Moving In Together in Ontario: Legal Risks for Unmarried Couples

Moving in together often feels like a purely personal step. Legally, it can start the clock on some rights and obligations, while leaving you with no protection in other areas that married couples take for granted.

This article explains, in general terms, what changes when unmarried partners share a home in Ontario and what you can do to protect yourselves. Your situation may differ, so a lawyer can confirm how the rules apply to you.

There is no one definition of common-law spouse

Different laws use different tests for when unmarried partners count as spouses. The word "cohabit" generally means living together in a conjugal relationship, whether or not you are married.

So you could be spouses for one purpose and not another. Always ask which law is in play.

Property: you mostly keep what you buy

Under the Family Law Act, "spouse" for property division means people who are married, so unmarried partners are not included. Ontario does not divide property between common-law couples when they separate, and each partner keeps what they bought.

Furniture and household items belong to the person who bought them. There is an exception: a partner who contributed to property the other owns may have a right to part of it, and may have to go to court if the owner will not agree to pay the contribution back.

The matrimonial home protections also do not cover unmarried partners. If you move into your partner's home, you gain no special right to stay in it. How you hold title matters too: joint tenancy includes a right of survivorship, while a tenancy in common does not.

Support, children and debts

Support is different from property. A spouse must support themselves and the other spouse according to need, to the extent they are able, and this includes a common-law spouse under section 29 of the Family Law Act. Length of cohabitation is one factor a court considers when setting the amount.

Every parent must support their child to the extent they are able, whether or not the parents were ever married.

Debts follow the contract you sign. No Ontario statute makes a common-law partner liable for the other's sole debts, so liability comes from the credit contract itself. Co-borrowers on a joint credit card are equally responsible for the balance, while an additional cardholder is not responsible for repaying it. Joint bank account holders share responsibility for all transactions, and an overdraft may create a debt for everyone on the account.

Protecting yourselves with a cohabitation agreement

Two unmarried people who are cohabiting, or who intend to, may make a cohabitation agreement about their rights and obligations, including property and support. It is unenforceable unless it is in writing, signed by both and witnessed.

• Each partner should speak to a different lawyer, and you should exchange financial information before signing.
• It may deal with the right to direct the children's education and moral training, but not decision-making responsibility or parenting time.
• If you later marry each other, the agreement is deemed to be a marriage contract.
• A court may set it aside if a party failed to disclose significant assets or debts, or did not understand its nature or consequences.

A court can also disregard a child support term that is unreasonable under the child support guidelines.

What to do next

• Write down who owns what now, and who pays for what going forward.
• Decide how you will hold title to any home you buy together.
• Keep records of money you put into the other person's property.
• Check whose name is on the lease, credit cards and bank accounts.
• Talk to a lawyer about a cohabitation agreement before or soon after you move in.

Frequently asked questions