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

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.

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:

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 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.