Laundromat Premises in Ontario: Water, Sewer, Gas Dryer Venting, Licensing and the Lease

By Jatin Dua · Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty · Updated 18 October 2026 · 8 min read — what a coin or card laundromat needs from the building for water, drains, gas and power, the sewer, backflow and Fire Code rules, Toronto’s updated Laundry licence, and the lease clauses to negotiate.

Looking for laundromat 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.

What the unit must have

A laundromat is one of the most utility-hungry retail uses you can put in a plaza. The rent matters, but the building services decide whether the deal works at all. The four things I check first are:

• Water service. The size of the water line and meter into the unit. A bank of washers filling at the same time draws far more than a typical store, and a small service means slow fills and unhappy customers.
• Drainage. The size and route of the sanitary drain, whether there is room for a trench drain or floor drains behind the washers, and where the line leaves the building.
• Gas. Whether the plaza has gas to the unit, the meter size, and whether the utility can upgrade it.
• Venting route. A path for dryer exhaust and make-up air through the roof or rear wall, with the landlord’s consent.

Add electrical capacity for washers, dryers, payment systems, lighting and air conditioning, and a ceiling and floor structure that can carry stacked dryers and large front-loaders. I always ask for the landlord’s mechanical and electrical drawings before a client makes an offer.

Zoning and the Toronto Laundry licence

In Toronto’s Zoning By-law 569-2013, a personal service shop means premises used to provide personal grooming services or for the cleaning or care of apparel. A self-serve laundromat fits that description, so the question is whether the zone permits a personal service shop at your address. Large-scale processing, such as a commercial laundry plant serving hotels, is a different and more industrial use, so describe your business accurately on the zoning application. Some addresses are still governed by former municipal by-laws or site-specific exceptions.

Toronto also licenses the business. The city’s Laundry licence page says any business offering laundry, washing, ironing or dry cleaning services must hold a Laundry licence. Zoning approval is needed for most new applications, unless you take over an existing licensed business in the same category whose licence is valid or expired less than three years ago. Every applicant needs an Occupancy Declaration Form signed by the landlord and the applicant. The 2026 fees shown are $211.73 to apply and $239.18 on approval ($450.91 in total), with an annual renewal of $296.45.

The licence rules were updated. Under Council’s decision on item 2025.EC22.7, effective January 1, 2026, every operator of laundry premises must be licensed, the separate laundreteria requirement was deleted, a new definition of laundry premises was added, and operators list any premises used only for collection or return instead of licensing each one. Council also deleted several operational provisions, including rules on maintenance, hours for certain machinery, identification for coin-operated premises and cleanliness, revised the posting rules, and added a new zoning review fee of $239.11 for business licence applications.

Mississauga, Brampton and the other GTA cities have their own licensing by-laws. Ask the licensing office whether a laundromat needs a licence there before you budget.

Sewer rules: temperature, lint and solids

Everything your washers discharge goes into the municipal sewer, and Toronto’s Municipal Code Chapter 681 (Sewers) controls what is allowed. Three parts matter for a laundromat:

• Temperature. Discharges to sanitary and combined sewers must be below 60 degrees, under Table 1 of the by-law.
• Solids. The by-law prohibits solid or viscous substances in quantities or of a size capable of obstructing the flow in a sewer, listing items such as rags, sand and plastics. Lint, hair and loose items from pockets build up the same way, which is why many laundromat designs put a lint screen or interceptor on the washer discharge. Ask your plumber and the plumbing inspector what the design requires.
• Pollution prevention planning. Dry cleaning and laundry services, except coin-operated, are a listed subject sector, which means a pollution prevention plan due within a year of starting operations and every six years after. A pure self-serve coin laundry is excluded from that sector. If you add a wash-and-fold or commercial laundry service, ask Toronto Water whether your operation falls into the listed sector.

Outside Toronto, the regional sewer use by-law applies, such as Peel’s in Mississauga and Brampton. The rules are similar in spirit but the limits differ, so ask the region.

Water supply and backflow prevention

Toronto’s Chapter 851 (Water Supply) requires a backflow prevention device for premise isolation on properties in the industry sectors listed in its Schedule 5, installed and tested to the CSA B64 standards. A commercial coin-operated laundry is listed as a moderate hazard. A commercial laundry without dry cleaning is listed as severe, which usually means a different type of device.

In a plaza, the device often protects the whole building. Ask whether one is already installed, what hazard level it was selected for, and whether the landlord or the tenant tests it each year. If your laundromat changes the property’s hazard classification, the by-law requires the owner to notify the city and install the right device, and that cost will come back to you through the lease unless you deal with it up front.

