How Much Do You Need to Buy Out Your Ex's Share of the House? (Refinance to 95% LTV)

Quick answer: A spousal buyout refinance lets you borrow up to 95% of your home’s current value — well above the standard 80% refinance cap — specifically to pay out a separating spouse’s share, through programs offered by all three Canadian mortgage insurers: CMHC, Sagen, and Canada Guaranty. You need a legally binding Separation Agreement, must income-qualify alone for the full mortgage, and generally need a 680+ credit score for the best rate. Last updated: June 2026.

If your separation agreement says you’re keeping the house, the math usually comes down to one question: how much do you owe your ex for their share, and can you actually borrow that much? A standard refinance caps you at 80% loan-to-value. A spousal buyout doesn’t.

What Is a Spousal Buyout Mortgage?

A spousal buyout mortgage is a refinance product, insured by CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty, that lets a homeowner keeping the matrimonial home after separation borrow up to 95% of the property’s current value specifically to pay out the departing spouse’s equity share. It’s classified as a purchase transaction for insurance purposes rather than an ordinary refinance, which is the technical reason it can exceed the usual 80% refinance ceiling.

How Much Equity Do I Actually Need to Buy Out My Ex?

The amount you need to buy out your ex is typically half of the home’s equity after subtracting the existing mortgage balance, though the exact split depends on your separation agreement and provincial family law, not a fixed formula. Here’s how that translates into borrowing room under the 95% LTV program versus a standard refinance:

In each case, the 95% LTV spousal buyout program unlocks well over $80,000-$130,000 in additional borrowing capacity compared with a standard refinance — often the exact gap between what a spouse owes and what an ordinary refinance would let them access.

What Documents Do I Need Before a Lender Will Even Consider This?

You need a formal, legally binding Separation Agreement before any lender will underwrite a spousal buyout — a verbal understanding, a draft agreement, or an informal split of belongings is not sufficient. The separation agreement is what establishes the buyout amount, confirms both parties’ consent to the transaction, and gives the lender a legal basis for removing the departing spouse from title and the mortgage.

Can I Qualify for the Full Mortgage on My Own Income?

You must income-qualify for the entire new mortgage by yourself, since the departing spouse is being removed from both title and the mortgage obligation. This is often the harder qualifying hurdle than the loan-to-value limit itself — a household that comfortably carried a mortgage on two incomes doesn’t automatically qualify on one.

Two things can help close that gap:

• Spousal or child support payments you receive can typically be counted as qualifying income if they’re documented in the separation agreement.
• A 680+ credit score is generally needed to access the best rates and the full 95% LTV program; lower scores may still qualify through a B-lender at a higher rate.

What If I Need to Roll in Joint Debt Too?

Joint debts accumulated during the relationship, and even a lump-sum payout amount owed to the departing spouse, can typically be rolled directly into the new spousal buyout mortgage amount rather than paid separately in cash. This is one of the program’s practical advantages over a standard refinance — it’s built to handle exactly this kind of multi-part separation settlement in a single transaction.

Spousal Buyout vs. Selling the House: Which Costs Less?

A spousal buyout keeps one party in the home and converts the other party’s equity into a cash payout funded by a refinance, while selling splits the net proceeds after paying off the existing mortgage and selling costs — the cheaper option depends mainly on whether the keeping spouse can carry the new mortgage alone and whether avoiding moving and selling costs outweighs the cost of mortgage default insurance on the buyout.

If the keeping spouse can’t realistically qualify for the full mortgage even with support income counted, selling and splitting the proceeds is usually the more honest answer than stretching into a buyout that fails within a year or two.

What Happens to the Original Mortgage During a Buyout?

The original joint mortgage is paid off and replaced entirely by the new spousal buyout mortgage in the keeping spouse’s name alone — it is not simply transferred or assumed, because the departing spouse must be fully released from the debt obligation, not just removed from title. This is part of why a full refinance, with its own approval process, appraisal, and insurance premium (if applicable), is required rather than a simpler administrative change.

The departing spouse should confirm in writing, as part of the separation agreement, that they are being formally released from the original mortgage once the buyout closes — being removed from title without being released from the mortgage debt is a risk worth having a lawyer confirm doesn’t happen.

Bottom Line

The 95% LTV spousal buyout program exists because a standard 80% refinance often isn’t enough to actually pay out a separating spouse — and lenders, and all three Canadian mortgage insurers, built a specific exception for it. The two things that determine whether it works for you are a finalized separation agreement and whether your income alone supports the full mortgage; everything else in the file is usually solvable once those two pieces are in place.