Published 29 September 2026 · By Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty
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A day spa in Ontario is a personal service setting under O. Reg. 136/18. Anyone who intends to operate one must give the medical officer of health written notice at least 14 days before opening, listing the services, and meet setting, equipment and record rules. In Toronto, every owner or operator also needs a personal services setting licence with an endorsement for each class of service, such as aesthetics or manicure and pedicure. Toronto licences do not transfer: the Code says their value belongs to the City, so a buyer applies in their own name, at $450.91 for a new licence. Zoning approval is not needed when taking over a business with a valid licence. Spa services are generally taxable. Massage by anyone other than a regulated professional needs care in Toronto. No one publishes sale multiples.
What you are really buying
A day spa sells appointments. What you pay for is the booking history and client list, the estheticians and other staff, treatment rooms and equipment such as sterilizers and pedicure chairs, retail stock, the lease and the name. What you do not buy, at least in Toronto, is the licence.
No regulator, government body or real estate board in Canada publishes sale prices or valuation multiples for these practices. Anyone quoting you “the multiple” is quoting a private opinion. Price the business from its own records instead, and make the seller produce them.
If you are comparing a spa with a hair salon, see the salon and spa business value estimator below; if the spa offers injectables, read buying a medical spa in Ontario, because those services bring a different set of rules.
The Toronto licence does not come with the business
Toronto’s Municipal Code, Chapter 545, says: “No person shall enjoy a right in the continuance of a licence and at all times the value of a licence shall be the property of the City,” and that no licence shall be transferred except in accordance with the chapter. Every person who owns or operates a personal services setting must be licensed, with a separate endorsement for each class of service. The classes are aesthetics, body piercing, electrolysis, hairstyling, manicure and pedicure, and tattoo and micropigmentation.
The City’s licensing page sets the fees at a $211.73 application fee plus a $239.18 licence fee, $450.91 in total, and $296.45 to renew. Zoning approval is not needed if the applicant is taking over an existing business that has a valid licence or had one that expired less than three years earlier. Applicants offering piercing, electrolysis, tattooing or microblading need $1,000,000 in commercial general liability insurance.
Make the new licence a condition of closing, and do not let the seller stop operating until yours is issued. Licensing is often the gating item in a business purchase; for a provincially licensed example, see buying a cannabis store in Ontario.
Public health: notice, inspections and records
Under O. Reg. 136/18, s. 3, every person who intends to operate a personal service setting must give written notice to the medical officer of health at least 14 days before starting, with the setting’s name and location, the operator’s contact details and the list of services. Toronto Public Health takes that notice at BodySafe@toronto.ca; Peel asks for 14 days’ notice and floor plans. Ask your local health unit whether a change of operator needs a fresh notice, and give it anyway.
Toronto requires the most recent inspection notice to be posted near the entrance, and the owner must produce the related inspection reports on request. Ask for them. BodySafe inspects critical-risk settings once a year and on complaint, semi-critical settings likely once a year, and non-critical settings on complaint only.
The regulation requires records of sterilization, disinfection, invasive procedures and accidental exposures to be kept on site for a year and then retained for two more. Toronto’s code requires its listed records to be kept five years, the first year on the premises. Missing records tell you something about how the spa has been run.
Services to look at closely
- Prohibited services. O. Reg. 136/18, s. 7, bans ear candling or coning and any service involving live aquatic species, including fish pedicures. If the menu includes them, they stop the day you take over.
- Massage. Toronto’s Code defines a body-rub broadly as kneading, rubbing or massaging a person’s body, excluding medical or therapeutic treatment by someone registered under Ontario law. Holistic services, which need their own licences, exclude body-rubs. So in Toronto, massage delivered by registered massage therapists sits outside body-rub licensing; massage by anyone else needs a hard look with Municipal Licensing before you buy. See buying a massage therapy clinic in Ontario.
- Laser hair removal and injectables. BodySafe treats laser hair removal as aesthetics. Injections are controlled acts under the Regulated Health Professions Act, which moves you into medical spa territory.
- Invasive procedures. Under s. 6, clients must get an explanation of the procedure and its risks first, and records must be kept.
HST, gift cards and packages
Spa services are generally taxable. The Excise Tax Act deems cosmetic service supplies not to be exempt health care, and massage therapy is not on its list of exempt practitioner services. Your accountant should confirm the seller has been charging and remitting properly. On the sale, a s. 167 election on CRA form GST44 may relieve HST on the business assets if you buy all or substantially all of them and the conditions are met.
Gift cards are a real liability for spas. Ontario bans expiry dates on most retail gift cards, but says gift certificates for a single service, such as a massage at a spa, may expire. Either way, get a list of what is outstanding, along with prepaid packages and memberships, and deal with it in the price.
