Can You Get a Mortgage on a Modular Home in Ontario?

Start here: Financing a factory-built home in Ontario is the main guide — what you are actually buying, why the payment timing catches buyers out, and what a lender asks for, with a video walkthrough. This page goes deeper on one part of it: how lenders treat each kind of factory-built home.

It Depends on What You're Buying — and Where It Sits

Two questions decide the lender conversation for a factory-built home in Ontario:

1. Which CSA standard is the home built to? CSA A277 (modular) or CSA Z240MH (manufactured).

2. Do you own the land under it? Or is it in a land-lease community, where you own the home and rent the lot?

CSA A277 Modular on Land You Own

A CSA A277-certified modular home set on a permanent foundation on land you own becomes part of the property. Lenders generally treat it the way they treat any other house: a standard residential mortgage, with CMHC-insured financing available if you are putting down less than 20%.

What's different is the timing, not the product. Most of the money for a factory-built home is due before the home exists on your lot, so the financing usually needs to be a construction (draw) mortgage or be arranged to match the manufacturer's payment schedule. Individual lenders also take their own positions, so confirm with yours before you commit to a model.

CSA Z240MH Manufactured on Land You Own

Ontario has no manufactured-home registry — a CSA Z240MH home set on a permanent foundation on land you own is part of that property, the same as any other house on the lot.

Where it differs is lender policy. Some lenders treat a Z240MH home on a permanent foundation exactly like any house. Others add conditions, or decline manufactured homes altogether. That is a lender-by-lender question, and the answer changes over time — which is why it pays to start with someone who knows which lenders are currently saying yes.

RBC, for example, states publicly that it offers the same mortgage terms and standards for manufactured homes as for traditional builds (RBC, December 2025).

Land-Lease Communities: Financing the Home Only

If you're buying a home in a land-lease community, you're financing the home only — not the land. That is a different product, whatever CSA standard the home is built to:

• Most major banks do not lend on a home on leased land. In our experience, RBC is the one major bank with a program for it.
• Specialty lenders and credit unions cover much of the rest, often with a chattel loan secured against the home rather than a conventional mortgage.
• Expect a larger down payment and a somewhat higher rate than a conventional mortgage.
• Lenders look at the land lease itself — how much of the term is left, and the community's rules on resale — so have a copy of the lease ready.

Which lenders are active in this niche, and on what terms, changes. Ask us for the current picture rather than working from a name you read somewhere.

What Lenders Need From You

Standard mortgage application documents (income, credit, ID, down payment), plus the home-specific documents below:

• The home's CSA certification (A277 or Z240MH)
• Foundation engineering or contractor letter (for Z240MH, a foundation built to CSA Z240.10.1)
• Building permit
• Manufacturer's purchase agreement and payment schedule
• For a land-lease community: the land lease

CMHC Mortgage Insurance

If your down payment is less than 20%, the mortgage needs default insurance (CMHC or a private insurer). Insured mortgages are available on homes up to $1.5 million: 5% down on the first $500,000 and 10% on the portion above it. Whether a particular factory-built home is insurable depends on how it is set and titled — a home on a permanent foundation on owned land is treated very differently from one on piers or on leased land — and on the lender's and insurer's criteria. Your lender confirms it.

CMHC's standard premiums (added to your mortgage):

• 5% down: 4.00% of mortgage amount
• 10% down: 3.10% of mortgage amount
• 15% down: 2.80% of mortgage amount
• 20%+ down: no mortgage insurance required

For new construction there is also CMHC Prefab Plus, which insures a factory-built home with construction funds released in stages.

Getting Pre-Approved: What to Tell Your Lender

Be precise about what you are buying. For a CSA A277 modular home:

"I am purchasing a CSA A277-certified modular home to be placed on a permanent [foundation type] on land I own at [address]. I need a residential mortgage, with draws matched to the manufacturer's payment schedule."

For a CSA Z240MH manufactured home:

"I am purchasing a CSA Z240MH manufactured home, to be placed on a permanent foundation built to CSA Z240.10.1 on land I own at [address]."

If the answer at your branch is no, that is one lender's policy — not the market's answer. That is exactly the situation we help with.

Financing Help — Even If You Don't Buy From Us

Modular, prefab and factory-built homes are all we do, and the financing is where most buyers get stuck. Our General Manager, James Clarke, is a licensed Mortgage Agent (Level 2), and together with our network of mortgage brokerage partners we have access to lenders for a wide range of scenarios — including the ones the big banks turn down, like manufactured homes and land-lease communities.

You don't have to buy a home from Modular Homes 400 for us to help you with financing. Whether you're buying from another dealer, buying a resale home, or putting a second unit on a property you already own, the conversation is free.

James Clarke, Mortgage Agent — Get A Better Mortgage Inc., FSRA Brokerage Licence #10874

Ask about financing → or call (416) 244-1400.

This page is general information about how financing for factory-built homes commonly works in Ontario. It is not mortgage advice, a commitment to lend, or an offer of credit, and it does not account for your circumstances. Lender policies and terms vary and change. Modular Homes 400 is not a mortgage brokerage and does not provide mortgage brokerage services. Mortgage brokerage services are provided by James Clarke, Mortgage Agent, Get A Better Mortgage Inc., FSRA Brokerage Licence #10874.