Quick answer
Squatters do not gain ownership of a property, or a right to stay, just by living in it. In Ontario, what an occupier is entitled to depends on how they came to be there. A person who pays rent for a home, under a written, oral or implied agreement, can be a tenant, and then the owner cannot recover possession unless the tenant has left or the Landlord and Tenant Board has ordered an eviction. A person with no such arrangement who does not leave when told to may be committing an offence under the Trespass to Property Act, which carries a fine of up to $10,000.
Only an occupier who has been in open, continuous possession as if they owned the land for at least 10 years can try to claim it by adverse possession, and that route is closed for land registered under the Land Titles Act. Owners should not change locks, remove belongings or cut off services until they know which situation they are in. A real estate lawyer can tell you which one applies to you and what your options are.
“Squatter” is a word people use for very different situations: a stranger who moves into an empty house, a former tenant who stays after the lease ends, a relative who will not leave a property after a falling-out, or a neighbour whose fence has crept onto someone else’s land. The law treats each of them differently. This article explains the main rules in Ontario for owners and for occupiers. Property law is made by each province, so the answer to “do squatters have rights in Canada” depends on the province, and this article covers Ontario. For the 10-year rule in detail, see our article on adverse possession in Ontario.
Do Squatters Have Rights in Ontario?
Not automatically. Simply being on a property, even for a long time, does not give a person title to it or a right to stay. An occupier can have rights in three situations, and the first question in any dispute is which one fits the facts:
- The occupier is a tenant. Ontario’s residential tenancy law gives tenants protection from being removed without the proper process.
- The occupier is a trespasser. The Trespass to Property Act lets an owner direct the person to leave and makes it an offence to stay, subject to a defence for a person who reasonably believed they had an interest in the land.
- The occupier has possessed the land for at least 10 years. This is adverse possession, and it does not work in every case.
Tenant, Trespasser or Guest? Why the Label Matters
If the occupier may be a tenant
Under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, a tenancy agreement can be written, oral or implied, and it includes a licence to occupy. A tenant includes a person who pays rent in return for the right to occupy a rental unit (section 2(1)). That means a person with no lease who has been paying the owner, or someone the owner, a relative or a previous owner allowed to move in, may be a tenant. Whether they are is a question of fact.
The consequences for an owner are serious. A landlord cannot recover possession of a rental unit subject to a tenancy unless the tenant has vacated or abandoned it, or an order of the Landlord and Tenant Board evicting the tenant has authorized the possession (section 39). Property cannot be seized from a tenant without legal process (section 40). The Act also makes it an offence to knowingly change the locks on a rental unit in a way that breaks the Act, to withhold or interfere with a vital service such as water, heat or electricity, or to seize a tenant’s property contrary to the Act (section 233). If there is any chance the occupier is a tenant, do not change the locks, shut off utilities or remove belongings. Get advice first.
Be careful about taking money from an occupant without advice, because paying rent for the right to occupy is part of the definition of a tenant. For tenancy issues generally, see our residential leases service page.
If the occupier is a trespasser
The Trespass to Property Act makes it an offence for a person who is not acting under a right or authority conferred by law to enter premises when entry is prohibited, or to not leave premises immediately after being directed to do so by the occupier or a person the occupier authorizes. The penalty on conviction is a fine of not more than $10,000 (section 2(1)). “Occupier” includes a person in physical possession of the premises and a person who has responsibility for and control over them (section 1(1)). A notice to leave can be given orally or in writing (section 5).
Since 2025, section 2 also lists aggravating factors a court must consider when setting the penalty: that the person stayed on the premises more than 24 hours after a notice to leave (or a longer period if one was given), and that the court finds the person is likely to contravene the Act again (section 2(3), added by 2025, c. 5, Schedule 2).
A police officer, the occupier or a person the occupier authorizes may arrest without warrant a person they believe on reasonable and probable grounds to be on the premises in contravention of section 2. A person who is not a police officer must promptly call the police and hand the person over (section 9). On a conviction, the court can also, if the prosecutor asks and the person who suffered the damage consents, award damages caused during the offence (section 12).
The Act has a defence that matters in squatter disputes: it is a defence to a charge in respect of land that the person charged reasonably believed they had title to or an interest in the land that entitled them to do what they did (section 2(2)). An occupier who claims a right to be there, for example under an agreement or a family arrangement, raises that question, and it may mean the dispute has to be settled by a court or the Landlord and Tenant Board rather than at the door.
If the occupier has been there for years
Adverse possession is the rule behind the popular idea of “squatters’ rights”. Under the Real Property Limitations Act, a person has ten years from the time the right to recover land first arose to bring an action to recover it (section 4), the time starts on the date of dispossession (section 5), and at the end of the period the owner’s right and title are extinguished (section 15). A written acknowledgement of the owner’s title signed by the person in possession and given to the owner restarts the clock (section 13). Vacant Crown land and public road allowances are excepted (section 16).
For land registered under the Land Titles system, section 51 of the Land Titles Act says no title or interest adverse to the registered owner can be acquired by length of possession. Parcels converted to Land Titles with a qualification, and parcels still in the older Registry system, can be treated differently, so check the parcel register. Our adverse possession article explains what a claimant has to show and how Land Titles Conversion Qualified parcels are treated, and our title search service shows how a property is registered.
What an Owner Can Do About a Squatter
- Work out who the person is and how they got in. Was there a lease, an oral agreement, rent, a key, or permission from you, a relative or a former owner? Write down what you know, with dates.
- Confirm your own title. Get a current parcel register and, if the issue is a boundary or a strip of land, a survey.
