House Arrest in Ontario: What It Is, How It Works, and What to Expect

The Legal Definition: Conditional Sentence Order

The term “house arrest” is not a formal legal term in Canada. House arrest is formally known as a Conditional Sentence Order, or CSO, and is defined under Section 742.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

To impose a CSO, the court must first determine that the fit sentence is imprisonment of less than two years. The court must also be satisfied that serving the sentence in the community would not endanger the safety of the community and would be consistent with the fundamental purpose and principles of sentencing set out in Sections 718 to 718.2. The offence must not carry a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment, and it must not be one of the offences excluded by Section 742.1.

Worth knowing: A CSO is a jail sentence served at home that results in a criminal record. It differs from a conditional discharge, which leaves you without a record, and a suspended sentence, which replaces jail time with probation. We can compare these options:

●      Conditional discharge: No jail, no criminal record.

●      Suspended sentence: No jail, results in a criminal record.

●      Conditional sentence: A jail sentence served at home.

How House Arrest Differs from Jail

A CSO is a community-based sentence, meaning the offender serves the sentence outside of a jail or custody facility. In contrast, a jail sentence (also called incarceration) requires the offender to be held in a correctional institution for the duration of the sentence. Courts impose house arrest when the judge determines that a sentence under two years is appropriate and that the offender can safely serve that sentence in the community without endangering public safety.

The sentencing principles in Sections 718 to 718.2 guide the court’s decision, and Section 742.1 requires the judge to be satisfied that serving the sentence in the community would be consistent with those principles.

One thing people regularly mix up: house arrest is not the same as bail conditions that require an accused person to stay at home. Those apply before trial, when the accused is still presumed innocent and awaiting their court date. House arrest, as a CSO, applies after conviction as part of the sentence. For more on the pre-trial process, see How Does Bail Work in Ontario?

Statutory Requirements Under Section 742.1

Not everyone who is convicted qualifies for house arrest. The Criminal Code of Canada sets out specific eligibility criteria that must all be met before a judge can even consider imposing a CSO.

To be eligible for house arrest in Ontario, the court must impose a sentence of imprisonment of less than two years. The court must also be satisfied that serving the sentence in the community would not endanger the safety of the community and would be consistent with the fundamental purpose and principles of sentencing set out in Sections 718 to 718.2.

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The offence must not carry a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment. The offence must not be one of the offences still excluded by Section 742.1, including attempted murder sentenced under paragraph 239(1)(b), torture, advocating genocide, and certain terrorism or criminal organization offences prosecuted by indictment. If any of those requirements is not met, house arrest is not available. 

Meeting those statutory requirements does not guarantee a CSO. The judge still exercises discretion in deciding whether a conditional sentence fits the particular case. The court weighs the sentencing principles in Section 718 to 718.2, the circumstances of the offence, and the offender’s personal background.

Bill C-5: How the Law Changed in 2022

Bill C-5 broadened access to CSOs by repealing the broad extra exclusions added in 2012. But it did not remove every categorical exclusion. Section 742.1 still excludes certain offences, including attempted murder sentenced under paragraph 239(1)(b), torture, advocating genocide, and certain terrorism or criminal organization offences prosecuted by indictment.

Those earlier restrictions came in two waves. Bill C-9 in 2007 eliminated conditional sentence eligibility for serious personal injury offences, terrorism offences, and certain organized crime offences. The Safe Streets and Communities Act in 2012 extended the exclusions further, sweeping in many property and drug offences prosecuted by indictment. Bill C-5 restored judicial discretion for many offences previously excluded under the 2012 rules, but the current statute still imposes important limits.

For anyone facing sentencing in Ontario today, that matters. More offences are eligible now than they were under the 2012 rules.

Common Offences Where House Arrest May Be Available

In Ontario, house arrest may be available for a range of offences with sentences of under two years, including fraud, theft under $5,000, some drug offences, simple assault, and other property offences, if the statutory requirements are met.

Offences that carry a mandatory minimum sentence are not eligible for house arrest. The same is true for the offences that remain expressly excluded under Section 742.1.

Mandatory Conditions

Section 742.3(1) of the Criminal Code requires every CSO to include the following mandatory conditions. The offender must keep the peace and be of good behaviour. The offender must appear before the court when required. The offender must report to a supervisor within the time set by the court and afterward as directed by the supervisor.

The offender must remain within the court’s jurisdiction unless written permission to leave is obtained from the court or the supervisor. The offender must also notify the court or the supervisor in advance of any change of name or address, and promptly notify the court or the supervisor of any change of employment or occupation. These conditions apply in every case.

