Know Your Rights: Hanging Signs with Political Messages from Private Homes
- ACRI
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
It is election season, which means people are hanging signs expressing their support for political candidates and parties. Below are answers to frequently asked questions about what is and is not permitted. Bottom line: individuals are allowed to hang political signs on private balconies and private homes. Municipal inspectors do not have the authority to impose fines or insist on the removal of signs hanging from private homes.
Local authorities can regulate the posting of signs in public areas within their jurisdiction. In public areas, the Municipalities Ordinance grants them the power to supervise or prohibit the display of signs, and many local authorities have enacted bylaws specifying which signs require a permit and the fees that need to be paid. Under these bylaws, municipal inspectors are authorized to require residents to remove signs that have been posted without a permit. However, municipal inspectors do not have the authority to police personal or political expression when it comes to signs hung on private homes or from private balconies.
Do I need to pay a fee or obtain a permit from the local authority in order to hang a sign on my private fence or private balcony?
No. As early as 1999, in a petition filed by ACRI (Zakin v. the Municipality), the Supreme Court held that municipal bylaws must be interpreted to mean that residents are not required to obtain a permit or pay a fee for protest signs or political signs displayed from their balconies.
Can a municipal inspector require me to remove a sign that I display from my home because I did not obtain a permit?
No. You do not require a permit, and inspectors do not have a say in what a person chooses to display from their private home.
Are the rules different during an election period?
No—quite the contrary. Political messages, including messages supporting a particular political party and any other elections-related message, receive special protection under the law. The Elections (Modes of Propaganda) Law allows individuals to display election messages outside of their private homes and permits local authorities to set conditions on the signs (for example, restrictions on their size), but not to prohibit them. Similarly, the Attorney General's directive on this issue explicitly states that a local authority may not require a permit for election messages to be displayed outside a private home, nor may it interfere with its content. The Supreme Court and the Attorney General have further emphasized that if a local authority prevents residents from displaying only signs containing certain messages while allowing others, this may constitute unlawful selective enforcement.
What should I do if a municipal inspector demands that I remove a sign displayed on my private home or pay a fee to display it?
Record as many details as possible (date, address, the inspector's name, etc.). If possible, document the interaction on video and contact ACRI.