Costs Awards Against Self-Represented Litigants in Ontario

Representing yourself in an Ontario lawsuit can feel like a way to control costs — no hourly legal fees to worry about. But there is a common misconception worth clearing up early: going it alone does not shield you from being ordered to pay the other side's costs if you lose.

Costs awards against self-represented litigants work on the same basic principle as costs awards against anyone else. The details, however, differ in a few important ways — both in what you might owe if you lose, and what you might recover if you win.

This article walks through how Ontario courts approach costs when one or both parties are unrepresented.

The Core Principle Doesn't Change

Ontario civil litigation generally runs on a "loser pays" approach: the unsuccessful party is usually ordered to contribute toward the successful party's costs. This principle applies regardless of whether either side has a lawyer. A self-represented plaintiff who loses can be ordered to pay the defendant's costs. A self-represented defendant who loses can be ordered to pay the plaintiff's costs.

Costs are always at the court's discretion — there is no fixed formula — but the starting assumption is the same one that applies to represented parties.

What Changes When You Represent Yourself

While the underlying principle is the same, a few practical things differ:

• What the other side can claim. If the other side has a lawyer and wins, their costs claim will typically include actual legal fees paid, which can be significant depending on how far the case went.
• What you can recover if you win. As a self-represented party, you generally have no legal fees to be reimbursed for. Courts can still recognize your time and effort, and your out-of-pocket disbursements, but this is often a more modest amount than a represented party's costs award.
• How your conduct is assessed. Courts generally still hold self-represented parties to the same procedural rules as everyone else, though some accommodation for unfamiliarity with process is common in practice.

What You Can Recover If You Win, Self-Represented

If you succeed in your claim or defence without a lawyer, you may still recover:

• [ ] Filing and process fees you paid the court
• [ ] Service costs, such as a process server or registered mail
• [ ] Reasonable disbursements directly tied to the case, like copying or expert reports
• [ ] Some allowance for your own time and effort, at the court's discretion

What you will not recover is a lawyer's hourly fee, since you did not pay one. This is the main reason self-represented costs awards tend to be smaller than costs awards involving a lawyer on the winning side — not because the rules discriminate against self-represented parties, but because there is less actual expense to offset.

Why This Catches People Off Guard

Many people assume that representing themselves removes financial risk entirely. It reduces one kind of risk — your own legal fees — but does not remove another: a costs order against you if you lose. Two scenarios illustrate this:

Scenario A — You sue without a lawyer, lose, and the defendant had counsel. You may be ordered to contribute to the defendant's actual legal costs, which can be a meaningful amount even though you spent nothing on a lawyer yourself.

Scenario B — You sue without a lawyer and win, but the defendant also represented themselves. Your costs recovery is likely to be modest, since neither side incurred legal fees — you are largely limited to disbursements and a modest allowance for your time.

Protecting Yourself on Costs as a Self-Represented Party

• Understand your realistic costs exposure before you file or defend a claim, not after
• Keep organized records of every disbursement so you can support a costs claim if you win
• Consider a limited-scope consultation with a lawyer at key decision points, even if you plan to run most of the case yourself
• Take settlement offers seriously — rejecting a reasonable offer and doing worse at trial can affect the costs outcome
• Remember that Small Claims Court's costs approach is generally more modest and proportionate than Superior Court's, regardless of representation

Frequently asked questions