What to know
- Tenants can decorate their rental units, including hanging photos, art, or even painting walls, as part of their right to reasonable enjoyment of their home.
- Renters may have to pay if landlords consider changes—like wallpaper or certain alterations—to be undue damage.
- Permission isn’t legally required for minor changes, but it’s still a good idea to discuss larger decorating plans with the landlord.
- Major renovations that require municipal permits need approval from the landlord, and disputes over damage may end up at the Landlord and Tenant Board.
There’s nothing like a well-decorated space that matches your vibe, but while living in a rented home, Ontario tenants might be restricted on what they can and cannot change within the unit.
While renters might not actually own their homes, there are ways they can make the space seem their own for the duration of their stay, from choosing the right wall colours to hanging family photos or their favourite paintings. But is there a point where decorating becomes a liability?
To help tenants better understand their rights, Now Toronto spoke with Samuel Mason, a staff lawyer and clinic instructor at Parkdale Community Legal Services, about what Ontario renters can and cannot change within their units when decorating.
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Are tenants allowed to make changes to redecorate?
The short answer is yes.
According to Mason, Ontario tenants have the right to enjoy their unit without interference from the landlord, which includes decorating the home to their taste. This includes making certain small modifications, such as hanging photos and art or painting the 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,” Mason said.
However, that is not to say there are no restrictions.
The Residential Tenancies Act states that tenants are responsible for repairing any undue damage they’ve caused to the rental property. These include any damages that may be caused intentionally or negligently by the tenant.
When it comes to alterations with the purpose of decorating the unit, the tenant might be required to offer compensation if the landlord finds any changes they made to be undue damage.
“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.”
In some cases, the lease agreement might also contain provisions on what the tenant is and is not allowed to do when it comes to decorating, which offer better guidance.
Do tenants have to ask permission for alterations?
According to Mason, the law doesn’t require tenants to ask landlords for permission before making small alterations to decorate the unit.
However, coming to an agreement with the landlord is usually common practice, and might help to clarify what is considered undue damage or not, especially when it comes to more extensive redecorating.
Meanwhile, Mason says tenants should always clear out with the landlord before making any significant modifications. This would include anything that might require a 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?
In general, tenants are not required to return the unit exactly as it was when they moved in. However, when it comes to undue damage, they may be on the hook.
As explained by Mason, small alterations that are considered wear and tear, such as leaving a nail hole on the wall from hanging paintings don’t necessarily need to be restored by the tenant.
But if the landlord found any other alterations, such as wallpapers or a painted wall, to be undue damage, they might be able to take the tenant to the Landlord and Tenant Board and require them to provide compensation.
While it is important to be vigilant about the rules and avoid issues, Mason says tenants should know their rights and not accept paying for maintenance that should be managed by the landlord.
“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.”
