Multi-unit construction financing.
Purpose-built rental, townhomes, and infill projects — from MLI Select's 95% loan-to-cost to conventional and private lanes. BC and Alberta.
Multi-unit construction runs on a paradox: the cheapest capital in the country — CMHC's MLI Select — is also the slowest to commit, while the fastest capital is the most expensive. The projects that pencil are the ones that sequence the two deliberately: score the MLI points early, start the application while entitlements are still moving, and let conventional or private money carry exactly the phases the insured program can't. The developers who treat financing as phase one, not paperwork, are the ones still building when rates wobble.
From fourplex infill to rental towers.
The MLI Select flagship — construction and the long-amortization take-out approved together.
For-sale and build-to-rent multi-unit product, institutional or private.
Conventional construction debt sized to pre-sales, costs, and sponsor strength.
Five and six units to small apartment buildings — the scale most lenders quietly underserve. Up to four units lives on our single-family-to-fourplex page.
Residential-majority projects that can still ride CMHC programs — the 30% rule applies.
Projects mid-build that need restructuring — see our private construction loans page.
Three lanes to a finished building.
The lowest-cost rental construction capital in Canada — bought with a 9–12 month commitment runway. The application starts long before the excavator does; we score the project against the point tiers first.
Faster to commitment than CMHC and far more flexible on product type — the price is more equity in the deal and a higher coupon.
The phase before the phase: carries the project to the point where institutional or insured money takes over. Full detail on the private construction loans page.
Rates, ratios, and leverage are typical ranges for illustration — last reviewed July 2026. For the finished-building side, see the multi-family mortgages page.
Files like yours.
Common development-financing questions.
What does CMHC MLI Select do for a construction project?+
It finances up to 95% of construction cost and underwrites the long-amortization take-out — up to 50 years — in the same approval, at insured spreads typically 100–175 bps inside conventional. Projects earn it through the 50/70/100 point tiers for affordability, energy, and accessibility commitments. It is the single biggest financing lever in Canadian rental development.
How early should the MLI Select application start?+
Plan 9–12 months from application to commitment. That runway is the program's real price, and it's why we score the project against the point tiers and start the file while zoning and drawings are still moving — a project that waits for its building permit to apply has volunteered for a year of land-carry costs.
How do construction draws work on a multi-unit project?+
On MLI files, monthly cost-to-complete draws certified by a CMHC-approved quantity surveyor; on conventional files, appraiser-inspected progress advances. Both provinces layer the statutory 10% builders-lien holdback on top — the release timelines differ between BC and Alberta, and the take-out timing has to respect them.
Can a mixed-use project use CMHC construction financing?+
Yes, if the residential share dominates: the non-residential portion must stay within 30% of both gross floor area and lending value. A rental building over ground-floor retail typically qualifies; beyond the line, the project prices conventionally.
What if my project doesn't fit CMHC — or can't wait for it?+
Conventional construction debt funds to about 75% of cost on the sponsor's strength and pre-sales, at floating pricing. And when even that timeline is too slow — or the project needs restructuring mid-build — private capital carries it to the point where cheaper money takes over.
What happens at completion?+
MLI Select projects roll into their pre-underwritten take-out. Conventional projects refinance at stabilization — often into insured money at that point, once the rent roll is real. Either way, the exit is designed before ground breaks; see our take-out financing page for the mechanics.
Developing? Have these ready.
- Project pro forma — costs, rents or sale prices, and the stabilized picture
- Drawings, zoning status, and permits (or the path to them)
- Land title or purchase contract, and equity in the deal
- Construction budget with contingency, and the builder/GC's track record
- Sponsor net-worth statements, T1s/T2s, and corporate structure
- For MLI Select: the affordability, energy, or accessibility commitments you'd make
- Rent comparables or pre-sale evidence — we help assemble both
- 'As-complete' appraisal — we can order
Have a project? Score it before you carry it.
Send the pro forma and the site — we'll score it against MLI Select's tiers and show you the full capital stack before land-carry costs start eating the margin.