Apartment property (5+ units)
Purchase, refinance, bridge or stabilization where property income supports the request.
- ✓ Current rent roll and leases
- ✓ Trailing operating statement
- ✓ Unit count, occupancy and planned work
Property financing in London.
Commercial, rental, construction, and alternative mortgage files in London are shaped by the property, the financing purpose, and the exit.
Province-wide service from our licensed Ontario brokerage. Open Financial does not maintain a local office in London.
The short version
London isn't one property market.
London has ordinary family homes, student rentals, converted houses and purpose-built apartments living in the same market. Strong rental demand near a campus does not automatically make every bedroom or unit legal, rentable or acceptable to a lender.
For an income property, we would reconcile the City record, licence if required, leases and actual expenses. For a home purchase, we would keep projected future rent separate until the unit and lender treatment are confirmed.
Choose the file you actually have
Start with the property, not a generic mortgage form.
Business-owner property
Commercial real estate occupied or acquired by the operating business.
- ✓ Property details and intended business use
- ✓ Business financial statements
- ✓ Purchase terms or current mortgage statement
Construction or land
Land, infill, conversion or construction where timing and the next financing stage matter.
- ✓ Plans and permit status
- ✓ Line-item budget and contingency
- ✓ Current value, completed value and exit plan
Start here
Three things we would check first.
- 1
Rental licensing belongs in the file
London licenses specified residential rental units and publishes application, inspection, and renewal requirements. The program applies by property type and use, so owners should confirm whether their property must be licensed.
A licence does not replace zoning or building compliance, but it helps document lawful operation. Missing or inconsistent records can delay an appraisal or force a lender to ignore part of the rent roll.
[1] Residential rental unit licences - 2
Additional units have both permit and licence steps
The City’s additional residential unit page directs owners to zoning and building-permit review and notes the rental-licence process. It also explains that development-charge exemptions can apply only when statutory conditions are met.
Separate the cost to create and legalize the unit from ordinary renovation. Future rent should be paired with the permit path, expected completion, and the lender’s policy for proposed rental income.
[2] Additional residential units - 3
London publishes project-specific charge rules
London maintains current development-charge rates, by-laws, exemptions, and timing information. Additional units, rental projects, demolition credits, and redevelopment can receive different treatment.
Use the current City calculation, especially where a project relies on an exemption or credit. A charge payable at permit can create an equity need before the lender’s first construction advance.
[3] Development charges
A simple example
Refinancing a converted rental near campus
Illustrative only: an owner presents a London house as a five-bedroom rental with strong gross income. Municipal and licensing records describe fewer legal dwelling units, and several leases turn over before the planned refinance.
The appraisal and lender package use the lawful property configuration, signed leases, normalized expenses, and near-term vacancy. Any legalization or renovation is budgeted separately. The loan is not sized solely by multiplying bedroom rent or an unverified future NOI.
This is an invented example that explains the review. It is not a client result, quote, approval, appraisal, rate, or expected outcome.
A little local context
422,324
people lived in London in the 2021 Census.
London has a fairly even mix of detached homes and apartments compared with many Ontario cities. That variety is useful context, but a rent roll and municipal record are what make a rental file believable.
Statistics Canada counted 174,657 occupied private homes. These figures are background, not current prices, a forecast, or evidence for one appraisal.
[4] Statistics Canada 2021 Census ProfileWhat to send us
Enough to understand the file.
You do not need a perfect package to start. An address or listing and a plain explanation are useful.
The property address, listing, or a short description
The purchase price or value, amount needed, purpose, and timing
Verify unit legality, leases, market-rent support, and a normalized expense statement.
Keep renovation or construction proceeds separate from the permanent take-out calculation.
Stress-test vacancy, lease-up, interest carry, and cost overruns before relying on future NOI.
Financing paths that may fit the property
Local questions
Questions people actually ask in London.
These are general answers. The municipality and lender still need to confirm the actual property and transaction.
Does a London rental licence prove every unit is legal?
Not by itself. Licensing, zoning, building permits, fire compliance, and lender acceptance are related but separate. Reconcile the City records and provide the lender with an accurate unit and occupancy description.
Can student rent be treated like ordinary apartment rent?
The lender may review room-by-room leases, turnover, utilities, management, and vacancy differently. Provide the actual lease structure and normalized expenses rather than relying on peak gross rent.
Are additional units exempt from London development charges?
Some additional units may qualify under statutory rules, but the conditions and project facts matter. Confirm the exemption with the City before removing the charge from a construction budget.
What is stabilization on a London apartment project?
It is the point when completed units, occupancy, rents, and operating expenses are sufficiently established for a permanent lender’s underwriting. The definition and evidence vary by lender; a certificate of occupancy alone may not establish stabilized NOI.
What should be reconciled before a London rental refinance?
Compare the rent roll, leases, deposits, bank records, licence, property taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs, and municipal unit description. Explain vacancies, related-party tenants, concessions, and capital work so the lender can reproduce the NOI.
Local references
Where the local claims came from.
- [1] Residential rental unit licences (City of London)
- [2] Additional residential units (City of London)
- [3] Development charges (City of London)
- [4] 2021 Census Profile (Statistics Canada)
- Official city website
Research checked August 27, 2026. Municipal information changes, so confirm it for the property before relying on it. Reviewed for Open Financial by Principal Broker: Marcel Greaux, Lic. M10002478.
Nearby location guides
Start with the property
Tell us what you are trying to do in London.
The intake carries the city, property purpose and timing into the broker review. It is an enquiry, not an application or commitment to lend.
Garrison Capital Corp., operating as Open Financial | FSRA Mortgage Brokerage Licence #13362. Information is general and location-aware, but it is not legal, planning, appraisal, tax, or mortgage advice and does not guarantee approval, proceeds, pricing, timing, or funding.