quarters of all reverse mortgage balances in Canada, Equitable Bank about 23%, and Bloom and Home Trust together under 2.5% — figures reported by The Globe and Mail and collected in the reverse mortgage statistics for Canada hub. A small, newer book is not a safety concern in itself, because the contract’s protections do not depend on the lender’s size. What it does mean is fewer precedents on things like renewals and estate handling.
One structural fact matters before any comparison. The big banks — RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, and CIBC — do not offer reverse mortgages at all. Ask at a branch and you will usually be referred out to one of the four lenders above. What a branch can offer instead is a HELOC (home equity line of credit) — a different tool with an income test attached, compared head-to-head in reverse mortgage vs HELOC. And two of those four cannot be reached by phoning around: Home Trust’s EquityAccess is sold only through mortgage brokers, and HomeEquity Bank’s highest-lending tier, CHIP Max, is broker-channel too. A homeowner comparing on their own simply cannot see the whole market.
How do the four lenders compare in 2026?
Here is the four-lender board as it stands, using advertised figures and posted rates. Read it as a starting point, not a verdict — the notes underneath each row are where the real differences hide, and picking by a single advertised number is how borrowers end up in the situations documented in the Canadian reverse mortgage horror stories.
| CHIP (HomeEquity Bank) | Flex (Equitable Bank) | Bloom | EquityAccess (Home Trust) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the market since | 1986 | 2018 | 2021 | October 2025 |
| Top share of home value | Up to 55% (59% on CHIP Max) | Up to 55% (59% on Flex Plus, 70+) | Up to 55% | 40% / 55% / 60% by tier (60% advertised at 70+) |
| Base 5-yr fixed (July 2026) | 6.39% | 6.23% | 6.33% | 6.23% |
| Advertised set-up fee | $1,795 (all-in) | $995 (setup only) | ~$1,650 | $995 (setup only) |
| How you get it | Direct or broker (CHIP Max is broker-channel) | Direct or broker | Direct or broker | Mortgage brokers only |
Base rates are as reported by Canadian Mortgage Trends for July 2026, after all four lenders trimmed their rates within weeks of each other. Two cautions belong next to any rate row. Posted rates move often, so treat these as a dated snapshot rather than a promise. And the posted rate is the retail price, not the final one — pricing on a real file depends on age, property, product, and term, which is why the same borrower can see numbers different from these. How those posted numbers get set — and when the lowest sticker is not the cheapest mortgage — is explained in reverse mortgage rates in Canada.
The top-tier figure deserves its own note, because it is the most misread number in the market. It is the tier available to borrowers 70 and older, and no single lender owns it: HomeEquity Bank reaches 59% through CHIP Max, Equitable Bank reaches 59% through Flex Plus, and Home Trust advertises up to 60% through its Boost tier. All three price that extra equity the same way — a higher rate on the entire balance. The market’s top tier is a crowded ceiling, not one company’s edge. What a homeowner can actually access at each age, across all four lenders, is broken down in how much you can get from a reverse mortgage by age.
Which lender lends the most for your home?
A free, no-obligation estimate compares every reverse mortgage lender in Canada for your exact age and home — with no impact on your credit.
Get my free estimateWhich reverse mortgage company is best for you?
The board above tells you what each lender advertises. This is where each one actually shines — and the type of borrower it tends to suit.
HomeEquity Bank (CHIP) — the established giant
CHIP is Canada’s first reverse mortgage, launched in 1986, and HomeEquity Bank still holds about three-quarters of the market. Its practical edge is size and reach: it often lends the most on a given home, it lends in more rural areas than the newer players, and its flagship product has the deepest track record on renewals and estate handling. It is the lender most people have already heard of, from decades of television advertising.
CHIP also has two products the others do not. CHIP Open is a pricier but genuinely open reverse mortgage — it can be repaid in full at any time with no penalty, which makes it the right tool for a planned sale or a short bridge to a downsize. And Income Advantage pays out a set monthly amount rather than a lump sum, which suits a borrower who wants income rather than a large one-time draw. CHIP tends to be the answer for a homeowner who needs the maximum, values the longest history, or has a home outside the newer lenders’ comfort zone. The full independent CHIP review breaks down all four of its products, today’s rates and fees, and who each one actually fits.
Equitable Bank (Flex) — the sharp, borrower-friendly option
Equitable Bank was the first lender to challenge CHIP, in 2018, and it competes hard on the things that quietly cost a borrower money over time. Its base rate is consistently among the lowest of the four, and its early-exit and renewal terms tend to be among the more borrower-friendly — the kind of edge that never shows up in a rate quote but can matter more than one over the life of the mortgage.