The conditional sentence supervisor is your primary point of contact with the justice system while you serve the sentence. That person sets the reporting schedule, monitors whether you are meeting the conditions, and flags any concerns to the authorities.

House Arrest Rules and Optional Conditions

Under Section 742.3(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada, the judge may impose any additional conditions that the court considers appropriate. Common optional conditions include a curfew requiring the offender to remain at their residence during specified hours, abstaining from alcohol or drugs, community service, attending treatment, and other reasonable conditions the court considers appropriate.

In some Ontario cases, the court may also impose GPS monitoring. The specific combination of optional conditions depends on the nature of the offence, the offender’s personal circumstances, and what the judge considers necessary to promote compliance, reduce the risk of reoffending, and protect community safety. Permitted absences are usually written into the order by the judge and, if needed later, adjusted through the proper process for changing optional conditions.

In practice, a curfew is one of the most common restrictions you will encounter on house arrest. It requires you to be at home during set hours, and it can restrict daytime movement, too, depending on how the order is written. How strict the curfew is depends on the seriousness of the offence and the level of supervision the judge considers appropriate.

Can House Arrest Conditions Be Changed?

Yes. Under Section 742.4 of the Criminal Code of Canada, the offender, the conditional sentence supervisor, or the Crown prosecutor can apply to the court for a variation of conditions if circumstances change after the order is imposed.

Common reasons to seek a variation include a job that requires different hours, a medical condition that calls for treatment outside the jurisdiction, or a change in where you live. The court will grant the variation if it is satisfied that the change is reasonable and does not undermine the purposes of the conditional sentence. A criminal defence lawyer can prepare and file the application for you.

Permitted Absences

A CSO in Ontario typically includes provisions for permitted absences that allow the offender to leave their residence for approved reasons. These commonly include employment during scheduled work hours, education or vocational training, medical appointments and healthcare needs, religious observance, and any other purpose specifically approved by the conditional sentence supervisor or set out in the order. Each permitted absence has defined boundaries — the offender is generally expected to travel directly to the approved activity and return directly home afterward.

The permitted absences are either written into the order by the judge at sentencing or approved on an ongoing basis by the conditional sentence supervisor. If an absence is not listed in the order and has not been approved, leaving the residence puts you at risk of a breach.

What You Cannot Do on House Arrest

The restrictions are real. You cannot leave the residence without an approved reason. Violating curfew hours, arriving home late, or leaving before the permitted time is a breach of the order. Engaging in activities outside the approved conditions, stopping to run errands or visit friends during non-permitted hours, can also constitute a breach.

Even during permitted absences, you are expected to stay within the scope of what was approved. If the order permits leaving for employment, you go to work and come straight home. Stopping somewhere along the way can be treated as a violation, depending on the terms of your order and your supervisor’s expectations. Worth taking seriously.

Some CSOs include electronic monitoring through an ankle monitor to verify compliance with curfew and permitted absence schedules. For more on how monitoring technology works in practice, see Electronic Monitoring in Ontario: How Ankle Monitors Work.

The Sentencing Hearing

The process starts at the sentencing hearing, which takes place after a conviction by guilty plea or following a trial. Your criminal defence lawyer prepares and delivers a sentencing submission to the judge, arguing that a CSO is the appropriate sentence. The submission addresses why the offence meets the eligibility requirements, why you are a suitable candidate for community supervision, and how a conditional sentence serves the sentencing principles of rehabilitation, denunciation, and deterrence.

The Crown prosecutor responds with the prosecution’s position. The Crown may agree that house arrest is appropriate, or it may argue for a jail sentence. The judge considers both submissions, reviews the evidence, and makes the final decision. If the judge determines all statutory requirements are met, and a conditional sentence fits the case, the court imposes the order and sets the conditions.

Starting Your Conditional Sentence

The conditions take effect immediately once the judge imposes the CSO. You are assigned a conditional sentence supervisor who oversees your compliance for the duration of the sentence. In that first meeting, you review every condition, establish the curfew schedule, identify your permitted absences, and confirm your reporting requirements.

An unintentional breach is still a breach. Sort out any ambiguity about what is and is not permitted with your supervisor early.

Monitoring and Compliance

Your conditional sentence supervisor monitors your compliance through regular check-ins, which can happen in person, by phone, or at the supervisor’s office. Some orders also require the supervisor to make random visits to your residence to confirm you are home during curfew hours.

If electronic monitoring is ordered, you wear an ankle monitor that tracks your location. The system alerts the supervisor if you leave outside of approved hours or travel beyond permitted areas.

Throughout the sentence, you must follow all conditions, report any changes in your circumstances to the supervisor, and meet any additional requirements like community service, treatment program participation, or abstaining from alcohol or drugs.

