Accommodation & Rentals · 6 min read · Last updated
A lodging home is licensed under Schedule 9 of By-law 07-170 and is defined by two things: four or more people lodged, and rooms that do not have kitchen facilities for the occupants to use exclusively. Unlike the short-stay accommodation licences, this one is built around a Certificate of Compliance and the number of residents the home is permitted to house. That resident count follows you into the fee schedule and into every renewal cycle.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Establishments” category: “Lodging Home is where four (4) or more persons are lodged in rooms without kitchen facilities for the exclusive use of the occupants”
Who needs this licence?
The test is in the definition: four or more persons lodged in rooms without kitchen facilities for the exclusive use of the occupants. Both halves matter. Three lodgers do not trigger the licence, and rooms that each have their own kitchen are not lodging rooms at all.
That kitchen point is what most often decides which licence applies to a house full of tenants. If the units are self-contained, with their own toilet and cooking facilities, you are looking at the rental housing units licence under Schedule 31 rather than Schedule 9. If the residents share a kitchen and are lodged in rooms, this is the licence.
It is also not a short-stay licence. Bed and breakfasts, hotels and motels are defined by paying members of the public using a bedroom for seven days or less. A lodging home is about people who live there, which is why the City checks the building against property standards instead of running a health inspection.
Your permitted resident count is part of the licence, not a detail. The fee schedule adds a per-resident amount to the Certificate of Compliance, so the number of people the home is approved to house is something you should settle deliberately before you apply.
What documents do you need?
The checklist here is notably short, and that is the point: five items, with the technical scrutiny moved into the Certificate of Compliance inspection rather than into drawings you produce yourself.
You file the complete Business Licence Application Form and a valid business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year of the application. The City is confirming that a currently registered entity stands behind the home.
Zoning follows: a Zoning Verification Certificate, or a zoning addendum if the same category of business was licensed at the address within the past year. Lodging homes are use-sensitive in the zoning by-law, so this step is worth starting first.
A Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check from the police service board in your city of residence, dated within 36 days of the application, is required, and third party clearances are not accepted. Because residents live in the building rather than passing through, the City screens the person running it.
The fifth item is the completed Certificate of Compliance Application Form. That form is what sets the property standards inspection in motion, and unlike the short-stay licences there is no site plan, premise plan or electrical certificate on this checklist. The condition of the building is assessed by the inspection itself.
Zoning and premises requirements
Zoning is checked against the property. You need a Zoning Verification Certificate confirming a lodging home is permitted at that address, and this is the step most likely to determine whether the project is viable at all, since lodging homes are restricted in many zones.
If the same category of business was licensed at the address within the previous year, a zoning addendum may be completed instead of a fresh certificate. That is the usual path when an existing licensed lodging home changes operator.
This checklist does not require you to submit a scaled premise plan or site plan. What replaces those drawings is the Certificate of Compliance inspection, which examines the building against the Property Standards By-law, together with the fire and parking inspections. Keep in mind that the parking inspection still looks at what the property actually provides, even though you are not filing a parking drawing.
Inspections and approvals
Three inspections are circulated by the licensing team once your application has been received.
- Fire inspection. In a building where residents sleep in individual rooms and share circulation space, fire separation, detection, alarms and exits are the central concern. This inspection repeats every year at renewal.
- Parking inspection. The inspector checks the parking actually available at the property.
- Certificate of Compliance inspection. This assesses the building against the Property Standards By-law and produces the certificate itself. It is required at the initial application and again every three years.
There is no health inspection on a lodging home file. That absence is a good marker of what this licence is: a residential building being assessed for standards and life safety, not a food-serving business.
How much does it cost?
The application fee structure has more moving parts than the short-stay licences. It combines a processing fee, the licence fee, a fire inspection fee, a parking inspection fee and a Certificate of Compliance fee.
Two things then get added on top. A zoning verification or addendum fee applies where zoning has to be confirmed, and the Certificate of Compliance carries an additional fee for each permitted resident, multiplied by the number of residents the home is permitted to house. A larger home therefore costs meaningfully more than a small one, and the difference is driven by resident count rather than floor area.
HST applies to some lines and not others. The processing fee, the inspection fees and the Certificate of Compliance are shown with HST added to a set fee, while the licence fee and the zoning verification line are shown without.
Renewal keeps three of those elements: the licence fee, a fire inspection every year, and the Certificate of Compliance every three years, again with the per-resident add-on. A lapsed licence attracts a reinstatement fee. All amounts are set in the City fee schedule and confirmed during your application.
How to apply
Confirm zoning before anything else. A lodging home that is not permitted at the address cannot be licensed, and this is the single most common reason an application does not proceed.
Decide the permitted resident count you are applying for. It affects the Certificate of Compliance fee and what the inspection will assess, so it is better settled at the start than adjusted midway.
Assemble the five checklist items: the complete application form, a business registration or corporate profile dated within a year, the zoning verification or addendum, a criminal records and judicial matters check dated within 36 days, and the completed Certificate of Compliance application form.
Submit the package and pay the processing, licence, inspection and Certificate of Compliance fees, including the per-resident add-on. The licensing team then circulates the fire, parking and Certificate of Compliance inspections. Deficiencies found in the property standards inspection have to be corrected before the certificate, and therefore the licence, can issue.
Renewals and staying compliant
Declarations A and B are completed at every renewal, confirming that the operation and the premises are as licensed.
The renewal cycle runs on two clocks. The licence fee and a fire inspection recur every year, while the Certificate of Compliance recurs every three years, with the per-resident additional fee applied again when it does. Budget for a heavier year every third renewal.
If your resident count changes, so does the Certificate of Compliance element, so raise it with the City rather than assuming the previous figure carries over. A licence allowed to lapse carries a reinstatement fee on top of the ordinary renewal cost.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. What makes a Hamilton premises a lodging home under Schedule 9?
Schedule 9 turns on both elements together: at least four persons lodged, and rooms that lack kitchen facilities for the occupants exclusive use.
2. How often must a lodging home obtain a Certificate of Compliance?
The fee schedule marks the Certificate of Compliance as due upon initial application and every three years, while the fire inspection is the item that recurs annually.
3. Which inspection does a lodging home application NOT include?
Lodging homes are inspected for fire, parking and property standards compliance; the health inspection belongs to the food-serving accommodation licences.
Skip the paperwork
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This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Licensing requirements, by-laws and fees change and vary by municipality — always confirm the current rules with the City before you apply.