Topic

Home based business

Plain-language answers on home based business, written from primary sources.

Answers

How far Alberta's OHS Act reaches into a home workplace, the limits of the private-dwelling exception, and the one true carve-out.

How far Ontario's OHSA reaches into a home workplace, the private-residence exemption and its limit, and what enforcement looks like there.

Municipal zoning as the first hurdle, condo declarations versus by-laws and rules, lease terms if you rent, and how the layers interact.

What decides whether you need approval, Alberta's two-permit pattern, Ontario's rezoning and minor-variance routes, and why the difference matters.

When Ontario's Occupiers' Liability Act puts a client's injury on you, what counts as reasonable care, and the deadline to sue.

Which province's rules apply to you, what the duty of care actually requires, the defences that change the outcome, and why employees are separate.

The three conditions that keep your principal residence exemption intact despite a home business, and what happens when one fails.

Three separate Alberta rulebooks, why clearing one does not clear the others, how condo bylaws differ from condo rules, and where leases bite.

Why the exclusion exists and what it does not reach, the disclosure condition that can void your coverage, and what to do about it.

What Alberta's Occupiers' Liability Act asks of you, the defences that reduce or eliminate liability, and the claim deadline.

What actually determines whether your Ontario municipality licenses you, how to check, and what changes if you operate in more than one.

Ontario and Alberta tenancy law side by side: the substantial-breach route, the illegal-act grounds, and what actually triggers eviction risk.

What your insurer and lender each need to know about a home business, why insurers treat it as material, and what non-disclosure costs.

The three things that decide whether you can run a business from home: zoning, licensing, and how you claim workspace expenses.