Can I get MLI Select on a fourplex?

No. MLI Select requirements are five or more residential units. A fourplex uses conventional leverage on this desk.

Should I pay up to buy a five-unit instead?

Only if the fifth unit is legal and the insured stack still clears DSCR after the premium. A higher ask that only works at 95% LTV is a financing bet, not a better building.

Does the stress test still apply at five units?

Commercial and CMHC files use lender DSCR tests, not the same B-20 residential qualifying rate. This desk still shows a qualifying-rate row so you can compare stacks on one page.

Fourplex vs 5-unit financing in Canada

Four units is residential. Five units can be CMHC MLI Select. The extra door is not free optionality — it has to be legal, finished, and worth the insured stack after points and the premium.

The split

One to four units typically prices as a residential mortgage: 20–25% down on an investment hold, 25-year amortization, and the OSFI qualifying-rate stress test. Five or more units can take the commercial / MLI Select path: higher LTV, longer amortization, and an insurance premium, if the building clears CMHC points.

When the fifth unit is real

A legal, occupied fifth suite can change cash to close and the payment enough to clear a DSCR that fails on four doors. Run the conventional fourplex stack and the insured five-unit stack on the same rent roll. If only the insured path works, MLI Select approval is a condition.

When it is a story

“Potential fifth unit,” a cellar, or a unit that fails fire separation is still a fourplex. Do not pay a five-unit price or model 90% LTV on paper doors. Conversion cost, vacancy during work, and whether the city will recognize the unit belong in the offer — not in the going-in cap.

Questions

Can I get MLI Select on a fourplex?: No. MLI Select requirements are five or more residential units. A fourplex uses conventional leverage on this desk.
Should I pay up to buy a five-unit instead?: Only if the fifth unit is legal and the insured stack still clears DSCR after the premium. A higher ask that only works at 95% LTV is a financing bet, not a better building.
Does the stress test still apply at five units?: Commercial and CMHC files use lender DSCR tests, not the same B-20 residential qualifying rate. This desk still shows a qualifying-rate row so you can compare stacks on one page.

Underwrite both stacks

Analysis for information only. Not lending, tax, legal, or investment advice. Confirm current CMHC and OSFI rules with a licensed advisor.