Equitable is also unusually flexible on title. It does not require both spouses to be on title, which in the right situation lets a couple qualify on the older spouse’s age alone and access more money. That is a real lever, but it comes with a trade-off around survivor protection that has to be set up carefully with proper legal advice — exactly the kind of thing to work through before signing. Flex tends to suit a rate-conscious borrower, anyone who might repay within the first few years, and couples whose numbers improve under a single-borrower structure. The full independent Equitable Bank review works through the exit-charge math, today’s rates on all three Flex products, and who each one actually fits.
Bloom — rate certainty, portability, and a card
Bloom, launched in 2021, built its appeal around flexibility and certainty. Its SafeRate product is the only lifetime fixed-rate reverse mortgage in Canada — the rate is locked for the life of the initial advance, so the balance ten or twenty years out is fully predictable, and there is no renewal reset to worry about. Bloom is also the only lender offering a genuinely portable reverse mortgage: a borrower who sells and buys again can carry it to the new home rather than repaying and starting over.
The third feature is a reloadable equity Mastercard tied to the mortgage — the homeowner draws and repays a little like a line of credit, and pays interest only on what is actually used. The trade-off with the lifetime-fixed SafeRate is that it is built for the long term, so its early-exit penalties are steeper by design. Bloom tends to suit a borrower who wants a rate locked for life, someone who expects to move and wants to take the mortgage with them, and anyone who values on-demand access to their equity. The full independent Bloom review works through the lifetime-fixed math, today’s rates and fees, and who each piece actually fits.
Home Trust (EquityAccess) — the newest, sharpest-priced entrant
Home Trust launched EquityAccess in October 2025, making it Canada’s fourth and newest reverse mortgage lender. It opened aggressively: a base rate tied for the lowest in the market and a low advertised set-up fee. Its structure is unusual — three separate tiers, from a simple lump sum capped around 40% of home value, up to a Boost tier for borrowers 70 and older that advertises the market’s top ceiling, up to 60%. EquityAccess is broker-only, and it currently lends in seven provinces — Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador — on homes worth $250,000 or more.
The caution is simply its age. Its first renewals will not arrive until around 2028, so it has no renewal track record yet. That is not disqualifying — it is federally regulated and carries the same core protections as the others — but it means fewer years of precedent than the established three, on the things that only show up over time, like how a lender handles a renewal or an estate. The full picture is in the independent review of Home Trust EquityAccess. Home Trust tends to suit a rate-shopper on the base product, an older borrower who needs the top tier, and anyone already working with a broker who can have it quoted alongside the rest.
What do the fees actually add up to?
Comparing lenders on a single advertised set-up fee is the most common mistake in reverse mortgage shopping — and the fee row in the table above is exactly where it happens. The problem is that the advertised numbers do not all include the same things.
A $995 fee at Equitable Bank or Home Trust is a set-up fee only. The homeowner still hires two lawyers: one to handle the lender’s side of the closing, and their own lawyer for the required independent legal advice. HomeEquity Bank’s $1,795 fee is all-in — it already includes the lender’s closing legal work, so the client hires only one lawyer, for the independent legal advice. Add up the real closing statement and the “cheap” lender and the “expensive” lender land much closer together than the stickers suggest.
Here is the full set of one-time costs every reverse mortgage carries, so the comparison is all-in rather than sticker-to-sticker. Almost all of it can be rolled into the mortgage, so there is rarely much to pay out of pocket.
| Cost | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lender set-up fee | $995–$1,795 | Charged by every lender. Some include the lender’s legal work; others bill it separately — which is what makes a low advertised fee misleading |
| Independent legal advice | $800–$1,200 | Required — a private meeting with your own lawyer. Disclosures often quote a lower estimate, but the lawyer bills you directly, so real-world costs run higher |
| Appraisal | $300–$600 (usually $350) | Required on almost every file. Some lenders front the cost and deduct it at closing |
| Discharge fee | $300–$400 | Charged when the mortgage is eventually paid off and removed from title — standard with any mortgage |
There is also a layer the advertised numbers never show. On a file that lenders want to compete for, a set-up fee can often be reduced or waived outright, and the sharpest rates are frequently unpublished — quiet specials that never appear on a lender’s own calculator. Those savings are decided file by file and are never a fixed part of any lender’s sticker, which is one reason the lowest advertised number is rarely the lowest number a borrower actually pays.
How do the prepayment penalties compare?
