I doubt it. One of the guiding principles behind tenant rights is "reasonable" behaviour. I fail to see how any interpretation of "reasonable" would allow the prohibition of the nearly universal practice of hanging things on walls.

My experience as a renter was that the landlord couldn't even claim damages for the inevitable holes that result from properly hung pictures and even small shelves (but don't push it!).

When we had a lot of pictures to hang in a small area, we hung a light board on the wall, mounted at the studs, then hung pictures on that.

[–] streetfestival 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Great advice from Jadero. As an Ontario renter, my experience is that landlords can put many things in the lease (i.e., there aren't laws that say a discretionary term, such as 'no pets whatsoever', would invalidate the lease or entitle the renter to compensation). But whether it's enforceable (i.e., whether the landlord could use that lease agreement to collect damages from and/or evict you if you violate the discretionary addition) is another story that probably favours you in the case of wall hangings.

A separate but related issue is that landlords who put unnecessarily constraining discretionary terms in the lease agreement may be a warning sign that they're not the most attractive landlords

[–] keefshape 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah, inalienable rights are top of mind for me. Fistbump.

[–] OminousOrange 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Not helpful on the enforceability of those clauses, but Command strips are fantastic for hanging things in rentals, and you can keep the half that stays on your frame when you move. Just make sure you go slow when removing them from the wall, as they will tear the paint off if you pull too hard.

As another said, it's likely that small holes from picture mounting may qualify as 'regular wear' from use of the unit and not be an eligible damage deduction.

[–] keefshape 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I tried command strips (bought from dollar store) and they all ended up falling off the walls. Damaged two prints and frames and glass. So I am a little wary of them.

[–] OminousOrange 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Were they the two piece ones? I've had those on some reasonably heavy frames for nearly 10 years with no issues. I had a pack of the one piece ones but the adhesive dried out to the point that the paper backing fell off. I'd avoid those if you can. The two piece have a hook and loop center and stay firmly secured to the wall and frame.

[–] Doubleohdonut 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah we always use the official command strips from 3M, and they're SO good. They'll stay on your wall until you need to remove them, and I've never had issues removing thrm.