Rooming House Building Permit - City of Toronto

A Rooming House (single-room occupancy) is a residential building with four or more multi-tenant dwelling rooms, inhabited or intended to be inhabited by persons who do not live together as a single housekeeping unit.

The City of Toronto defines a rooming house, as a residential building where four or more dwelling rooms are rented out to separate people. Tenants of a rooming house may share the kitchen and/or washroom but they do not live together as a single housekeeping unit.

A dwelling room in a rooming house is a room that is used or intended to be used for living accommodation; is available for rent; and may include a bathroom or kitchen facility but does not include both.

The City of Toronto's new By-Laws for rooming houses (SRO - Single Room Occupancy) came into effect on March 31, 2024.

Having a diverse range of housing opportunities including rooming houses in all residential areas in Toronto is critical to ensuring everyone has a safe place to call home.  Rooming houses provide homes to a diversity of Toronto residents in need including people earning low incomes and equity-deserving groups. Access to good quality, safe, affordable housing including rooming houses is an important social determinant of health and is the cornerstone of vibrant, inclusive, and complete communities in the City of Toronto.

The City of Toronto's rooming house by-laws permits rooming houses across Toronto and all operators of rooming houses are now required by the City of Toronto to obtain licences to operate rooming houses in Toronto.

All rooming house operators in the City of Toronto require a Rooming House licence. Rooming houses are permitted across all of Toronto and a new Rooming House Licensing Bylaw has introduced consistent standards and regulatory oversight to protect the safety of tenants of the rooming houses and respond to community concerns. The City of Toronto's staff will provide ongoing guidance to operators of the rooming houses and sufficient time for them to come into compliance with the City of Toronto's new by-laws for the rooming houses. The City of Toronto will not seek to close existing rooming houses unless an immediate health and safety risk is identified.

Under the Ontario Fire Code, the operator of a rooming house that has more than four occupants must submit a Fire Safety Plan for the rooming house in addition to other documents required for a licence to operate a rooming house in the City of Toronto.

Zoning Review
Before applying for a multi-tenant rooming house licence from the City of Toronto, new rooming house operators will need to undergo a zoning review by the City of Toronto to show that the proposed rooming house meets the City of Toronto's requirements for a rooming house. If the proposed rooming house complies with the zoning requirements of the City of Toronto, the rooming house operator will get a Zoning Applicable Law Certificate form the City of Toronto. If the rooming house does not comply with the City of Toronto's Zoning By-Law, for example, if the rooming house exceeds the maximum number of rooms allowed, the rooming house operator may have to obtain the approval of the City of Toronto's Committee of Adjustment for a minor variance.

• Rooming houses will be permitted in all areas of Toronto zoned for residential uses.
• Rooming houses with six rooms or fewer will be allowed in all neighbourhoods in Toronto.
• Rooming houses in Toronto must have a minimum of one bathroom for every four rooms. A bathroom is required to have a toilet, a sink, a bath, and/or a shower. 
• Minimum parking requirements for rooming houses depend on location. No parking spaces are required for a rooming house in former Toronto or the Zoning Bylaw’s parking policy areas. In all other areas, rooming houses must have a minimum of one parking space for every three dwelling rooms. This requirement is rounded down so a rooming house with four or five dwelling rooms requires at least one parking space and a rooming house with six dwelling rooms requires at least two parking spaces. 
• Depending on the location, rooming houses may have up to 12 or 25 rooms.  In Etobicoke, North York, and Scarborough, a maximum of six dwelling rooms is allowed in a rooming house in all zones. In Toronto, East York, and York, a maximum of 6, 12, or 25 dwelling rooms is permitted in a rooming house depending on the location and zone type - as many as 12 rooms per rooming house will be permitted in higher-density residential zones in Toronto proper, East York, and York. For areas zoned for mixed-use, as many as 25 dwelling rooms will be permitted in a rooming house.
  

