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Christmas lights on a Burlington townhouse or condo: getting the board's yes before the ladder goes up

If your Burlington townhouse or unit is part of a condominium corporation, the exterior is almost always governed by the corporation's declaration and rules, so get written approval before booking. Seasonal clip-on lights are the easiest request to approve; permanent track is a much bigger ask.

Last updated October 28, 2026 · Reviewed by the Burlington Christmas Lights team

Do I need condo board approval to put up Christmas lights in Burlington?

If the house is in a condominium corporation, assume yes until the documents say otherwise. The Condominium Authority of Ontario explains that both a corporation's declaration and its rules can restrict what owners can and cannot do in the units and the common elements, and in most townhouse corporations the roof, soffit, fascia and exterior walls are not part of what an owner owns outright. Some boards allow seasonal lights on a unit's own frontage with no paperwork at all; some allow them within set dates; some do not allow anything on the building. The only way to know is to read the documents and ask.

This comes up across the city. Alton Village has a large share of freehold and condominium townhouses, the newer infill along Plains Road in Aldershot includes townhouse blocks, and stacked towns and towers run along the main corridors and Lakeshore Road. A freehold townhouse has no board, which changes the question, as below.

Where are the rules about exterior decorations written?

In three places, and it is worth knowing which is which.

• The declaration. The corporation's founding document. The CAO describes it as setting out unit boundaries, identifying exclusive-use areas such as balconies and private terraces, and possibly including restrictions on owner behaviour and who repairs and maintains what. It is hard to change: amendments need owner approval at a meeting, at 80 or 90 per cent depending on the change.
• The by-laws. Mostly about how the corporation is run.
• The rules. The CAO says rules regulate day-to-day activities and exist to prevent unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of units and common elements. Rules must be reasonable; the declaration is not held to that standard.

Holiday lighting is usually dealt with in the rules, if it is mentioned at all, sometimes alongside satellite dishes, signs or anything attached to the exterior. The property manager can send current copies of all three.

What should a request to the board include?

Boards say yes more easily to a request that answers their questions before they ask them. A good one covers:

1. The method. Lights held on plastic clips that grip the eavestrough lip and slip under the shingle edge, with nothing nailed, screwed, stapled or glued to the building. ESA's own holiday advice is clips rather than staples or nails.
2. Exactly what is lit. A photo of your frontage marked with the lines: eave, garage, porch railing. Keep it to your own unit's frontage unless neighbours are joining in.
3. Power. From your unit's own outdoor outlet, GFCI-protected and with a weatherproof in-use cover, with no cords across walkways or shared driveways. Not from a common-element outlet unless the board offers it.
4. Dates and hours. Install in November, lights on a timer that switches off at a set hour, and removal in the first half of January. Many rules care more about the off date than the on date.
5. Who does the work. A certificate of insurance and WSIB clearance from the installer, which most property managers will ask for before anyone is on a ladder against a common element. Ontario's O. Reg. 213/91 requires fall protection where a worker could fall more than 3 metres, which covers the eave of most two-storey townhouses.
6. Repairs. A plain statement that anything disturbed is put back as it was.

The installer can supply the method description and insurance documents for the request. Send it in writing, keep the reply, and book once it arrives. Details of how a seasonal install is done are on the service page.

Can a condominium townhouse have permanent lighting?

Only with the board's written approval, and it is a much larger request than seasonal lights. Permanent track is screwed to the fascia or soffit and stays all year, which makes it an addition to a common element rather than a seasonal decoration. Some corporations will consider it, especially if a whole block wants a matched run; many will not. Where a new outlet or circuit is needed, ESA requires hired electrical work to be done by a Licensed Electrical Contractor and reported to ESA, which is another item for the board to consider. If permanent lighting is what you want, raise it with the board well before the season and expect it to go to a meeting. The permanent lighting page explains the system so the request can describe it accurately.

What about lighting the whole complex?

That is the corporation's project, not an owner's. Entrance features, common-element trees, the clubhouse roofline and the sign at the gate are commonly lit by the board, quoted to the corporation with one schedule and one invoice, and serviced through the season. Residents see the entrance every evening for six weeks, so a calm warm white usually wears better than a busy colour scheme. That work is described on the commercial holiday lighting page.

Can the rules be changed if the community wants lights?

Yes, more easily than the declaration. The CAO explains that a board can pass, amend or repeal rules, that it must notify owners of the proposed change and its effective date, and that a rule is adopted automatically 30 days after the notice unless owners requisition a meeting and a majority of owners present vote against it. Owners who want clear permission for holiday lighting can ask the board to adopt a simple rule: clip-on only, own frontage, own outlet, set dates.

How are freehold townhouses different?

There is no board, so the decision is yours, but the roofline is shared. A single lit unit in an otherwise dark row can look odd, and clips that grip a shared eavestrough or run along a party line affect a neighbour's house. Rows that book together get a matched outline across the block, the same bulb spacing and colour from end to end, and one install visit. In Alton Village a single permanent run can cover a whole freehold row if every owner agrees.

When should I start?

Earlier than for a detached house, because the approval comes first. Ask the property manager in September or early October, and book once the answer is in. Most Burlington households want to be lit before the end of November: in the 2025 season the Festival of Lights in Spencer Smith Park opened on November 28. When you have the approval, send it with photos through the quote form.

Sources

• Condominium Authority of Ontario: Rules
• Condominium Authority of Ontario: The declaration
• Electrical Safety Authority: Holiday safety
• Electrical Safety Authority: Information for homeowners
• Ontario Regulation 213/91: Construction Projects
• Tourism Burlington: Burlington Festival of Lights