Someone Won't Return Your Property: Conversion and Detinue

If someone keeps or disposes of your property without the right to, you may have a claim for conversion or detinue.

The two claims

• Detinue: someone is wrongfully holding your property and refuses to return it after a demand.
• Conversion: someone deals with your property in a way that denies your rights, for example by selling, destroying or using it as their own.

What you need to show

• The property is yours (receipts, photos, messages).
• The other person has it, or had it.
• You asked for it back, and they refused or ignored you.
• Its value, if you are claiming money.

Steps

1. Write a demand listing the items and a deadline to return them.
2. Keep evidence of ownership and the refusal.
3. Sue if needed. Small Claims Court handles claims up to $50,000 and orders money, not usually the return of the item itself.

Special situations

• Tenants who moved out: the Residential Tenancies Act has rules on property left behind.
• Police: if the dispute involves theft, you can also report it.

Sources

• Ontario: suing someone in Small Claims Court
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006

Read next: Private Nuisance: When a Neighbour's Activity Goes Too Far

General Ontario legal information, not legal advice for your matter, and reading it does not create a retainer. Sources checked 16 October 2026: check the current law, forms and dates before you act.

Photos from Unsplash: a close up of a text on a piece of paper · a 3d image of a judge's hammer on a black background.

This article is general information for people in Ontario, not legal advice. Rules, forms and deadlines change, and every situation is different. Check the current rule or speak to a licensed legal professional before you act.