What actually happens at renewal
When your term ends, the balance you still owe has to be placed on a new term. Your current lender will send a renewal offer, usually a few months ahead, listing rates and terms you can accept by signing.
You can accept it, negotiate it, or move your mortgage to another lender. Nothing obligates you to sign the first number you're shown.
Start four to six months out
Early review gives you time to compare and, if you decide to move, to complete an application without a deadline forcing your hand. Leaving it to the final weeks removes most of your leverage.
Switching lenders at renewal
Switching at the end of your term generally avoids a prepayment penalty, because you're not breaking the mortgage early. A new lender will re-qualify you, which means income, credit and property review again — and the stress test still applies.
Some switches involve legal or discharge fees; some lenders cover them. That's part of the comparison.
What you can change
Term length
A shorter term offers flexibility sooner; a longer one locks in certainty.
Fixed or variable
Your comfort with payment movement matters as much as the rate spread.
Amortization
Shortening it raises the payment and cuts total interest; extending does the reverse.
Payment frequency
Accelerated bi-weekly payments add the equivalent of one extra monthly payment a year.
Adding funds
If you need equity for renovations or debt, renewal is a natural time to refinance.
Run the numbers before you sign
A small rate difference is easy to dismiss until you see it in dollars over a full term. The renewal calculator compares the rate on your letter against another rate, and the rate savings calculator shows total interest side by side.