Restricting Holiday Decorations:

Question: Can my Ontario landlord refuse permission for me to hang holiday lights or religious decorations, even if I install them safely and won’t damage the rental?

Answer: In Ontario, a landlord generally can’t unreasonably interfere with your right to reasonable enjoyment, so a blanket refusal to seasonal or religious decorations is often unreasonable unless the display creates a real safety hazard or leads to undue damage, or you substantially interfere with the landlord’s or other tenants’ lawful rights, including concerns that would increase liability or create significant risks (for example, improper wiring, blocking exits, unsafe mounting that could damage walls, or conduct that interferes with access).   The key is a fact-based balancing: you can proceed if you install safely and responsibly, and the landlord may impose only reasonable measures aimed at removing the specific hazard or preventing damage, not prohibit arbitrarily.   If you need help assessing what the law allows in your situation, Success.Legal™ can help you navigate landlord and tenant rights and next steps in Ontario; call (800) 551-5751 to get guidance.

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 relevant law, being the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, Chapter 17, lacks explicit mandates relating to seasonal decorations or religious holiday displays, including Christmas lights, among other things, however, the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, does contain mandates applicable to safety hazards and damage concerns as well as mandates applicable to rights of reasonable enjoyment.

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 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.