Maximum Permitted Dwelling Rooms in Toronto, East York, and York
Rooming House within Mixed-use (CR, CRE) zoning - 25
Rooming House within High-density Residential (RA, RAC) zoning - 12
Rooming House within Residential (R, RM) zoning  - 6 or 12 (dependent upon location)
Rooming House within Low-density Residential - (RD, RS, RT) zoning - 6

Once the rooming house operator has received an approved Zoning Certificate, the rooming house operator may need to apply for a Building Permit. 

A building permit is also required when changing the use of a building (e.g., single-dwelling unit house to multi-dwelling unit house); even if no construction is proposed.

A building permit is required for the construction and/or demolition of a new building, an addition, or material alteration of any building or structure.

Our fees for stamped engineering building permit drawings are as follows:
Architectural Floor Plans - $1,295+HST plus $75 per room
Architectural Reflected Ceiling Plans - $1,295+HST plus $75 per room
Site Plan referencing a New Topographical Boundary Survey - $2,985+HST
If required HVAC Drawings: $975+HST plus $75 per room
Applying for a Building Permit on behalf of the owner: $495+HST
If required, structural engineering drawings and site servicing / mechanical / plumbing drawings would cost additional.

For Additional Information please contact:

• Miaoyi Xue, P.Eng,
• Joo Min Park, MEng, P.Eng.
• Saloni Khoja, B.Arch.
• Edgar Labuac, P.Eng
• Weiming Ling, B.Eng
• Rui Cong Xia, B.ASc(Civil)
• Yuen Yu Ng, B.S.Sc (Arch)
• Hoi Ching So, B.S.Sc (Arch)
• Liu Sun, B.Des (Arch)

LAND & BUILDING EXPERTS

Land Line: 416 332 1743

After Hours / Text Messages: 416 727 8336

Email: landbuildex@gmail.com 

Fire Safety Plan
Under the Ontario Fire Code, if a rooming house has more than four tenants, the rooming house operator must submit a Fire Safety Plan to the City of Toronto at tfs_plans@toronto.ca. Once the Fire Safety Plan for the rooming house is approved, Toronto Fire Services will inspect the rooming house.
Our fee to prepare a Fire Safety Plan is $985+HST

Rooming House Licence Fees Payable to the City of Toronto:
The application/renewal fee for a rooming house is $25 per room and per application
Inspection fee $150 per rooming house house

Licence Types
There are two types of licences for multi-tenant house operators in Toronto:
Multi-tenant rooming house (Type A)
Personal care multi-tenant rooming house (Type B)

Requirements for All Rooming House Operators in Toronto
Under the City of Toronto's new rules, all rooming house operators need a licence and are required to develop rooming house maintenance plans, including processes for tenant service requests, pest management, and waste management and collection, to help improve the rooming house maintenance standards and ensure that the rooming house tenant requests are addressed in a timely fashion. Rooming house operators also need to comply with the Ontario Building Code, Ontario Fire Code, and Ontario Electrical Safety Code and continue to meet their obligations to rooming house tenants under the Residential Tenancies Act of Ontario.

All rooming house operators must provide details about the rooming house and submit the following:

• Occupancy Permit (only required for new rooming house operators and for existing rooming house operators if property has changed)
• Property Plan
• Fire Safety Plan Approval Letter (only required for new rooming operators with more than four tenants and existing rooming house operators if occupancy has changed)
• Floor Plan
• Waste Management Plan
• Pest Management Plan
• Indoor/Outdoor Property Management Plan
• Tenant Service Request
  

Including Meals & Personal Care (Type B Licence)
Personal care rooming houses are where meals and services are provided to residents to care for their personal needs and health. Personal care rooming houses must meet the City of Toronto's additional operating requirements and occupancy standards, such as staffing, meal plans, sanitary conditions, prescription management, and more.

Additional Requirements for Type B
In addition to the above, rooming operators applying for a Type B (personal care) licence must also submit:

• Personal Care Plan
• Safety Plan
• Proof of Age
• Proof of Education
• Employment Experience
• Vulnerable Sector Screening
  

Designated Person-in-Charge applying for a Type B (personal care) rooming house licence must submit:

• Proof of CPR and First-Aid Training
• Proof of Age
• Proof of Education
• Employment Experience
• Vulnerable Sector Screening

Rooming houses must be operated according to the City of Toronto's Rooming Houses Bylaw. Operators of the rooming houses must comply with the City of Toronto's enhanced licensing requirements that promote health and safety and new standards for personal care rooming houses. 

