Can I force the sale of a home I co-own using the Partition Act in Ontario?

Often, yes. Under the Partition Act, anyone with an interest in land in Ontario may bring an action or application for partition of the land or for its sale, and joint tenants and tenants in common may be compelled to make or suffer partition or sale. Partition means dividing the land; sale means selling it and sharing the money.

There are limits. Where jointly held land passed by will or intestacy, no partition proceeding may be taken until one year after the death. Spouses face a separate rule about the matrimonial home: no spouse may dispose of or encumber an interest in it unless the other spouse joins in or consents, or another listed exception applies. Whether a court will refuse partition or sale in a particular case depends on the facts, so it is worth getting advice before you start.

How you hold title also matters, and the default rule for co-owners under the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act s. 13(1) does not apply to executors or trustees. When land is granted to two or more people, they are treated as tenants in common unless the document clearly shows they take as joint tenants, even if they are spouses. Either way, the Act reaches both kinds of co-owner.