Group Homes

Service Burlington is responsible for the registration and renewal of group homes in the City of Burlington. A number of requirements must be met before a group home can be registered.

Registration and renewal

Review the requirements and fees for applying to register a group home or renew your group home registration.

When your application is reviewed and accepted, you will receive a letter confirming your registration and the home will be noted in the City's database. Group home registrations need to be renewed annually.

Registration requirements

To register your group home, you will have to submit:

The Group Home Registration Application
A Zoning Clearance Certificate [link to page: Zoning Clearance Certificates]
A Building Permit
A Certificate of Compliance from the Fire Department
Written notification from the appropriate Ministry that the Group Home Application has been approved

Fees

The Application for a Group Home fee is $255. Please contact Zoning for a current schedule of fees for the Zoning Certificate fee.

Renewal requirements

To renew your group home registration, you will have to submit:

The Group Home Renewal Application
Written notification from the appropriate Ministry that the Group Home continues to be licensed and funded

Fees

The Group Home Renewal fee is $51.

Public information meeting

You must host a public information meeting prior to occupancy of the group home. Before the meeting, you need to give notice to residents within 120 m of the group home property. The City will help distribute notices of the meeting to the community, at a cost to the group home. We encourage you to host the meeting in the group home. This gives neighbours a first-hand look at the home and how it will operate. If you cannot hold the public information meeting in the group home, then it may be helpful to hold an additional open house after the home is occupied. This allows the neighbours to meet your staff and residents.

Group homes and correctional group homes

Group homes are a single residential unit supervised by staff on a daily basis which provides special care for people with disabilities.

Correctional group homes are for people who have been placed on probation, released on parole or admitted for correctional purposes.

Both accommodate six to eight residents, not including staff, within the Urban Improvement Area boundary. Outside the Urban Improvement Area boundary, the maximum number of residents permitted is ten, not including staff. Both are funded, licensed, approved and supervised by the Province of Ontario. All references to group homes in the applicable bylaws include correctional group homes.

Neighbourhood relationships and safety

There is often stigma around group homes and their occupants. Group homes are sometimes seen to have short-term occupants with no interest in the community. You can help dispel this harmful stereotype by:

Holding an open house and introducing yourself and occupants to neighbours
Maintaining open communication and transparency with neighbours
Keeping your ward Councillor informed so they can answer any questions from neighbours
Maintaining your property to show care and respect for the neighbourhood

There is also stigma around the safety of group homes. Occupants may be perceived as dangerous if, for example, people see police dropping them off in handcuffs or hear outbursts of anger of coarse language. Avoiding these types of situations or speaking directly to neighbours about incidents and how they are being handled can help your relationship with them.

Permitted locations

Group homes are permitted:

In a dwelling unit
In an apartment building over three storeys, with a limitation of one group home per 30 units and one group home per floor
Minimum distance between a Group Home or a Correctional Group Home and another Group Home or Correctional group home property: 400 metres