Mischief Charges in Ontario: Property Damage and What It Can Cost You

Mischief is willfully damaging or destroying property, making it dangerous or useless, or interfering with someone's lawful use or enjoyment of it. A cracked phone screen or a hole punched in a wall can qualify. Mischief is charged as "over $5,000" or "$5,000 or under," and that line affects both the maximum penalty and how the case moves through court.

In a domestic situation, damaging something you jointly own with a partner, including items inside a shared home, can still be charged as mischief. It's not automatically a defence that your name is also on the item or the mortgage. A genuine, honest belief that you owned the property outright can be a defence, but shared or matrimonial property usually doesn't qualify. This is part of why mischief charges are often laid alongside a domestic assault charge after the same incident.

• Mischief over $5,000: up to 10 years if the Crown proceeds by indictment.
• Mischief at or under $5,000: up to 2 years if the Crown proceeds by indictment, or a lesser penalty by the faster summary process.
• Mischief that endangers life: up to life imprisonment.
• Mischief to data: willfully destroying, altering, or interfering with computer data or the people who use it is its own version of the offence. It isn't split by dollar value: the maximum is 10 years by indictment.
• Mischief motivated by bias, prejudice or hate against a group (for example based on religion, race, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability), aimed at a place of worship, a cemetery, or a school or community centre mainly used by that group, carries up to 10 years if the Crown proceeds by indictment.

There's no mandatory minimum for mischief. Apart from mischief that endangers life, which is indictable only, it's a hybrid offence, meaning the Crown chooses whether to proceed by the faster summary process or the more serious indictable process, largely based on the facts.

For a first-time, lower-value charge, common outcomes include the charge being withdrawn, a peace bond, a discharge with no conviction entered, or diversion, completing conditions like an apology, counselling, or paying for the damage, in exchange for a withdrawal. See our page on peace bonds and diversion. The court can also order restitution, requiring you to pay the property's replacement or repair cost, but only after a conviction or a discharge. In diversion or a peace bond, paying for the damage is something you agree to instead. Repeat conduct, higher-value damage, or a hate-motivated charge moves toward probation or jail. A conviction can also affect immigration status for non-citizens; speak to an immigration lawyer if that applies to you.