MLI Select — the product reshaping Canadian multifamily.
Launched March 2022 as a replacement for MLI Flex, MLI Select is now the dominant CMHC multi-unit insurance product. It awards points for commitments across three pillars — affordability, energy efficiency, and accessibility — and scales financing benefits with total points earned. A minimum of 50 points is required to qualify.
At the top tier (100 points) the benefits are extraordinary: up to 95% loan-to-cost, 50-year amortization, 1.10 minimum DCR, limited recourse, and a 30% premium discount. A single $1.19M four-plex using tier 3 financing typically requires 80% less permanent equity than conventional insured financing and delivers roughly 4–5x the cash-on-cash return.
On July 14, 2025, CMHC fundamentally restructured MLI Select premiums. Flat rates (previously 2.55%, 4.15% etc.) were eliminated in favour of percentage discounts on the MLI Standard LTV-tiered grid, and amortization surcharges now apply for the first time. The same 100-point, 95% LTV, 50-year project that cost 2.55% in premium pre-July 2025 now costs approximately 5.18%.
Three tiers — 50, 70, 100 points.
Every benefit scales with tier. Max LTC, amortization, recourse, and premium discount all increase in lock-step with points earned.
- Max LTC (new)
- 95%
- Max LTV (existing)
- 85%
- Max amortization
- 40 years
- Minimum DCR
- 1.10
- Recourse
- Full
- Max LTC (new)
- 95%
- Max LTV (existing)
- 95%
- Max amortization
- 45 years
- Minimum DCR
- 1.10
- Recourse
- Full
- Max LTC (new)
- 95%
- Max LTV (existing)
- 95%
- Max amortization
- 50 years
- Minimum DCR
- 1.10
- Recourse
- Limited
Affordability — the largest single point source.
Commit a share of units at rents no higher than 30% of the median renter household income (before tax) in the CMA. New construction thresholds are lower than existing-property thresholds because on-site rents in existing buildings are typically already below market. Lock-in period is 10 years minimum, with a 20+ year commitment earning a flat 30-point bonus.
Rent increases on affordable units are limited to applicable provincial rent-control legislation, or where none exists, the lowest provincial CPI. Operators cannot rely on vacancy decontrol to reset rents on affordable units.
| Level | Unit % | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 10% | 50 |
| Level 2 | 15% | 70 |
| Level 3 | 25% | 100 |
| Level | Unit % | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 40% | 50 |
| Level 2 | 60% | 70 |
| Level 3 | 80% | 100 |
Energy efficiency — measurable reductions.
New construction is scored against the 2020 NECB (commercial) or NBC (residential) Tier 1 baseline. Existing properties are scored against pre-retrofit performance. All modelling must be completed by a qualified energy professional.
Photovoltaic solar can contribute to the energy reduction but is capped at 15% of total reductions claimed — envelope and mechanical upgrades must do the bulk of the work. The transition to 2020 NECB/NBC Tier 1 has a grace period running through September 30, 2026.
| Level | NECB | NBC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 25% | 20% | 20 |
| Level 2 | 50% | 40% | 35 |
| Level 3 | 60% | 70% | 50 |
| Level | Reduction | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 15% | 20 |
| Level 2 | 25% | 35 |
| Level 3 | 40% | 50 |
Accessibility — a prerequisite, then a scoring path.
Every MLI Select project must already meet baseline universal design: 100% of units must be visitable per CSA B651:23 and all common areas must be barrier-free. Only projects that exceed these baselines earn accessibility points.
≥15% accessible units (CSA B651:23) or RHFAC v4.0 rating 60–79%
100% accessible or universal design, or RHFAC Gold (≥80%)
How experienced developers actually hit 100 points.
A handful of combinations dominate real MLI Select applications. Without some affordability commitment, a project cannot exceed tier 2 — energy and accessibility together max out at 80 points.
The most common tier 2 path. 10% of units at deep affordability plus a modest energy envelope upgrade.
50 + 30 = 80. Use when municipal incentives are conditional on a 20-year affordability covenant.
25% of units at ≤30% median renter income clears tier 3 on its own.
Maximum reachable without any affordability commitment. Caps at tier 2.
Premiums are no longer flat.
MLI Select now uses the same LTV-tiered grid as MLI Standard. Each tier applies a percentage discount: 10% (tier 1), 20% (tier 2), 30% (tier 3). Amortization surcharges (+0.25% per 5 years beyond 25) apply to MLI Select for the first time.
Previously flat-rate pricing made 50-year amortization effectively free from a premium standpoint. Under the new grid, a 100-point project at 95% LTV with 50-year amortization pays approximately 5.18% versus the previous flat 2.55%. Every pro forma written before July 2025 needs to be rerun.
What Levels 1 and 2 actually require.
Accessibility scoring is often summarized in a single line. In practice there is a hard baseline that gates eligibility for every MLI Select project, plus two distinct pathways — physical design or third-party certification — at each scoring level. Accessibility always requires third-party certification or attestation in the submission package; modelling is not self-declared.
- · 100% of units meet visitability per CSA B651:23 Accessible Design for the Built Environment.
- · All common areas barrier-free.
- · Adaptable bathroom layouts — reinforced walls for future grab-bar installation.
- Physical pathway
- ≥15% of units fully accessible per CSA B651:23 — full barrier-free including 32" doorways, roll-in shower, and turning radius in kitchen and bath.
- Certification pathway
- Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC) v4.0 rating of 60–79%.
- Physical pathway
- 100% of units accessible, OR the entire building meets universal design per CSA B651:23.
- Certification pathway
- RHFAC Gold rating — score of 80% or higher.
Rental Achievement Holdback still applies here.
The July 3, 2025 policy change that removed the Rental Achievement Holdback (RAH) only applies to MLI Standard. MLI Select retained — and in fact formalized — RAH in November 2024. Previously MLI Select had no holdback requirement at all.
Developers running pro formas at 95% LTC commonly miss this. On a risk-based basis at underwriting, effective leverage during lease-up can drop from 95% to 75% — a material equity swing on a 100-point deal.
- Maximum holdback
- Up to 20% of loan amount
- Effective LTC at advance
- 95% → 75%
- Release conditions
- Typically a specified EGI hit for 3 consecutive months, or 90–95% occupancy at underwritten rents.
- Applied
- On a risk-based basis at underwriting — not every MLI Select deal is subject, but every pro forma should model the downside.