What is an order for the preservation of property and when is it used before trial in Ontario?

An order for the preservation of property is interim relief available under Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure, allowing a court to order that specific property at the centre of a dispute - the very thing being fought over, rather than assets generally - be preserved in its current state, or held by a neutral party, until the case is resolved. It's used where there's a genuine risk the property itself could be damaged, sold, altered, or lost before trial in a way that would make the eventual judgment meaningless, distinct from a Mareva injunction, which targets a defendant's general assets to secure a future money judgment rather than a specific disputed item.

Common situations include disputes over specific goods, equipment, or a unique asset that's central to the claim itself - for example, where ownership of a particular item is contested and one side is at risk of selling or damaging it before the court can decide who it actually belongs to. As with other interim orders, the applicant generally needs to show a real, specific risk to the property, not just speculation, and courts weigh the burden of the order against the genuine need to preserve the property for a meaningful trial outcome.