Mischief Charges in Domestic and Neighbour Disputes

The short answer

Many mischief charges come from arguments at home or disputes with neighbours. A broken phone, a punched wall or a blocked driveway can all lead to a criminal charge, even when no one was physically hurt. Whether damaging your own property counts as mischief depends on whether anyone else has an interest in it. In domestic cases, the release conditions that come with the charge often have a bigger impact on daily life than the charge itself.

Can I be charged for damaging my own property?

• Shared property: Owning part of the property is not a defence. If someone else also has an interest in it, damaging it can be mischief (s. 429(3)(a)).
• Property that is entirely yours: Damaging your own property is generally not mischief, unless you did it to commit fraud, such as for an insurance claim (s. 429(3)(b)).
• Rented property: Damaging a rented home or a landlord's fixtures can be mischief, because the landlord has an interest in them.

For example, smashing your own phone that you bought and pay for is generally not mischief. Smashing a phone your partner pays for, or a TV you bought together, can be.

Common situations

• Phones, walls and doors are damaged in a shared home during an argument.
• A neighbour's car, fence or garden is damaged during a dispute.
• Someone blocks a driveway or access to a property.
• Items are thrown or broken during an argument.

Domestic mischief and release conditions

When mischief happens between partners, police often treat it as an intimate partner violence matter. Release conditions may ban contact with your partner and keep you out of the home you share, sometimes for many months. See domestic assault bail and no-contact conditions.

Ontario's Crown Prosecution Manual has a specific policy for intimate partner cases. It limits peace bonds to exceptional cases, which can affect how the case ends. In addition, abusing an intimate partner or family member is a statutory aggravating factor at sentencing (s. 718.2(a)(ii)).

Changing release conditions

Release conditions stay in force until they are changed. In some situations, conditions can be changed by written agreement with the Crown, and in others a court must make the change. A lawyer can ask the Crown to allow contact, a return home or a supervised visit to collect belongings. Until any change is made in writing, you must follow the original conditions, even if your partner wants contact.

Neighbour disputes

In neighbour disputes, a peace bond is often the practical way to end the case, with conditions for both sides to stay away from each other's property. See our peace bonds page. Most damage in these disputes is charged as mischief under $5,000, which allows more flexible outcomes than higher-value charges.

What happens after you are charged

1. Release: Police release most people with conditions, which in domestic cases often include no contact and no return home.
2. Disclosure: The Crown provides photographs, statements, any 911 recording and repair costs.
3. Crown discussions: Your lawyer reviews the evidence and discusses resolution options, including changes to your conditions.
4. Resolution or trial: Some cases resolve through restitution and a peace bond or discharge, while others go to trial.

The evidence in a typical case

The Crown often relies on photographs of the damage, the complainant's statement, any 911 call, statements from other people in the home and messages exchanged before or after the incident. In many domestic cases, the evidence comes down to the word of two people who disagree about what happened, so credibility becomes the central issue. If a report to police turns out to be knowingly false, the person who made it can face a separate charge of public mischief.

Defences

• Accident: The damage was not wilful or reckless.
• Colour of right: You honestly believed you had a legal right to act.
• Ownership: The property was entirely yours, and no one else had an interest in it.
• Credibility: The evidence does not prove who caused the damage.

Possible outcomes

What to do now

• Follow your release conditions exactly, even if your partner or neighbour contacts you.
• Do not ask someone else to pass messages to the complainant.
• Keep receipts and records that show who owns the damaged property.
• Save any messages or photographs related to the incident.

Mischief to rental and landlord property

Disputes between tenants and landlords can also lead to mischief charges. A tenant who damages walls, doors or appliances in a rented unit may be charged, because the landlord has an interest in that property. At the same time, a landlord who changes locks, removes a tenant's belongings or cuts off services may face questions about interfering with the tenant's lawful use of the unit. In both situations, Ontario's residential tenancy rules often provide a separate process, and the criminal case should be handled with that process in mind.

Neighbour disputes over boundaries and access

Some neighbour disputes involve fences, trees, driveways or shared paths. A person who removes a fence they believe sits on their land, or who blocks a path they believe is theirs, may honestly believe they had a right to act. That belief can amount to colour of right, which is a defence to mischief (s. 429(2)). Surveys, deeds and past agreements between neighbours can be important evidence in these cases.

How we can help

We can review the conditions you are on, work toward changes that let you go home where possible, and look for a resolution that fits your situation. Call (647) 223-1980 for a free consultation.

Frequently asked questions