Accommodation & Rentals · 7 min read · Last updated
This is Hamilton's small-landlord licence, set out in Schedule 31 of By-law 07-170 and applied only in Wards 1, 8 and parts of Ward 14 as mapped in the by-law. It covers buildings with five or fewer self-contained units rented as residential premises, which puts it at the opposite end of the tenure scale from the short-stay licences. The application leans on ownership, insurance and building documentation rather than on a police check.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Establishments” category: “A building or part of a building with 5 or less self-contained units, consisting of one or more rooms containing toilet/cooking facilities, a Single Housekeeping Establishment and used/intended use as a rented residential premise (does not include hotels/motels, lodging homes, short-term rental, multiple dwelling unit, etc.). For Wards 1, 8 and parts of 14 (as per map in the By-law).”
Who needs this licence?
This licence applies to a building or part of a building with five or fewer self-contained units, where each unit consists of one or more rooms containing toilet and cooking facilities, occupied as a Single Housekeeping Establishment and used or intended to be used as a rented residential premise.
It is geographically limited. The by-law applies it to Wards 1, 8 and parts of Ward 14, as shown on the map in the by-law. If your rental property is outside that area, this licence is not the one you need, so check the map before you do anything else.
The definition explicitly excludes hotels and motels, lodging homes, short-term rentals and multiple dwelling units. Those exclusions are the quickest way to place your property. Rooms without their own kitchens point to a lodging home under Schedule 9. Stays under 28 days point to a short-term rental under Schedule 32. More than five self-contained units takes the property out of Schedule 31 altogether.
The occupant here is a residential tenant with an ongoing tenancy, not a traveller. That is why the file is about ownership, insurance, wiring and building condition rather than about guest registration or health inspections.
What documents do you need?
Begin with the completed Business Licence Application Form and a valid business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year, then the Zoning Verification Certificate or, where the same category of business was licensed at the address within the past year, a zoning addendum.
Then comes the set that makes this licence distinctive. Proof of property ownership is required, because the licence is aimed at the landlord of the building. Proof of liability insurance as a rental property, at a minimum of two million dollars per occurrence, is required, and current proof has to be produced again at renewal. Notice what is absent: there is no criminal records and judicial matters check on this checklist, unlike the accommodation licences in the same display group.
Two drawings are needed. A floor plan covering every unit, every floor and every room with dimensions, for which an example is available on the City website, and a site sketch showing the location of the house, any external garage or recycling facilities, other structures and the parking spaces with their number and dimensions.
Electrical evidence is specific here. You need documentation from an ESA or ECRA licensed electrician stating that a general electrical inspection was completed and that the units comply with the Electrical Safety Code, O. Reg. 164/99.
Finally, file the Certificate of Compliance application form and a completed self-certification checklist. The self-certification is you telling the City the property meets standards; the Certificate of Compliance inspection is the City checking. Treat the checklist as your pre-inspection walkthrough.
Zoning and premises requirements
Zoning applies to the property. You need a Zoning Verification Certificate confirming that renting the building as residential units is permitted at that address, and a zoning addendum may be completed instead where the same category of business was licensed there within the past year.
Before zoning, though, confirm geography. This licence exists only for Wards 1, 8 and parts of Ward 14 as mapped in the by-law, so the first question is not whether zoning permits the use but whether the licensing regime reaches your street at all.
There is no scaled premise plan on this checklist. Instead you file a floor plan showing every unit, floor and room with dimensions, and a site sketch showing the house, external garage or recycling facilities, other structures and the parking spaces with their number and dimensions. Between them, those two drawings tell the City how many units exist, how they are laid out, and what parking serves them.
Inspections and approvals
Two inspections are listed, and the licensing team circulates the requests once your application has been received.
- Fire inspection. In a small multi-unit rental, this focuses on separation between units, detection and alarms, and safe exit from every unit. It recurs at renewal.
- Certificate of Compliance inspection. This assesses the property against the Property Standards By-law and results in the certificate you applied for with your package.
There is no parking inspection and no health inspection on this licence, even though a site sketch showing parking is required. The parking information is collected on paper here rather than through a separate inspection visit.
Your self-certification checklist and the ESA electrical documentation do part of the work an inspection would otherwise do, which is why the accuracy of both matters. Anything you certify that does not hold up will surface during the compliance inspection.
How much does it cost?
The application is built from a processing fee, the licence fee and a fire inspection fee. That is the base subtotal.
A zoning verification or addendum fee is added on top where zoning has to be confirmed, and the guide shows a separate total with that line included so you can see the difference it makes.
HST is charged on some lines only. The processing fee and the fire inspection fee carry HST on top of a set fee, while the licence fee and the zoning line are shown without it.
Renewal is simpler: the licence fee and the fire inspection fee. Your other recurring costs are indirect rather than City fees, notably keeping liability insurance in force and repeating the ESA inspection every three years. A licence that lapses attracts a reinstatement fee. The City sets all amounts in its fee schedule and confirms them during the application.
How to apply
First, check the map in the by-law and confirm the property falls within Wards 1, 8 or the mapped parts of Ward 14. Nothing else matters if it does not.
Next, sort out insurance and ownership documentation. Arranging liability coverage that describes the property as a rental at the required minimum per occurrence often takes longer than landlords expect, particularly if the property is currently insured as owner-occupied.
Commission the floor plan and site sketch, and book the ESA or ECRA licensed electrician for the general electrical inspection. Use the example floor plan on the City website as your template.
Complete the self-certification checklist by walking the building and fixing what it identifies, then file the application form, business registration, zoning verification or addendum, ownership proof, insurance proof, drawings, electrical documentation, Certificate of Compliance application and the checklist together. Pay the processing, licence and fire inspection fees, plus zoning if applicable, and the licensing team will circulate the fire and Certificate of Compliance inspections.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renewal here differs from the other accommodation licences in a way that is easy to miss: only Declaration B needs to be completed, not Declarations A and B.
You also have to produce current valid proof of liability insurance as a rental property at the required minimum, and an ESA inspection is required every three years. So the renewal package is not just a payment: it is proof that coverage has not lapsed and that the wiring is still being checked on cycle.
The renewal fee structure is the licence fee plus the fire inspection fee, which means the fire inspection repeats each renewal. If the licence is allowed to lapse, a reinstatement fee applies. If you have added or reconfigured a unit since your last floor plan, update the drawing rather than resubmitting the old one, since the unit count is central to whether Schedule 31 still applies to your building at all.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. Where does Hamilton's rental housing units licence apply?
Schedule 31 is a geographically limited licence, applying to Wards 1, 8 and the mapped parts of Ward 14 rather than city-wide.
2. How large can a property be and still fall under the rental housing units licence?
The definition caps the licence at five or fewer self-contained units and expressly excludes multiple dwelling units, hotels, motels, lodging homes and short-term rentals.
3. Which declaration does a rental housing units renewal require?
This licence is the exception in the group: its renewal requirements list Declaration B alone, alongside current insurance proof and the three-year ESA inspection.
Skip the paperwork
Tell Permits2Go about your business and it assembles the licence application for you — document checklists, e-signatures and a guided workspace for Hamilton, with more cities on the way.
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.