Restricting Holiday Decorations:

Question: Can my Ontario landlord block me from installing seasonal decorations (like Christmas lights) at my rental, and what if the concern is safety or possible damage?

Answer: In Ontario, your landlord generally must let you enjoy your rental and can’t unreasonably interfere with your reasonable enjoyment when you install seasonal decorations, but they may restrict or require reasonable changes if the decorations create a safety hazard or could cause undue damage or substantial interference with the landlord’s or another tenant’s lawful interests under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006; for example, a tenant can be responsible for undue damage and a landlord can act if the tenant wilfully or negligently causes undue damage or substantially interferes with reasonable enjoyment, while the landlord also must not interfere without reason (see Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, .O. Reg.); get clear, practical guidance from Ranger Paralegal Service (Paralegal) about how to proceed safely and reduce dispute risk anywhere in Ontario, by calling (905) 240-7529 for a consultation.  

Understanding the Limited Reasons to Restrict Installation of Seasonal Decorations Including Safety or Damage Concerns

In Ontario, landlords are generally required to permit installation of religious decorations and holiday displays by a tenant; however, if the decorations or displays create safety hazards with liability risks or cause damage to the rental premises, then the landlord may forbid the decorations or displays or may impose reasonable measures that eliminate the safety hazards and prevent the damage.

The Law

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, Chapter 17, is without explicit directives regarding seasonal holiday decorations such as Christmas lights, among other things; however, the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, contains various sections that are relevant to the safety concerns and the damage concerns of a landlord while also containing sections relevant to the rights of a tenant to enjoy the rental premises without unreasonable interference by the landlord.

Within the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, section 34 states that a tenant may be held liable for damage caused to the rental premises and section 62 states that a tenant may be evicted for causing undue damage to the rental premises.  Additionally, section 64 states that a tenancy may be terminated where a tenant substantially interferes with a right, a privilege, or an interest, of the landlord, such as engaging in conduct that creates significant risks to the landlord.  Specifically, these sections state:

Despite the above concerns regarding decorations installed by a tenant, it is also important to bear in mind that section 22 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 forbids a landlord from unreasonably interfering with the reasonable enjoyment of the rental unit by the tenant.  In this respect, section 22 specifically states:

As detailed per the law shown above, although tenants may be forbidden from creating safety hazards that may cause injuries and correspondingly impose liability risk upon a landlord as well as forbidden from causing undue damage to the rental premises as property of the landlord, the landlord is also forbidden from interfering in the reasonable enjoyment rights of tenants.  As such, the law requires that the rights that protect the landlord from unreasonable risks must be balanced with the rights that reasonably permit tenants to install decorations.

Summary Comment

A landlord must permit a tenant to enjoy the rental unit, including allowing installation of holiday decorations such as lighting displays, among other things, so long as the tenant avoids creating safety hazards and refrains from damaging the rental premises.