Care & Animals · 8 min read · Last updated
A small care home in Hamilton is licensed under Schedule 20 of By-law 07-170, and the four to ten resident category is the entry tier. The application is one of the longest in the City's guide because it asks about you as an operator, about the building, about your staff and about your finances. Give yourself weeks, not days, to assemble it.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Establishments” category: “A residential complex occupied or intended to be occupied by four (4) or more persons for the purpose of receiving care services, whether receiving the services is the primary purpose of the occupancy, or licensed/required to be licensed under the Retirement Homes Act, 2010.”
Who needs this licence?
A residential care facility is a residential complex occupied, or intended to be occupied, by four or more people for the purpose of receiving care services. It counts whether or not receiving those services is the primary purpose of the occupancy, and it also covers homes licensed or required to be licensed under the Retirement Homes Act, 2010.
This entry covers the smaller tier, four to ten residents. Homes with eleven or more residents are licensed under the same Schedule 20 but as a separate, higher category. The dividing line is permitted resident capacity, so decide your capacity before you apply rather than growing into a different tier by accident.
The by-law also puts requirements on the operator personally. You must be able to show that you are a secondary school graduate, that you have work experience in the health care field, that the operation is financially viable, and you must supply municipal references.
Police checks are required for two roles rather than one: someone on the corporate papers, and one of the supervisors of the location. Schedule 20 of By-law 07-170 carries the full definitions, requirements and restrictions, and homes licensed with the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority are treated differently on several items.
What documents do you need?
The checklist runs to eighteen items, and they fall into four groups. The first group establishes the business: the licence application form, a business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year, and where you are taking over an existing home, proof of the ownership transfer of the business.
The second group establishes the premises: the Zoning Verification Certificate or addendum, proof of property ownership or an agreement with the property owner, a premise plan drawn to scale, and a certified electrician inspection or ESA certificate confirming the building meets the Ontario Electrical Safety Code.
The third group is about the people. That means the Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check for someone on the corporate papers and for one of the supervisors, a staff list with first name, last name and position, employee information forms outlining qualifications and training, proof the operator graduated secondary school, and proof the operator has health care work experience.
The fourth group is about risk and viability: proof of liability insurance of at least one million dollars per claim with the home's address shown on the paperwork, proof of financial viability, municipal references, proof of an RHRA licence if you hold one, a single facility incident plan if the home is not RHRA licensed, and the Certificate of Compliance application.
Each item earns its place. The City is deciding whether vulnerable residents will be housed safely by an operator who can keep the home running, which is why the file reaches into training records and finances rather than stopping at the building.
Zoning and premises requirements
You need a Zoning Verification Certificate confirming that a residential care facility is a permitted use at the address, at the capacity you are proposing. Where the same category of business held a licence at that address within the previous year, a zoning addendum may be completed instead.
Capacity is the detail to watch. A property may be zoned for a care home at one size and not at another, so confirm the number of residents your zoning confirmation supports before you sign a lease or a purchase agreement.
The premise plan sits alongside zoning and must be drawn to scale. It should show parking areas, queuing areas, walkways, smoking areas, patios, seating areas, offices, all rooms, kitchen facilities, washrooms, storage areas and entrances and exits.
Draw the plan honestly. Fire, health and parking inspectors all work from it, and a plan that does not match what an inspector finds on site creates more delay than a plan that shows an awkward layout.
Inspections and approvals
Four inspections are circulated by the Licensing team once your application is received. You do not arrange them independently.
The fire inspection examines fire safety in a building where residents may not be able to evacuate quickly: alarms, detection, exits, separations and the fire safety plan. It is charged as its own fee and is repeated at renewal.
The parking inspection looks at parking and circulation on the site, including how staff, visitors and service vehicles use it.
Health inspections are the piece that scales with the home. For a home that is not licensed with the RHRA, a health inspection charge applies for every permitted resident, so a larger permitted capacity means a larger health inspection cost. The inspection looks at food handling, sanitation and the general health conditions of the home.
The Certificate of Compliance inspection checks the premises against the compliance requirements attached to the licence, and for this facility type it is repeated at renewal rather than being an initial requirement only.
How much does it cost?
This is one of Hamilton's more layered fee structures, so read it as a base plus add-ons rather than a single price.
The base is a processing fee to open the file, a licence fee for the licence itself, a fire inspection fee and a parking inspection fee. HST applies to the processing fee and the inspection fees but not to the licence fee, which is why totals do not add up the way you might expect.
Zoning verification or the addendum is priced separately, and the guide shows the application total both with and without it.
Two further charges scale with capacity. Where the home is not licensed with the RHRA, a health inspection charge applies for every permitted resident. The Certificate of Compliance carries its own fee plus an additional amount for each permitted resident. A home at the top of the four to ten range therefore pays materially more than one at the bottom.
Renewal is charged as a licence fee plus a fire inspection fee, with the per resident health inspection charge again where the home is not RHRA licensed. A late renewal adds a reinstatement fee. The City sets all figures in its fee schedule and confirms them during the application, so ask for a written estimate that reflects your permitted capacity.
How to apply
Start with zoning and capacity. Confirm that a residential care facility is permitted at the address and at the number of residents you intend to house, and get the Zoning Verification Certificate or addendum moving.
Prepare the building evidence next: the scaled premise plan, proof of ownership or the owner's agreement, and the certified electrician inspection or ESA certificate.
Assemble the operator and staffing evidence: secondary school graduation, health care work experience, financial viability, municipal references, the staff list and employee information forms with qualifications and training, plus the single facility incident plan if the home is not RHRA licensed.
Order the police checks for someone on the corporate papers and for a supervisor of the location late in the process, since they must be dated within 36 days of the application and cannot come from a third party screening firm.
Submit the licence application together with the Certificate of Compliance application and pay the intake fees. Licensing then circulates the fire, parking, health and compliance inspections. Clear any deficiencies, and the licence issues once the file and the inspections are complete.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renewal for a care home is closer to a re-application than a rubber stamp. Declarations A and B must both be completed.
You must file a valid certificate of insurance, an updated staff list with first name, last name and position, and, where the home is not licensed with the RHRA, an updated single facility incident plan.
The Certificate of Compliance inspection is repeated at renewal, and the ESA certificate or electrical inspection certificate must be renewed every three years. Diarise the three year electrical cycle separately, because it will not line up with your annual renewal.
Renewal fees are a licence fee and a fire inspection fee, plus the per resident health inspection charge where the home is not RHRA licensed. Letting the licence lapse adds a reinstatement fee, and an unlicensed care home is a far more serious problem than an unlicensed shop, so treat the expiry date as a hard deadline.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. Whose criminal record checks does a residential care facility application require?
The checklist specifies the Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check is required for someone on the corporate papers and for one of the supervisors of the location.
2. When does the single facility incident plan have to be filed?
The guide requires the single facility incident plan only where the home is not licensed with the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority.
3. How is the health inspection charge calculated for a home that is not RHRA licensed?
The fee schedule applies the health inspection charge for every permitted resident in a home that is not licensed with the RHRA, so cost tracks permitted capacity.
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.