Gas dryers, venting and electrical work

Gas dryers are fuel-fired appliances, which brings in the Technical Standards and Safety Authority. TSSA’s guidance on hiring fuels professionals says fuel-fired appliances must be maintained by TSSA-registered contractors who employ TSSA-certified gas technicians, and recommends checking a contractor’s registration with TSSA’s online lookup before hiring. Use the same standard for installation.

The installation code itself changed this year. TSSA’s Gaseous Fuels Code Adoption Document amendment FS-279-26, effective June 1, 2026, adopts CSA B149.1 (2025), the Natural Gas and Propane Installation Code, with Ontario amendments. Venting, combustion air and clearances for your dryers are designed and inspected against that code, so make sure your contractor is working to the current edition, especially if the drawings were prepared before June 2026.

Electrical work is regulated by the Electrical Safety Authority. ESA says almost all electrical work requires a notification of work, filed before the work starts. A laundromat fit-out almost always involves new circuits, so build ESA inspection into your schedule.

Fire safety: lint and dryers

The Ontario Fire Code (O. Reg. 213/07) is short and direct on this point: under Article 2.4.1.5 of Division B, lint traps in laundry equipment must be cleaned to prevent the accumulation of lint that creates an undue fire hazard. In a laundromat, that means a written cleaning routine for every dryer, staff who know it, and a log you can show the fire inspector or your insurer.

Lint also collects in the dryer exhaust ducts and on the roof. Agree in the lease who cleans the ducts and how often, and check that roof access is available for that work.

The lease clauses that matter for a laundromat

1. Use clause. Self-service laundromat, with wash-and-fold, drop-off, dry cleaning depot and vending if you plan them. Each add-on can matter for licensing and the sewer by-law.
2. Utilities schedule. The existing water, drain, gas and electrical capacity, written into the lease, with the landlord’s cooperation on utility upgrades.
3. Separate metering. Your own water and gas meters. On a shared meter, a laundromat’s consumption becomes a dispute over additional rent.
4. Venting and roof penetrations. Consent to vent dryers through the roof or wall, rooftop equipment locations, and roof access for duct cleaning.
5. Backflow device. Who supplies, installs and tests it each year.
6. Floor and trench drains. Consent to cut the slab and what you must restore when you leave.
7. Hours. Your right to open early and late, or around the clock, with access to the parking lot and lighting. Toronto deleted its machinery hours rules in 2026, so the lease is now where hours are most likely to be limited.
8. Exclusive. No other laundromat or laundry service in the plaza.
9. Assignment. Laundromats are bought and sold as going concerns. A reasonable-consent assignment clause protects your exit.

Deal-killers to check on a viewing

• Water line and meter size on the drawings, not a guess.
• Floor drains or the ability to add a trench drain behind the washers.
• Floor structure if the unit is above a basement or parking level.
• Rear wall or roof route for dryer exhaust.
• Parking close to the door, because customers carry heavy loads.
• Neighbouring uses such as restaurants that may already be stretching the drain line.

If you are thinking about a dry cleaning depot alongside, read my guide to buying a dry cleaner. For how the lease defines what you are allowed to do, see the commercial lease use clause, and if the unit needs plumbing and structural work, the change of use and permit guide covers the building permit side.

Where I fit

I help laundromat operators find plaza and street-front units across Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton and the rest of the GTA. Before you sign, I get the mechanical and electrical drawings, check gas and venting, confirm zoning and the licence, and read the lease for metering, roof work, hours and assignment. If you are buying an existing laundromat, my retail store valuation tool gives you a quick starting point.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• City of Toronto — Laundromats, Laundry Depots and Dry Cleaning — Laundry licence, documents, fees
• City of Toronto Council — Item 2025.EC22.7, Chapter 545 Licensing amendments — laundry licence changes from Jan 1, 2026
• City of Toronto — Zoning By-law 569-2013, Chapter 800 Definitions — personal service shop definition
• City of Toronto — Municipal Code Chapter 681, Sewers — temperature, obstruction, P2 subject sectors
• City of Toronto — Municipal Code Chapter 851, Water Supply — Schedule 5 backflow hazard levels
• Ontario e-Laws — O. Reg. 213/07, Fire Code — Div. B 2.4.1.5 lint traps
• TSSA — Be Fuels Wise: Hire Registered and Certified Professionals — registered contractors, certified technicians
• TSSA — Gaseous Fuels Code Adoption Document Amendment FS-279-26 — CSA B149.1 (2025) effective June 1, 2026
• Electrical Safety Authority — Do I need to file a notification — notification before electrical work

Related reading

• Buying a dry cleaner in Ontario
• Convenience store premises
• The commercial lease use clause
• Change of use permits for tenants
• Retail store valuation tool
• The use clause in a commercial lease