This is where the four lenders differ more than on rate — and where a headline number tells you the least. A reverse mortgage is not built to be a short-term loan, so repaying in the first few years triggers an early-exit penalty. What matters is that the lenders build that penalty in genuinely different ways, and the gap between them can be worth thousands of dollars.
There are two broad approaches. Some lenders charge a percentage of the balance that declines over the early years. At least one charges months of interest instead — and because a few months’ interest is usually less than a percentage of the whole balance, that approach tends to be far gentler on an early exit, sometimes roughly half the cost in the first year. Which lender uses which, how steep the first-year charge really is, and which structure fits your own timeline are the details that decide thousands of dollars. They are also the details a lender’s website will not lay out for you side by side — and lining them up across all four is a core part of what an independent broker does before you choose.
Three protections apply no matter which lender you end up with, and they are worth knowing before weighing penalties at all:
- The penalty is waived entirely when the last borrower passes away. The estate is given time to settle — 180 to 365 days depending on the product — with no early-repayment charge, and every remaining dollar goes to the estate. The full estate process is covered in what happens to a reverse mortgage when you die.
- A permanent move into long-term care usually eases the penalty — cut roughly in half on standard products, and waived entirely by some. The full mechanics are in what happens to a reverse mortgage if you move into long-term care.
- The penalty clock runs from the day the mortgage first started, and does not reset at renewal — and a reverse mortgage term ends in a rate reset, not a clean break, so you are not automatically free to move the loan without a charge. How a lender treats you at that reset matters as much as the rate it quotes on day one, and it is not something a posted rate reveals.
Every one of these lenders compounds interest the same way — with no required monthly mortgage payments, interest is added to the balance instead. How much that interest adds up to depends on how much you borrow, your rate, and how long the mortgage runs. How much equity you keep is a separate question: your home’s appreciation over those years often offsets much of the interest, and the lender never shares in that growth — it stays yours. Both are worth modelling on your own numbers rather than any rule of thumb:
Here's What Happens to Your Equity
Adjust the sliders below to see how your equity can change over time.
Need more than this estimate?In some situations we can structure additional financing to unlock more of your equity — contact us to see if it fits your situation.
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Your 15-Year Forecast
In 15 years, your home is projected to be worth $1,935,282 (at 4.5% growth). Even with the growing loan balance, you would still have$1,288,355in remaining equity!
*Disclaimer: These projections are for illustration purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Projections assume 4.5% annual appreciation and 6.44% interest rate. Actual results may vary based on market conditions and individual circumstances.
Your 15-Year Forecast
In 15 years, your home is projected to be worth $1,935,282 (at 4.5% growth). Even with the growing loan balance, you would still have$1,288,355in remaining equity!
This calculator is for illustration only. Your real numbers depend on your age, lender, rate, and home value — which is exactly what a free estimate works out for you.
Why isn’t there one “best” reverse mortgage company?
Because the winner changes with the file, and it changes more often than any advertised rate would suggest. Three things decide it, and none of them appear on a lender’s website. (Whether the product itself is right for you at all is a different question — reverse mortgage pros and cons in Canada weighs that one.)
The first is how each lender treats a couple’s age. Some base the amount strictly on the youngest spouse, while others use a combined calculation — and that one difference can qualify the same two people for tens of thousands of dollars more at one lender than another. The second is the home itself: each lender treats property types, values, and locations differently, so a home that one lender values cautiously, another lends against near the top of its range. The third is the part no calculator shows — the unpublished rate specials and negotiated fee reductions that only surface on a competitive file, and the difference between a lender that resets a renewal fairly and one that does not.
None of that is visible to a homeowner phoning lenders one at a time. Two of the four products cannot be reached that way at all, every posted rate is the retail price rather than the broker price, and the fee stickers do not include the same things. This is the real reason the article can only take you to a persona-level answer — “this type of lender tends to suit this type of borrower” — and not to your answer. Your answer is a quote, run on your actual age and home, dated the week you apply. Comparing every reverse mortgage lender in Canada for that quote — and knowing which one bends where — is exactly the job of an independent broker, who is paid by the lender after closing, not by you. How to pick that broker — the licence check and the questions that test any of them — is a page of its own: choosing a reverse mortgage broker in Canada.
Free Guide:The Canadian Reverse Mortgage Guide
- ✓How much tax-free cash you could unlock — and what moves the number
- ✓The real costs, rates, and fees — nothing buried in fine print
- ✓How the lenders (CHIP, Equitable Bank, Home Trust, Bloom) really compare
- ✓When a reverse mortgage is the wrong choice
Simply enter your info below and a PDF copy will instantly be sent right to your inbox.
