Does a Common-Law Partner Get Half the House in Ontario?

No, not automatically. Ontario does not require common-law couples to split property acquired while they lived together, and the equalization of net family property applies to married spouses. Unmarried partners also cannot share in the increase in value of property the other brought into the relationship.

Ownership usually decides who keeps what. Furniture, household items and other property belong to the person who bought them. The same goes for a home: common-law partners have no statutory right to share or stay in a home owned by the other partner. There is an exception. A partner who contributed to property the other owns may have a right to part of it, and if the owner will not agree to repay, the partner may have to go to court.

Claims of this kind, often called unjust enrichment or a trust interest, turn on what each person actually put in, such as money or work, so records matter. These claims are decided case by case rather than by a fixed formula, so the outcome depends on the facts. The facts differ in every case, so it is worth speaking with a lawyer early.