Once the rooming house licence application and licence fee payment are received, the City of Toronto will conduct inspections of the rooming house. If all criteria are met, a rooming house licence will be issued by the City of Toronto. If one or more clearances are not met, the City of Toronto will inform the rooming operator via written notice and may refer the rooming house licence application to the Rooming House Licensing Tribunal.

If a rooming house operator decides no longer want to operate a rooming house, the rooming house operator will need to take a series of steps to notify the City of Toronto and the rooming house tenants to minimize the impact due to the closure of the rooming house.

Rooming house operators must:

• Designate an emergency contact who will be contacted in emergencies or with any inquiries about the operation of the rooming house. 
• Allow the City of Toronto to provide notices to rooming house tenants. 
• Maintain the rooming house in accordance with all applicable City of Toronto's bylaws and the Province of Ontario's legislations. 
• Notify the City of Toronto of any change in ownership of the rooming house or any change in the contact information of the owner and/or agent of the rooming house. 
• Post information for rooming house tenants at the entrance of the rooming house, including but not limited to:
   The rooming house licence
   The name and contact details of the owner and agent of the rooming house
   The fire safety plan for the rooming house and
   Details of any conditions on which the rooming house licence was granted.         Allow inspections of the rooming house to ensure compliance with applicable City of Toronto's bylaws and the Province of Ontario's legislations.

Tenant Service Requests
Rooming house operators must have a tenant service request plan, that includes at a minimum, that they will:

• Respond to all non-urgent service requests within seven days.
• Respond to all urgent service requests within 24 hours. Urgent requests can include fuel, electricity, gas, heat, cold or hot water issues.
• Receive and record tenant service requests and details of the rooming house operator’s responding action.

Property Management Plan
Rooming house operators must have an indoor property management plan that includes information on the cleaning of multi-tenant rooming house rooms or dwelling units and common areas (including bathrooms, kitchens, and hallways).

Rooming house operators must have an outdoor property management plan on how they will:
Remove snow
Maintain yards
Maintain fences
Clean and maintain balconies, porches and patios
Clean windows

Pest Management Plan
The rooming house operator must have a pest management plan that includes that the rooming house operator will:

Inspect the rooming house for the presence of pests in common areas at least once every 30 days, and any area within 72 hours of any information indicating the presence of pests.
Hire a licensed pest management operator or exterminator to conduct all pest extermination activity.
If the rooming house operator is aware of the presence of pests at the rooming house, they will take adequate measures to prevent the spread of pests into other portions of the rooming house and eliminate or exterminate the pests in all areas where the presence of the pests is detected.

Waste Management Plan
The rooming house operator must have a waste management plan that includes information on how they will follow the City’s garbage, recycling, and organics storage and disposal requirements and mandatory waste diversion requirements.

Tenant Notice Board
The rooming house operator must maintain a notice board for tenants within the rooming house, and the notice board must include, but is not limited to:
A copy of their rooming house licence
Most up-to-date property, pest management, and waste management plans
Emergency contact information
City-issued notices

Ending Rooming House Operations
If a rooming house operator chooses to end the operation of their multi-tenant rooming house, they must notify the Cityof Toronto by submitting a transition plan at least 210 days (approximately seven months) in advance, of ending rooming house operations. Rooming house operators  must notify each tenant in writing, at least 180 days (approximately six months) in advance of the rooming house operation’s end date.

In ending rooming house operations, a landlord must still comply with rules related to tenant rights in the Residential Tenancies Act of Ontario.

A rooming house operator cannot end rooming house operations or evict a tenant simply because the owner plans to sell the rooming house. A tenancy may only be terminated based on one of the grounds of eviction set out in the Residential Tenancies Act of Ontario.

In Toronto, rooming houses are regulated under the City of Toronto's by-laws, any health-care services provided at group homes are regulated by the province of Ontario.