How big is the reverse mortgage market in Canada?
Big, growing fast, and — for the first time — genuinely competitive. That context matters, because it is the reason all four lenders are sharpening rates and fees at the same moment.
Canada’s first reverse mortgage launched in 1986 and had the market to itself for over three decades. Equitable Bank entered in 2018, Bloom in 2021, and Home Trust in October 2025 — and by mid-2026 all four were cutting rates within weeks of each other to compete for the same borrowers. For homeowners, four regulated lenders bidding for your file is unambiguously good news. It is also exactly why the answer to “which company is best?” keeps moving, and why a comparison dated the day you apply beats any ranking written in advance. The full sourced picture — market size, lender shares, loss data, and how Canada compares abroad — lives in the reverse mortgage statistics for Canada hub, re-verified every quarter.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the best reverse mortgage company in Canada?
There is no single best one. Canada has four reverse mortgage lenders — HomeEquity Bank (CHIP), Equitable Bank, Bloom, and Home Trust — and the right choice depends on your age, your home's value and location, and your plan. HomeEquity Bank often lends the most. Equitable Bank tends to have the sharpest base rate and is among the more borrower-friendly on early exit. Bloom offers a lifetime fixed rate and is the only portable product. Home Trust is the newest, with sharp base pricing. A broker compares all four for your file.
Which reverse mortgage company has the lowest rate in Canada?
As of July 2026, Equitable Bank and Home Trust posted the lowest base 5-year fixed reverse mortgage rate at 6.23%, followed by Bloom at 6.33% and HomeEquity Bank (CHIP) at 6.39%. All four cut rates within weeks of each other in 2026. Posted rates move often and the sharpest pricing is frequently unpublished, so treat any number as a dated snapshot.
Who is the largest reverse mortgage lender in Canada?
HomeEquity Bank, whose CHIP reverse mortgage dates to 1986, is by far the largest — it holds roughly 75% of all reverse mortgage balances in Canada. Equitable Bank holds about 23%, and the two newest lenders, Bloom and Home Trust, together hold under 2.5%.
How many reverse mortgage companies are there in Canada?
Four, all federally regulated: HomeEquity Bank (since 1986), Equitable Bank (2018), Bloom (2021), and Home Trust, which launched EquityAccess in October 2025. Canada had a single reverse mortgage lender until 2018. The big banks — RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC — do not offer reverse mortgages.
Which reverse mortgage has the lowest prepayment penalty?
Reverse mortgage early-exit penalties come in two broad shapes: a percentage of the balance that declines over the early years, or months of interest. The months-of-interest approach is usually the gentler of the two on an early exit — often around half the cost in the first year — and every lender waives the penalty entirely when the last borrower passes away. Which lender uses which, and which one fits your own timeline, is exactly the comparison a broker runs on your file before you choose.
Can you get a reverse mortgage directly from a bank in Canada?
Not from the big banks — none of them offer reverse mortgages, and a branch will usually refer you to one of the four specialized lenders. You can apply directly to HomeEquity Bank, Equitable Bank, or Bloom. Home Trust's EquityAccess is broker-only, and HomeEquity Bank's highest-lending tier, CHIP Max, is also reached through the broker channel — so going direct means you cannot see the whole market.
Is CHIP or Equitable Bank better for a reverse mortgage?
It depends on the goal. HomeEquity Bank's CHIP is Canada's oldest and largest reverse mortgage and often lends the most, which suits a borrower who needs the maximum amount. Equitable Bank's Flex tends to carry a sharper base rate and more borrower-friendly early-exit and renewal terms. The only way to know which wins for you is to have both quoted on your actual age and home — which is what a broker does.
See which reverse mortgage company is best for you
Get a free, no-obligation estimate and see every reverse mortgage lender in Canada compared for your age and home — with no impact on your credit.
Get my free estimate About the author
Richard Hopkins
Licensed Mortgage Broker · M16000896
Richard has worked in the mortgage business since 2013 — first as a mortgage agent, today a licensed mortgage broker — and leads the reverse mortgage practice at Homestead Financial — Dominion Lending Centres, an FSRA-licensed Ontario brokerage (#11711) with roots in the industry since 1999 and more than 2,500 mortgages funded. More about Richard →
This article is general information for Canadian homeowners, not personal financial, legal, or tax advice. Everyone's situation is different — please get advice on your own numbers before making a decision. Rates and lender details verified as of July 18, 2026.