Suing a Former Roommate in Ontario Small Claims Court

Roommate disputes rarely feel like "legal" problems until the person moves out owing you money, having damaged shared property, or holding onto things that aren’t theirs. Because a roommate relationship usually isn’t a landlord-tenant relationship, most of these disputes don’t go through Ontario’s tenant tribunal at all — they go through the regular courts, which means you can generally sue a former roommate in Ontario Small Claims Court.

This article explains why the usual tenancy rules often don’t apply between roommates, what you can actually sue for, and where the process gets more complicated.

Why the Residential Tenancies Act Usually Doesn’t Apply Between Roommates

Ontario’s tenancy protections are built around a landlord-tenant relationship, not a relationship between two people who both simply live in a rented unit. If neither of you is the other’s landlord — you’re both tenants under one lease, or one of you sublets informally to the other without a formal tenancy arrangement — the dispute between you is typically a matter of ordinary contract and property law, resolved in the regular courts rather than the Landlord and Tenant Board.

This distinction matters because it changes where you file, what remedies are available, and how quickly things can move. It’s worth confirming which category your situation falls into before choosing where to start, since filing in the wrong forum wastes time.

What You Can Sue a Former Roommate For

• Unpaid shared expenses — rent, utilities, or other bills the roommate agreed to split but didn’t pay their share of
• Property damage — harm the roommate caused to your personal belongings, or to shared items you paid for
• Unreturned belongings — furniture, appliances, or other property that stayed with the roommate after move-out
• Money advanced on their behalf — for example, if you fronted a shared security deposit or a joint purchase and were never repaid your share
• Unjust enrichment — a more general claim that applies when a roommate benefited at your expense in a way that isn’t fair to leave uncorrected, even without a formal written agreement

Most of these claims rest on a mix of informal agreements, shared understanding, and documented payments — rarely a signed roommate contract, which is why evidence matters so much here.

Special Wrinkle: Joint Leases and Shared Liability to the Landlord

If you and your former roommate were both named on the same lease, you may both be jointly liable to the landlord for the full rent, regardless of any private agreement between you about who pays what share. If your roommate’s non-payment left you covering more than your share to keep the landlord satisfied, that shortfall is often exactly the kind of loss you can pursue from the roommate directly — the landlord relationship and your dispute with your roommate are separate legal tracks.

Evidence That Helps

• [ ] Any written agreement between you and the roommate, even an informal text-based one
• [ ] E-transfer records, bank statements, or receipts showing who paid what
• [ ] Photos of damage, and photos or an inventory of belongings left behind
• [ ] Texts or emails discussing the money owed or the item in dispute
• [ ] A copy of the lease, if a joint lease is part of the story
• [ ] Your written demand for payment or return, and any response

Small Claims Court Process

Once you’ve sent a demand letter and it hasn’t resolved things, filing follows the standard path: a Plaintiff’s Claim, service on your former roommate, a window for them to file a Defence, and — if they do — a mandatory settlement conference before trial. Roommate disputes are usually modest in size and fall comfortably within Small Claims Court’s monetary jurisdiction, which currently sits at $50,000 exclusive of costs and interest (current as of mid-2026 — confirm before filing, since this limit is periodically adjusted).

Frequently asked questions