- Keep evidence. Dated photographs, messages, utility and tax records, anything showing the occupier was never given permission.
- Do not take money, and do not sign anything, without advice. A payment can support a tenancy, and a signed statement about who owns the land can restart or affect the 10-year period.
- Give a clear written direction to leave if it is a trespass. The Trespass to Property Act turns on a person not leaving after being directed to, and on how long they stay after a notice (sections 2(1)(b) and 2(3)). Record the date, the time and how you gave it.
- Ask a lawyer which route fits. If the person may be a tenant, the Landlord and Tenant Board decides; if not, the route may be a police complaint under the Trespass to Property Act, a court application to recover possession, or both.
- Avoid self-help. Do not use force, change locks, cut off services or remove belongings until a lawyer has confirmed the person is not a tenant. Doing so can expose you to offences and claims.
Do not wait for the problem to go away. The ten-year clock in the Real Property Limitations Act runs against an owner who does nothing. Our real estate litigation service covers possession disputes and related claims.
If You Are the Occupier
- If you pay rent or have an agreement to live there, even an oral one, you may be a tenant. A landlord cannot recover possession unless you have vacated or abandoned the unit or the Board orders your eviction (Residential Tenancies Act, section 39).
- Keep records of any agreement, payments, messages and how you came to occupy the property.
- If an owner directs you to leave and you stay, you may face a charge under the Trespass to Property Act, and staying more than 24 hours after a notice is an aggravating factor on sentencing. If you reasonably believed you had an interest in the land, the Act provides a defence, but do not rely on it without advice.
- Do not sign anything that acknowledges the owner’s title without advice. It can restart the 10-year period.
- A claim based on possession of at least 10 years depends on detailed facts and on how the land is registered. Speak with a lawyer before you rely on one.
Squatters’ Rights vs Adverse Possession vs Encroachment
People use these terms loosely. Adverse possession is the legal rule that can end an owner’s right to recover land after ten years. An encroachment is when a structure, fence or driveway crosses a boundary. A “squatter” is an everyday word for an occupier without the owner’s permission, and what that person can or cannot do depends on the facts above. If your concern is a fence or driveway over a boundary line, see our articles on boundary disputes and encroachment agreements. If the occupier is a co-owner, a different set of rules applies, covered in our article on forcing the sale of jointly owned property.
Buying or Selling a Property With an Occupant
If a property you are buying has someone living in it who is not the seller, raise it with your lawyer before you sign or waive any condition. If you are selling and someone is occupying the property without a right to be there, deal with it before the closing date, because it can affect whether you can deliver the property as the agreement requires. Our agreement of purchase and sale guide explains what the agreement says about the property and closing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do squatters have rights in Ontario?
Not simply by being there. Whether an occupier has rights depends on how they came to be there: they may be a tenant, a trespasser or, after at least 10 years of open, continuous possession as if they owned the land, a possible adverse possession claimant.
Do squatters have rights in Canada?
Property law is set by each province, so the answer depends on where the land is. In Ontario, the Real Property Limitations Act sets a 10-year period, the Land Titles Act bars the claim for land registered under it, and the Trespass to Property Act and the Residential Tenancies Act cover occupiers who are not claimants.
How long before a squatter can claim your property in Ontario?
Under the Real Property Limitations Act, an owner has ten years from the time the right to recover the land first arose to bring an action to recover it (section 4), and the time starts on the date of dispossession. For land registered under the Land Titles Act, no title can be gained by length of possession (section 51).
Can I call the police on a squatter?
If the person is on your property without permission and does not leave after being directed to, the Trespass to Property Act makes that an offence and lets a police officer, the occupier or a person the occupier authorizes arrest without warrant on reasonable and probable grounds (sections 2 and 9). If the person claims a right to be there, such as a tenancy, the dispute may have to go to the Landlord and Tenant Board or a court.
Can I change the locks or remove a squatter’s belongings?
Not safely until you know the person is not a tenant. The Residential Tenancies Act bars a landlord from recovering possession of a rental unit without a vacated or abandoned unit or a Board eviction order, bars seizing a tenant’s property without legal process and makes certain lock changes and service cut-offs offences. Get advice first.
What is the penalty for trespassing in Ontario?
On conviction under section 2(1) of the Trespass to Property Act, a fine of not more than $10,000. Aggravating factors include staying more than 24 hours after a notice to leave. A court can also award damages in some cases (section 12).
Can a squatter become a tenant?
A tenant includes a person who pays rent in return for the right to occupy a rental unit, and a tenancy agreement can be written, oral or implied. Whether an occupier is a tenant is a question of fact, so take advice before accepting money from or making an agreement with someone who is living in your property.
Can a squatter claim land by adverse possession in Toronto?
It is unlikely for land registered under the Land Titles Act, because section 51 says no title can be gained by length of possession. Parcels converted to Land Titles with a qualification, and Registry parcels, can be different, so the way the land is registered matters.
Related: our articles on adverse possession, boundary disputes, encroachment agreements and forcing the sale of jointly owned property, and our real estate litigation and residential leases service pages.
Talk to a real estate lawyer about your property. Call (647) 696-8069 or book a free consultation. We serve clients in English, Hindi and Punjabi.
Legal Information, Not Legal Advice. This article is general information about squatters, trespass and tenancy in Ontario, based on the Trespass to Property Act and the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 as shown on Ontario.ca (e-Laws currency date November 5, 2026), and the Real Property Limitations Act and the Land Titles Act (checked October 27, 2026), reviewed again on November 10, 2026. The law changes and every situation turns on its facts, so speak with a real estate lawyer about yours.