Staff
Estheticians and nail technicians are the business. Under the Employment Standards Act, s. 9, employees you keep carry their service with the seller over to you for notice, severance and vacation, unless you hire them more than 13 weeks after the earlier of their last day with the seller and the sale date. Section 67.2 generally voids non-compete agreements with employees, with an exception for a seller who becomes your employee immediately after the sale. Booth-rent or contractor arrangements need a separate read of each contract.
Documents I would want before an offer
- Three years of financial statements, tax and HST returns, with revenue by service class and retail.
- The current licence, endorsements and the last two years of public health inspection notices and reports.
- Sterilization, spore-test and disinfection records.
- An equipment list, with sterilizer make and model and manufacturer instructions.
- Staff and contractor list with start dates, pay and vacation owed.
- Outstanding gift cards, packages and memberships.
- The lease, amendments and assignment conditions.
The space has its own rules; see day spa premises in Ontario.
Where I fit
I help buyers and sellers of spas, salons and clinics across Toronto and the GTA with the lease, the assignment and the space. The salon and spa business estimator below gives a rough range for a beauty-services business. When you have a spa in mind, book a call or phone 833-330-1925.
Free tool — AI hair salon value estimator
Frequently asked questions
Can I transfer a spa licence when I buy a spa in Toronto?
No. Toronto’s Municipal Code says no one has a right to the continuance of a licence, its value belongs to the City, and licences are not transferred except as the chapter allows. A buyer applies for a personal services setting licence in their own name, currently $450.91 for a new licence.
Do I need zoning approval to take over an existing spa in Toronto?
Not if you are taking over an existing business that has a valid licence, or had one that expired less than three years earlier, according to the City’s licensing page. You still need the licence itself and the public health notice.
How much notice must I give public health before opening a spa in Ontario?
O. Reg. 136/18 requires written notice to the medical officer of health at least 14 days before starting to operate a personal service setting, listing the services, and again 14 days before adding services or starting certain renovations. In Toronto the notice goes to BodySafe at Toronto Public Health.
Which spa services are banned in Ontario?
O. Reg. 136/18 prohibits ear candling or coning and any personal service involving live aquatic species, including fish pedicures, at a personal service setting. If a spa you are buying offers either, those services stop on closing, and their revenue should come out of your numbers.
Do spa gift certificates expire in Ontario?
Most retail gift cards cannot expire in Ontario, but gift certificates for one specific service, such as a massage at a spa, may come with an expiry date. A buyer should get a list of certificates outstanding either way. Deal with them in the price.
Is HST charged on spa services in Ontario?
Generally yes. Cosmetic services are deemed not to be exempt health care under the Excise Tax Act, and massage therapy is not on its exempt practitioner list. Confirm the business’s filings with an accountant. A s. 167 election may apply to the sale itself.
Sources
- O. Reg. 136/18 (Personal Service Settings) — e-Laws — notice, setting, equipment and records rules
- City of Toronto — Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing — licences not transferable; personal services settings; body-rub and holistic definitions
- City of Toronto — Personal services setting licence — $450.91 new, $296.45 renewal
- Toronto Public Health — About BodySafe — inspections and 14-day notice
- Region of Peel — Personal service businesses — 14-day notice and floor plans
- Excise Tax Act, Schedules V and VI — Justice Laws Website — exempt practitioner services, cosmetic service supplies, prescription eyewear
- Excise Tax Act, section 167 — Justice Laws Website — joint election on the sale of a business
- Canada Revenue Agency — Form GST44 — the section 167 election form
- Government of Ontario — Buying or using gift cards — expiry rules and the single-service exception
- Employment Standards Act, 2000 — e-Laws — s. 9 sale of a business; s. 67.2 non-compete agreements
Related reading
- Day spa premises in Ontario
- Buying a medical spa in Ontario
- Buying a massage therapy clinic in Ontario
- Buying a cannabis store in Ontario
- Buying a daycare in Ontario
- AI salon business value estimator
- Book a call with Jatin
About the author — Jatin Dua, Toronto and GTA real estate broker
I am Jatin Dua, Broker of Record and co-founder of RE/MAX Quantum Realty Inc., Brokerage, Unit 101, 799 The Queensway, Toronto. I work with buyers and sellers across Toronto and the GTA and have helped more than 100 families sell. Four-plus years of active GTA transactions and over $100 million in sales volume. Every figure here comes from a published table, regulator or statute linked in the sources, so you can check all of it without asking me.
Reach me at connect@jatindua.com or 833-330-1925, or book a call.