Restricting Holiday Decorations:

Question: Can a landlord in Ontario restrict or ban my seasonal holiday decorations and Christmas lights if they say there’s a safety or damage risk?

Answer: Yes. In Ontario tenancies, your landlord generally can’t unreasonably interfere with your reasonable enjoyment of the rental unit while you are installing reasonable holiday decorations, but they can restrict them if there is a genuine safety hazard or if the decorations create a real risk of undue damage to the unit or complex (for example, unsafe wiring, blocking exits, or causing damage when installed). Under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, the tenant is responsible for undue damage caused by wilful or negligent conduct (Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 34) and a landlord may terminate for undue damage (Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 62(1)); the landlord may also act where conduct substantially interferes with reasonable enjoyment (Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 64(1), and they must still not substantially interfere with reasonable enjoyment (Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 22). If SFG Paralegal Services LLP (Paralegal) in Ontario can help you understand whether the restriction is reasonable and what steps to take to protect your access and reduce risk, call (888) 398-0121 to get started.

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.