I let my boy have free reign at 6 months on the dot. I guess one would decide on a case by case basis, but denying the inevitable doesn't bode well for establishing a lasting trust with your dog.
I knew he would get into stuff and tear something up, fortunately the worst he has done, so far

is chew on the coffee table a bit. If we leave mail on the table, it's history, but that is to be expected. Keep the house tidy and promote a trusting relationship and you might be surprised.
Chewing on stuff, digging holes, tearing up this and that...I'd rather catch it early on, and encourage training and repetition so that once the dog hits the 1 year mark and further, starts to mature and come into themselves, they are already on a path to success.
You start other training early on right, so why wait to start correcting potential destructive behavior?
It's going to happen, sooner or later, unless you work from home and monitor the dog 24/7.
I guess it all depends on the dogs temperament as well. My boy is a sweetheart. Has never growled at another person and seems to be on the slightly submissive side, versus a head strong beast. He is stubborn and persistent, but he never showed me any reason to not be allowed a little roaming room at the time I chose.
Has your dog completely torn something valuable up, or are you just fearing that?
Keep in mind, we keep bedroom doors closed and we have wood floors, mainly. Accidents are easy to clean and he can't run on the wood floors at mach 7. He has his chew toys and two other dogs to mingle with when no one is home. So free reign might have been a little misleading, but he no longer has to go in his crate, the crate is put up.