Renting a Unit to a Dog Daycare, Boarding Kennel or Groomer in Toronto: Zoning, Noise and the Lease Clauses to Check

Toronto’s zoning by-law defines grooming and it defines boarding. It never defines a dog daycare. Here is what that gap means, zone by zone.

I’m Arthur Zhao, a real estate Broker in Toronto. Search Toronto’s Zoning By-law 569-2013 for a dog daycare and you will not find one. In the definitions chapter, the word “daycare” appears only in Private Home Daycare, which is about the care of children. What the by-law does define for animals is Pet Services, which means grooming, and Kennel, which means boarding, training or breeding.

So this article works through it zone by zone: what the commercial-local (CL), commercial-residential (CR) and employment-industrial (E) zones actually list, where a daycare might land when the by-law has no word for it, then the City’s licensing and noise chapters, and finally how to write the use clause in the lease.

Zone by zone: what CL, CR and E list

According to the City of Toronto’s Zoning By-law 569-2013 (office consolidation, 2026), two definitions in Chapter 800 drive everything below. (565) Pet Services means premises used to provide for the grooming of domestic animals, and the definition adds that “a veterinary hospital or a kennel are not pet services.” (380) Kennel means premises used for boarding, training or breeding of dogs, cats or other domestic animals.

CL zone (Chapter 30.20). The permitted-use list in 30.20.20.10(1) includes Personal Service Shop, Pet Services, Retail Service and Veterinary Hospital. Kennel is not on it, and the word does not appear anywhere in the CL chapter I reviewed.

CR zone (Chapter 40.10). The CR zone splits its uses by the letters in the zone label. Under the letter “c” (40.10.20.10(1)(A)), the list includes Personal Service Shop, Pet Services and Veterinary Hospital. A search of the full CR chapter turned up no Kennel.

E zone (Chapter 60.20). The list in 60.20.20.10(1) is the broadest of the three for animal uses: Animal Shelter, Kennel and Pet Services all appear. Veterinary Hospital, which CL and CR list, does not appear in the E chapter.

For a landlord, that means a groomer has a permitted-use entry in all three zones, while a boarding operation only has one in E among the three chapters reviewed here. These findings are limited to those three chapters; other zones were not checked.

Where a daycare falls when the by-law has no word for it

Because 569-2013 has no daycare definition for animals, the question becomes which of the defined uses the operation fits. The by-law does not answer that directly, so what follows is a reading of the definitions, not a ruling.

If dogs stay overnight, the operation reads closer to “boarding,” which is one of the three activities in the Kennel definition.

If the business runs training classes, “training” is also inside the Kennel definition.

If dogs come for the day and go home at night, the Kennel definition does not say whether daytime care alone counts as boarding. Pet Services does not help either: its definition covers grooming only.

So if the business is anything more than grooming, the safer assumption is that the City may not see it as Pet Services. The way to find out is to have the operator ask the City’s zoning review about the specific operation (hours, overnight stays, training, number of animals) before the lease becomes firm.

Licensing: what Chapter 545 does and does not cover

Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545 (Licensing) has an article on animals in business, but it is about selling them. Article XX defines a PET SHOP as “a shop or place where animals or birds for use as pets are sold or kept for sale” (§545-246). Each pet shop needs its own licence (§545-247), and every application goes to the Medical Officer of Health for review (§545-248).

In the searches for this article, I did not find a separate licence category for grooming or for boarding in Chapter 545 (consolidation dated January 1, 2025); the words “kennel,” “groom” and “boarding” do not appear in it. That is not the same as saying no licence is needed. If a groomer also sells animals, the pet shop definition would reach that part of the business. If it only grooms and sells no animals, the wording of the definition suggests it is not a pet shop, but the operator should confirm with Municipal Licensing and Standards before opening.

Noise: Chapter 591 and the barking clause

According to Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 591 (Noise), §591-2.2: “No person shall cause or permit persistent noise, including barking, calling or whining or other similar persistent noise, to be made by any animal kept or used for any purpose.”

Two parts of that sentence matter for a commercial unit. “For any purpose” means the clause does not carve out businesses; a daycare’s dogs are covered the same way a household dog is. And “persistent noise” has a definition in §591-1.1: noise heard continuously for ten minutes or more, or intermittently for a total of ten minutes over one hour.

The clause does not name a landlord or a tenant. It applies to whoever causes or permits the noise. The operator keeping the dogs is the clearest fit. Whether a landlord who knows about the barking could be said to “permit” it, the chapter does not spell out.

Writing the use clause

Zoning and the noise by-law put the direct obligations on the operator. The landlord’s exposure sits in the lease, and the use clause is where it starts. Points to settle in writing (none of this is a standard form, and a commercial lease is worth having a lawyer review):

Name the activities, not the label. “Grooming of domestic animals” lines up with the Pet Services definition. “Dog daycare” lines up with nothing in the by-law. If boarding or training is allowed, say so in those words.

Overnight stays. State whether animals may stay after closing. That one fact may decide which zoning definition the City applies.

Zoning confirmation. Decide who confirms the use with the City, and what happens to the lease if the answer is no.

Alterations. An animal business may ask for sound insulation, ventilation or floor drains. The lease should say who designs, pays for and gets approval for them, and whether they come out at the end of the term.

Noise and other tenants. Define what a noise complaint from another tenant means under the lease and what remedies follow.

Insurance. Set out what coverage the operator carries and whether the landlord is named.

Separately, a specific lot may carry a site-specific exception under Chapter 900 that changes the permitted uses; this article did not review those.

Narrow use clause vs broad use clause: what each may mean for the landlord

Before you sign with an animal business