Laser Hair Removal and Aesthetics Clinic Premises in Ontario: Rooms, Power, Rules and the Lease

By Jatin Dua · Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty · Updated 18 October 2026 · 7 min read — how a non-medical laser hair removal or aesthetics clinic is regulated in Ontario, what Health Canada expects of the treatment room, power and ventilation, zoning, and the lease.

Looking for laser clinic space in Toronto or the GTA? Tell me what you need and I will send you units that fit, with the zoning and the lease checked before you commit.

Personal service setting or medical clinic?

The first question decides which rulebook applies. O. Reg. 136/18 covers personal service settings, but section 2(2)(d) excludes a setting where services are primarily provided by a member of a regulated health profession engaged in the practice of that profession. So:

• A laser hair removal studio staffed by trained technicians is a personal service setting. Toronto Public Health’s BodySafe program lists laser hair removal under aesthetics and inspects it.
• A clinic where physicians or nurses mainly provide the treatments is outside the regulation and is governed by those professionals’ colleges. That is the medical spa model, and its premises questions are different.

Laser treatment itself is not a controlled act. The forms of energy prescribed under Ontario’s Regulated Health Professions Act (O. Reg. 107/96) are specific uses of electricity, electromagnetism for MRI, and soundwaves for diagnostic ultrasound and lithotripsy. Laser light is not on the list. Health Canada’s consumer guidance still advises that treatments other than hair reduction be done by a licensed health care professional with laser training. If your menu goes beyond hair removal and basic skin treatments, get advice on whether you are really running a medical clinic.

What O. Reg. 136/18 requires of the unit

• Floors, walls, ceilings, fixtures and furniture smooth, impermeable, easily cleanable and in good repair. That includes treatment beds and waiting-room seating.
• Potable hot and cold running water under pressure.
• A sink used only for hand washing, conveniently located to the treatment rooms and accessible at all times, with soap in a dispenser and single-service towels or an air dryer.
• If you use reusable equipment, a separate reprocessing sink that can immerse your largest reusable item, has counter space, is not in a washroom and is separated from treatment areas (section 8(3)).
• Lighting and ventilation sufficient for safe service, adequate storage, and appropriate waste receptacles.

Section 10 also requires equipment to be maintained according to the manufacturer’s instructions, with those instructions kept at the setting where staff can reach them. For a laser clinic that means the operator’s manual stays on site, not in the distributor’s office. Handpieces, cooling tips and other parts must be cleaned and disinfected between clients as the manufacturer directs, or covered with a single-use barrier if they cannot be.

Designing the treatment room to Health Canada's guidance

Health Canada’s Laser Hair Removal: Safety Guidelines for Facility Owners and Operators is the most detailed public guide to the physical room. It says hair removal lasers in Canada are Class 3B or Class 4. Class 4 can injure skin, start fires and damage eyes through direct or reflected beams. The guideline expects:

The guideline also calls for a laser safety officer to run the safety program and notes that in smaller facilities the owner can take on that role. The guideline dates from 2011, and some references in it are older standards, so treat it as a minimum and follow your device manufacturer’s current requirements.

Devices, power and ventilation

Health Canada regulates laser devices under the Radiation Emitting Devices Act and the Medical Devices Regulations. Its facility guideline tells operators to buy only devices with an active Canadian medical device licence, which you can check in Health Canada’s online database. Its consumer page adds that the device should be licensed for the specific procedure you offer. Ask the vendor for the licence number before you order, and before you design rooms around a particular machine.

Then get the manufacturer’s installation sheet early. It tells you the voltage, amperage and receptacle each unit needs, its heat output, and its clearance. Two or three Class 4 platforms plus a chiller can exceed what an older plaza panel can supply. In Ontario, electrical work for hire must be done by an ESA Licensed Electrical Contractor, and the contractor files the notification with ESA. Lasers and cooling units also add heat to small closed rooms. Size the HVAC for that load and for the plume extraction exhaust.

Licences, notice and inspection

Under section 3 of the regulation, you must give the medical officer of health written notice of your services at least 14 days before opening, and again 14 days before adding a service. In Toronto, email BodySafe, and apply to Municipal Licensing & Standards for a Personal Services Settings licence. Aesthetics is a listed service. The City lists a $211.73 application fee, a $239.18 licence fee and a $296.45 renewal. Ask ML&S which service class applies to your full menu, because most laser clinics also offer waxing, facials or skin care.

