Restricting Holiday Decorations:

Question: Can my Ontario landlord stop me from installing seasonal or holiday decorations if I do it carefully?

Answer: In Ontario, under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, a landlord must not unreasonably interfere with your reasonable enjoyment, but they can restrict or require changes to holiday decorations if they genuinely create a safety risk or cause undue damage (for example, through willful or negligent harm) or substantially interfere with the landlord’s lawful interests; the key is the landlord’s ability to point to real safety and damage concerns, not just a blanket “no decorations” rule.   If you are facing a denial, notice, or a dispute about Christmas lights or similar displays, a paralegal at Paladin LLP can help you assess the risk-based arguments and what “reasonable measures” might satisfy both sides; call (289) 925-1572 to book a consult in Ontario.

Add this website to Google Preferred Sources

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

Generally, a landlord must permit the installation of religious holiday decorations and displays by a tenant; however, where the decorations or display genuinely poses a safety risk or causes damage to the rental premises, a landlord may forbid the installation or require reasonable measures to reduce the safety risk and avoid property damage.

Note: Please contact Paladin LLP by phone at: (289) 925-1572 to discuss any specific questions that you may have.

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:

Interestingly, while a tenant is forbidden from causing safety issues or that may cause injury with potential liabilities incurred by the landlord or from damaging the property of the landlord, the landlord is forbidden from interfering in the reasonable enjoyment rights of the tenant.  Accordingly, a balancing of rights is necessary to ensure that a tenant is reasonably permitted to install holiday decorations upon the rented premises while the tenant ensures that any such decorations are safely installed and done so without causing damage.

Summary Comment

A landlord must provide tenants with the freedom to enjoy the rental unit which includes the freedom to install decorations such as holiday lighting displays, among other things; however, tenants must install decorations in such a manner that avoids creation of safety hazards as well as avoids causing damage to the rented premises.