Restricting Holiday Decorations:

Question: Can my landlord stop me from installing Christmas lights or other seasonal decorations in my Ontario rental, even if they’re not causing damage?

Answer:   VP Legal Services & Notary can help tenants in Ontario understand when a landlord can limit seasonal or religious holiday decorations, since the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 generally requires landlords to respect a tenant’s reasonable enjoyment while still allowing restrictions for genuine safety risks or undue damage; under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, section 22 a landlord must not substantially interfere with reasonable enjoyment, and if the decorations involve wilful or negligent conduct that causes undue damage the landlord may rely on sections 34 and 62, while serious interference with lawful rights can also support action under section 64; if you are being told to remove lights, decorations, or displays, a paralegal and notary at VP Legal Services & Notary can review your situation, help you document the facts, and advise on practical next steps for resolving the dispute with fewer delays, call (437) 286-1499 for help.

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:

With all the above said regarding tenant behaviour relating to holiday decorations, it must also be noted that, per section 22 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, a landlord is forbidden from unreasonably interfering with the rights to reasonable enjoyment of the rental unit by the tenant.  Specifically, section 22 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.