Restricting Holiday Decorations:

Question: Can your landlord in Ontario restrict you from installing seasonal decorations or holiday lights in your rental unit due to safety or damage concerns?

Answer:   In Ontario, your landlord generally can’t unreasonably interfere with your reasonable enjoyment of the rental unit, so you can usually install seasonal decorations and holiday displays if they’re done safely and don’t cause damage; however, limited restrictions are allowed if the decorations or installation create real safety hazards or create a risk of undue damage, because the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 lets landlords act where a tenant’s conduct substantially interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of the residential complex or substantially interferes with the landlord’s lawful rights, and where the tenant causes undue damage, including wilful or negligent damage, so ask for the specific reason and propose a safe installation plan, documentation, and reasonable safeguards; for practical landlord tenant guidance in Ontario, Bulat Paralegal Service can help you understand your options and respond effectively, call (705) 664-0334 today.

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.

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.

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, at section 34, states that tenants may be liable for undue damage that is caused to the rental premise. Furthermore, section 62 states that tenants may be evicted for willfully or negligently damaging the rented premises.  Additionally, section 64 states that a tenant may be evicted for substantially interfering with a right, a privilege, or an interest, of the landlord, including conduct that creates safety hazards that pose significant liability risk to the landlord.  These sections explicitly 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 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.