TorontoReverseMortgage.ca explains what happens to a reverse mortgage when a Toronto homeowner moves into long-term care, and what the family does next.
When a parent moves into care, the family wants to know whether the reverse mortgage must be repaid right away. The challenge is not usually the rule itself. It is the details around it: who else lives in the home, whether the move is permanent, and how many months the lender allows.
This page covers each case, the costs that continue, and the choices for the house.
Does moving into long-term care make a reverse mortgage due?
Yes, when the last borrower moves in permanently. A reverse mortgage becomes due when the home is sold, when the last borrower dies, or when the last borrower moves out for good, and a permanent move into long-term care counts. A temporary hospital, rehab or convalescent stay does not.
| Situation | What happens to the reverse mortgage |
|---|---|
| A hospital, rehab or convalescent stay | Nothing. It is temporary. |
| A dementia diagnosis | Nothing. Taxes, insurance and upkeep continue as before. |
| One spouse moves into care, and the other, also a borrower, stays home | Nothing is triggered. |
| The last borrower moves permanently into care | The mortgage becomes due. |
Why both spouses on the mortgage matters
The spouse at home is protected because both spouses are borrowers. With most lenders, both spouses go on the mortgage, and a spouse who isn’t on title is added at closing. The mortgage becomes due when the only borrower moves into care for good, even with a spouse still living there.
How long does the family have to sell or repay?
Families commonly have up to a year. The time allowed is 180 to 365 days, depending on the product. No monthly mortgage payments are required during that time, but interest keeps adding to the balance until the mortgage is repaid.
Two protections apply:
- A smaller early repayment charge. When the last borrower moves permanently into care, the charge is commonly cut by about half on standard products, and some lenders waive it completely (what a reverse mortgage costs in Toronto).
- Never owing more than the home is worth. This is typically called the no negative equity guarantee. You never owe more than the home’s fair market value on the day the mortgage comes due, as long as taxes, insurance and upkeep were kept up. The guarantee doesn’t cover two things: administrative fees, and interest that builds after the mortgage becomes due.
The house still needs property tax, insurance and upkeep until it is sold. Tell the insurer the house is empty, because most policies stop covering a home after about 30 days unoccupied.
Does reverse mortgage money affect OAS, GIS or the cost of a long-term care bed?
No. Reverse mortgage money is a loan, not income, so it doesn’t reduce Old Age Security (OAS) or the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), and it doesn’t count in the income test Ontario uses to lower the cost of a basic long-term care room. Interest earned on money left in savings does count as income.
Ontario’s maximum charges to residents for accommodation and meals, from July 1, 2026 (Government of Ontario):
| Room | Per day | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $70.00 | $2,129.17 |
| Semi-private | $84.40 | $2,567.17 |
| Private | $100.01 | $3,041.97 |
A resident who can’t afford the basic rate can apply for a rate reduction. Ontario bases it on net income from the latest Notice of Assessment (the yearly tax summary from the Canada Revenue Agency), and a house the resident owns is not counted. A person with no deductions and income below $27,338 would likely qualify (Ontario rate reduction).
How long is the wait for long-term care in Ontario and Toronto?
More than 50,000 people in Ontario are waiting for long-term care, based on Ministry of Long-Term Care data from March 2026. Half of people entering care wait at least 165 days, according to Ontario Health data accessed in March 2024. Both are reported by the Ontario Long Term Care Association.
In Toronto, the City operates 10 long-term care homes with room for 2,619 residents, and their long-stay beds were 97.4% full. On May 1, 2025, those homes had more than 7,500 applications on their waitlists, and over 2,000 named a City home as the first choice (City of Toronto).
A reverse mortgage set up while you still live at home can pay for care there during the wait, as paying for home care in Toronto explains.
What does the family do with the house next?
There are three choices: sell the house, repay the reverse mortgage from other money, or keep the house and rent it. In each case, the reverse mortgage is repaid within the time the lender allows, because it became due when the last borrower moved into care.
- Sell. The owner, or the family on the owner’s behalf, controls the sale, not the lender. The lender is repaid from the sale, and the rest belongs to the owner.
- Repay and keep. Savings or new borrowing repays the balance. New borrowing, such as a regular mortgage or a HELOC (home equity line of credit), is income-tested, as alternatives to a reverse mortgage in Toronto explains.
- Keep and rent. The reverse mortgage still has to be repaid within the lender’s time limit, and the lender’s rules apply until it is.
An empty Toronto house also meets the Vacant Home Tax, 3% of its assessed value a year. The City exempts it for up to two consecutive years while the owner spends at least six months of each year in a hospital, long-term or supportive care facility, if the exemption is declared (City of Toronto). How the Vacant Home Tax treats a parent in care has the details.
An example on a $1,417,600 Toronto house
For example, an illustrative couple, both borrowers, own a detached house worth $1,417,600, the City of Toronto’s benchmark price for a detached house in September 2026 (TRREB Market Watch). When the husband moves into long-term care, nothing changes, because his wife still lives at home and is a borrower too.
Two years later, she moves into care as well, and the mortgage becomes due with a balance of $300,000. Their product allows 365 days. The house is listed and sells seven months later for $1,417,600.
The lender is repaid the $300,000, plus the interest added over those seven months and any reduced early repayment charge. The rest of the $1,417,600, less selling costs, belongs to the couple and can help pay for their care.
Richard Hopkins, Mortgage Broker, can copy adult children on every email and set up three-way calls, so the whole family sees the same numbers.
The bottom line
A move into long-term care makes a reverse mortgage due only when the last borrower moves in permanently, and families commonly have up to a year to sell or repay. Interest keeps adding during that time, and the house still needs its taxes, insurance and upkeep. Toronto's Vacant Home Tax exemption for owners in care covers up to two consecutive years while the house is empty.
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