Can My Common-Law Partner Kick Me Out of the House in Ontario?

A breakup can turn a home into a flashpoint. One partner says the other has to go, the locks may change, and belongings end up in bags. If you are the partner who is not on the lease or the title, it can feel as though you have no rights at all.

The honest answer is that it depends. This article explains the main situations in Ontario, what the rental rules say about lockouts, and the steps people often take quickly. It is general information, and a lawyer can apply it to your facts.

Start with the paperwork: lease or ownership

Your position turns on how the home is held. If you rent, the question is who is a tenant. If your partner owns the home, the question is different and the answers are not as simple as married-couple rules. Common law couples are not legally required to split property acquired while living together, and property belongs to the person who bought it. The equal-split rule for married spouses does not apply to them.

That does not mean a non-owner partner has no options. A partner who contributed to property the other partner owns may have a right to part of it. Unless the other partner agrees to pay them back, they may have to go to court to recover the contribution. Whether this applies, and how it affects staying in the home, is a question for a lawyer.

If you rent: tenants and spouses

For rental law, an unmarried partner counts as a spouse only if in a conjugal relationship outside marriage and meeting one of three tests: at least one year of cohabitation, being parents of a child together, or having a cohabitation agreement under the Family Law Act. A spouse not named on the tenancy agreement may not be a tenant.

If the tenant leaves without notice or agreement to end the tenancy and the spouse stays in the unit as their principal residence, the spouse becomes a tenant. There are exceptions, including a building with no more than three units where the landlord lives, and a spouse who moves out within 60 days. The extended definition does not apply to social housing or care homes.

Lockouts and evictions

A landlord can end a tenancy only for reasons allowed by the Act, by applying to the LTB. An eviction order can be enforced only by the Court Enforcement Office (sheriff).

If you are a tenant locked out without an order, you can call police, contact the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit, or apply to the LTB on Form T2. The LTB can order rent abatement, out-of-pocket costs and an administrative fine, and a request can be made to shorten time.

Act quickly. Once another tenant lives in the unit, the LTB cannot order the landlord to let a locked-out tenant back in. Because the LTB has announced process changes, check the Tribunals Ontario website for current steps.

If you are an owner's partner and not a tenant

If your partner owns the home and you are not on title or a lease, the rental protections described above may not fit. Whether and how you can be required to leave depends on the facts, so do not assume either way. Document your contributions, such as mortgage payments, renovations or bills, because contributions to property the other partner owns can support a claim.

• Do not sign anything agreeing to leave without understanding it.
• Keep proof of payments you made toward the home.
• Note dates and what was said if you are told to leave.

What to do next

• Find your lease or title documents and check whose names appear.
• Take photos of the unit, your belongings and any changed locks, with dates.
• If you have been locked out of a rental, consider calling police, contacting the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit, or applying on Form T2 right away.
• Remember that time matters if someone else moves in.
• Arrange a safe place to stay if you feel unsafe; if there are children or family violence, tell your lawyer, because both are considered in parenting matters.
• Speak with a lawyer about your contributions and options.

Frequently asked questions