Ontario tenants have the right to decorate their rental units, but may be responsible for costs if changes are considered undue damage to the property, according to legal experts.
Are tenants allowed to make changes to redecorate?
Ontario tenants are legally allowed to enjoy their rental units without undue interference from landlords, which includes decorating to their personal taste. This encompasses minor modifications like hanging photos, art, or painting walls.
“First of all, it’s the tenant’s home, and they are allowed to live in that home free of any substantial interference with their reasonable enjoyment by their landlord…And people are allowed to decorate their homes and make it to their aesthetic for sure,” said Samuel Mason, a staff lawyer and clinic instructor at Parkdale Community Legal Services.
However, the Residential Tenancies Act stipulates that tenants are responsible for repairing any undue damage caused to the rental property, whether intentional or negligent.
Landlords may require compensation for alterations deemed to be undue damage. The determination of what constitutes “undue damage” can be subjective.
“If someone put their fist through a wall, that would be undue damage. Someone leaving holes where they had hung art would not be undue damage. That would just be normal use, normal wear and tear,” Mason said.
“The question is whether or not what the tenant has done is undue damage. So, it can be subjective. Some people might look at wallpaper or repainting and find that to be undue damage.”
Lease agreements may also contain specific provisions regarding decorating, offering further guidance.
Do tenants have to ask permission for alterations?
According to Mason, tenants are not legally required to seek landlord permission for minor decorating alterations.
However, discussing plans with the landlord is advisable to clarify what might be considered undue damage, especially for more extensive redecorating. Tenants should always obtain landlord approval before making significant modifications requiring a municipal building permit.
“Anything requiring a building permit would certainly be beyond the scope of what a tenant is entitled to do. Any renovations that require a municipal building permit. So, that would be something they would definitely want to do in cooperation with the landlord,” he explained.
Do tenants have to return the unit as they received it?
Generally, tenants are not required to return a unit in its original condition. However, they may be liable for undue damage.
Minor alterations considered normal wear and tear, such as nail holes from hanging pictures, do not typically need to be restored.
If a landlord deems alterations like wallpaper or painted walls as undue damage, they may pursue compensation through the Landlord and Tenant Board.
Mason advises tenants to be aware of their rights and avoid paying for maintenance that is the landlord’s responsibility. “A landlord might say, ‘Oh, that’s undue damage,’ and pursue the tenant for compensation, but tenants should be vigilant to not let the landlord try to extract money from them to pay for the landlord’s own maintenance, repair, maintenance and repair obligations,” he said. “They should just be firm in their rights.”
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