Completing Your House Arrest

When the CSO reaches its end date, the sentence is complete, and the offender is no longer subject to its conditions. The curfew, reporting requirements, and all other restrictions cease. In some cases, a period of probation may follow the conditional sentence if the judge imposed both at sentencing. If probation follows, the offender transitions from the conditions of the CSO to the less restrictive conditions of a probation order, which carries its own set of requirements and a different supervising officer.

Completing the sentence does not erase the criminal record. A record suspension (formerly a pardon) may be available after the applicable waiting period.

What Counts as a Breach

A breach is any failure to comply with any condition of the CSO. Common examples include missing curfew by arriving home late or leaving before the permitted time, failing to report to the conditional sentence supervisor as required, violating a condition like consuming alcohol or drugs when the order prohibits it, and engaging in conduct that breaches the order, including the requirement to keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

The Breach Hearing Process

When a breach is alleged, you can be arrested with or without an arrest warrant under Section 742.6 of the Criminal Code of Canada. You are then brought before a judge for a breach hearing. The Crown prosecutor must prove the breach occurred on a balance of probabilities, a lower standard than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard used at trial.

You have the right to be represented by a criminal defence lawyer at the hearing and to present evidence and arguments in response to the allegation.

Consequences of a Breach

If a judge finds that an offender has breached a CSO in Ontario, the court may take no action, change the optional conditions, suspend the order and require custody for part of the remaining sentence before the order resumes, or terminate the order and commit the offender to custody until the sentence expires.

What happens depends on the nature of the breach, your compliance history throughout the sentence, and whether the breach suggests you cannot safely serve the remainder in the community.

The Reasonable Excuse Defence

If you are alleged to have breached the order, you can raise a reasonable excuse for the non-compliance. A reasonable excuse is a legally sufficient explanation for the non-compliance, often based on circumstances that made compliance genuinely impossible or impractical, such as a medical emergency.

The burden is on you to establish a reasonable excuse. A criminal defence lawyer with experience in conditional sentence matters can help gather the evidence and build the argument. The outcome of that hearing often comes down to the quality of the evidence and the strength of the legal argument made on your behalf.

House Arrest vs. Probation in Ontario

How long does house arrest last in Ontario?

A CSO can last up to under two years (technically, up to two years less a day). The exact duration depends on the offence, the circumstances of the case, and the judge’s discretion at sentencing. Most house arrest orders range from several months to just under two years.

Does house arrest give you a criminal record?

Yes. House arrest is a criminal conviction, and a CSO is a criminal sentence. A conviction resulting in house arrest will appear on your criminal record. The record remains until a record suspension (formerly a pardon) is granted.

For more on how convictions affect your record, see Criminal Records in Ontario: What You Need to Know.

Can you go to work on house arrest in Ontario?

Yes, in most cases. CSOs include permitted absences that allow the offender to leave the residence for employment during approved hours. The specific terms are set out in the order approved by the conditional sentence supervisor. The offender must go directly to work and return directly home, and any changes to the work schedule must be communicated to the supervisor in advance.

Do you have to wear an ankle monitor on house arrest in Ontario?

Not always. Electronic monitoring through an ankle monitor is an optional condition that the judge may or may not impose as part of the CSO. Whether electronic monitoring is ordered depends on the circumstances of the case, the nature of the offence, and the judge’s assessment of what level of monitoring is necessary to ensure compliance and protect community safety.

Can you get house arrest for assault in Ontario?

It depends on the exact charge and the facts of the case. Simple assault may be eligible if the statutory requirements for a conditional sentence are met. More serious assault charges are harder cases for house arrest, and the judge must still be satisfied that serving the sentence in the community would not endanger the safety of the community and would be consistent with the principles of sentencing.

What is the difference between house arrest and a conditional discharge?

House arrest (a CSO) is a criminal sentence that results in a criminal record. A conditional discharge under Section 730 of the Criminal Code of Canada is not a sentence. With a conditional discharge, the offender is found guilty, but no conviction is registered. If the discharge is successfully completed, it does not remain on the record permanently. A CSO and a conditional discharge are fundamentally different outcomes with different consequences for the offender’s record.

 Can you travel on house arrest in Ontario?

Generally, no. A mandatory condition of every CSO requires the offender to remain within the jurisdiction of the court. Leaving the jurisdiction requires written permission from the court or the supervisor. Travel for leisure is not permitted during a conditional sentence.

What is the most common reason for house arrest?

There is no single official “most common” reason. In practice, house arrest is commonly considered in cases where the fit sentence is under two years, the offence is legally eligible, and the judge is satisfied that the offender can serve the sentence safely in the community under strict conditions.