Public Health Ontario’s infection-risk summary lists laser hair removal, laser tattoo removal and intense pulsed light, and notes side effects such as blisters, pigment changes and folliculitis, with infection possible where skin is damaged. Expect the inspector to look at cleaning of handpieces, your disinfectants and the hand sink. My inspection guide covers what Toronto, Peel and York check. Outside Toronto, ask the city whether it requires its own personal services licence.

Zoning: confirm the use before you sign

Toronto’s Zoning By-law 569-2013 defines a personal service shop as premises used to provide personal grooming services. It also has separate definitions for a wellness centre, which excludes a medical office, and for massage therapy. A non-medical laser hair removal clinic most often fits personal service shop, but the City’s zoning examiner decides, and the answer can change if your menu looks clinical. Toronto’s licence page says most new applications need zoning approval, unless you take over a business whose licence is valid or expired less than three years ago. In Peel and York, ask the municipality’s zoning staff the same question in writing. A medical-style clinic may be zoned differently from a personal service use.

The lease clauses that matter for a laser clinic

• Permitted use naming laser and IPL hair removal, skin rejuvenation, facials and related aesthetics, and stating that the use is not a medical clinic (or that it is, if you plan medical staff).
• Electrical capacity stated in amps at a given voltage, with the landlord’s work or an allowance for any panel upgrade.
• Window treatment and signage. The right to frost or block glazing in treatment rooms, overriding any storefront-visibility clause.
• HVAC and exhaust, including supplementary cooling for treatment rooms and the right to vent plume extraction.
• Conditions on zoning confirmation, the city licence and, if you are buying a resale clinic, a transfer of device warranties and service contracts.
• Exclusive on laser hair removal in the plaza.
• Insurance requirements you can actually get for laser services. Check with your broker before agreeing to the landlord’s wording.
• Assignment to a buyer of the business, with consent not unreasonably withheld.
• Restoration limits for interior walls, blackout film and dedicated circuits.

Deal-killers to check on a viewing

• A small panel, no room for a new one, and a landlord who will not upgrade.
• Treatment rooms that would have to sit against the storefront glass in a plaza that forbids covering windows.
• No water in the unit for the hand sink, or no space for a reprocessing area.
• Low ceilings or shared return-air plenums that make plume exhaust hard.
• Zoning that permits only retail or office, or a use clause restricted to “retail sales”.
• A device the vendor cannot show a Canadian medical device licence for.

If your concept also includes body treatments, massage or wet areas, read my day spa premises guide. If injectables are on the roadmap, read the medical spa guide before you choose the unit.

Where I fit

I help laser and aesthetics operators across Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan and the rest of the GTA find units with the power, layout and zoning a laser clinic needs. I read the use, electrical and window clauses, and I push for the panel upgrade and approval conditions before you sign.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Ontario e-Laws — O. Reg. 136/18, Personal Service Settings (Health Protection and Promotion Act) — PSS premises, exclusion for regulated health professionals, equipment manuals
• Toronto Public Health — About BodySafe — laser hair removal inspected as an aesthetic service
• Health Canada — Laser Hair Removal: Safety Guidelines for Facility Owners and Operators — laser classes, room design, eyewear, LSO, plume, fire, device licence
• Health Canada — Cosmetic Laser Treatments — federal device regulation, who should perform treatments
• Ontario e-Laws — O. Reg. 107/96, Controlled Acts (Regulated Health Professions Act) — forms of energy prescribed as controlled acts
• Public Health Ontario — At a glance: personal services and infection risks — laser and IPL listed with infection risks
• City of Toronto — Personal Services Settings licence — Toronto licence, fees, zoning approval
• City of Toronto — Zoning By-law 569-2013, Chapter 800 Definitions — personal service shop and wellness centre definitions
• Electrical Safety Authority — Licensed Electrical Contractors — licensed electrical contractors file notifications

Related reading

• Medical spa premises in Ontario
• Day spa premises in Ontario
• Personal service setting inspections
• Lash, brow and threading studio premises
• Buying a medical spa in Ontario
• The use clause in a commercial lease