Being friends or coworkers with someone is one thing, but living with someone shows you who they really are. Roommates are exposed to each other’s behavior every day of the week, and yours won’t be the first relationship that’s gone sour after moving in with someone.
While most roommate disputes are related to household chores and noise after midnight, some can escalate into threats, harassment, and even physical assault; in fact, there’s an entire TV show dedicated to violence between roommates called “Fear Thy Roommate.”
If your roommate is making you feel unsafe, you may look into filing a restraining order against your roommate. Restraining orders for those who aren’t in a close relationship with you, such as a roommate, are called civil harassment restraining orders.
Civil harassment restraining orders protect you from threats and physical altercations from either a roommate, neighbor, or platonic friend, and they are often referred to in court as protective orders. A permanent order can last for five years and a temporary restraining order typically only lasts a few weeks.
Many find that getting a restraining order is hard, especially if you don’t consult a harassment restraining order attorney in Ontario beforehand. Your attorney will start off by telling you that documentation is essential to your civil harassment restraining order request. You should document the threats and abuse, verbal and physical, from the day they began.
You must also go to the nearest superior court or police station to file for a restraining order. A court date will be scheduled where you can show all your evidence and explain your fears to a judge, and our family court lawyers in Ontario are known for getting ex parte motions for expedited hearings, speeding up the process.
During your hearing, you can present photographs, text messages, and written notes that help demonstrate the seriousness of the situation. You can also have witnesses attend to legitimize your experience.
Once a judge grants a civil harassment restraining order, you have to get it to your roommate through a process server or another adult who is not involved in the case.
