Restricting Holiday Decorations:

Question: Can a landlord in Ontario legally ban my seasonal holiday decorations if they raise safety or damage concerns?

Answer: In Ontario, your landlord can generally require reasonable steps to prevent undue damage or safety hazards, but they cannot unreasonably interfere with your reasonable enjoyment of the rental unit; Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, Chapter 17 supports the balance by making you responsible for undue damage from wilful or negligent conduct (Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 34) and allowing termination for willful or negligent undue damage (Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 62(1)) or conduct that substantially interferes with reasonable enjoyment or a landlord’s lawful rights, including conduct that creates safety hazards with significant liability risk (Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 64(1)) while also restricting interference with reasonable enjoyment (Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 22).  If your decorations are installed safely (for example, properly secured wiring, no blocking exits, and no damage to walls, windows, or exterior surfaces), the ban should be limited to addressing the specific risks, not a blanket refusal.  A paralegal at Anderson Aylwin Begg & Co. can help you assess your situation, draft a clear response, and plan next steps to protect your right to decorate in Ontario.  Call (905) 686-8080 to discuss your options.

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.

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 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.