Yes, you can run a dog boarding business from home, and it's the most common way into the industry: more home boarding licences are issued in England than kennel, cattery and day care licences put together. It's also very different from running a kennel. The dogs live in your house, sleep in your rooms and go in your garden, and the business doesn't stop when you close the front door.
This guide covers the practical steps. For the full licence conditions, see our home boarding licence guide.
What kind of home business?
"Running a pet business from home" can mean several things, and the rules differ.
- Home boarding: dogs stay overnight in your house. Licensed in England, Scotland and Wales.
- Home daycare: dogs come to your house for the day. In England, this is licensed as home boarding rather than day care.
- Home cattery: cats boarded in pens in your garden. Needs a cat boarding licence and almost always planning permission.
- Pet sitting and dog walking: you go to the pets. Looking after a dog in its owner's home isn't a licensable activity in England.
- Home grooming: a grooming room or garden salon. Check planning and your council.
Step 1: check your home suits the licence
In England, the home boarding conditions are specific. Before you spend anything, check you can meet the main ones:
- A designated room for each dog, or each set of dogs from one household, where it can be kept apart. Hallways and bathrooms can be used, but each divided space must be at least 6 m².
- Direct access to a private, secure outdoor area. A shared garden or a balcony doesn't count, so most flats won't qualify.
- At least two secure barriers between any dog and any exit to the street.
- Dogs housed inside the home, not in outdoor kennels.
- If children under 16 live with you, procedures for keeping them and the dogs safe.
Step 2: mortgage lender, landlord and neighbours
This is the step people skip. If you have a mortgage, check whether your lender needs to know you're running a business from home. If you rent, your tenancy agreement may forbid pets or businesses without the landlord's written consent. If you're in a leasehold flat or house, check the lease. And talk to your neighbours before the first dog arrives. A complaint about barking is an easy way to end up on the council's radar.
Step 3: planning permission
Small-scale home boarding is often treated as part of living in the house, but there's no national threshold. You need planning permission if your home stops being mainly a home, if visitors and traffic increase noticeably, or if there's noise at unreasonable hours. Ask your local planning authority before you apply for the licence, and expect a pen-building cattery to need permission.
Step 4: apply for the licence
Your council licenses home boarding in England, Scotland and Wales. In England you'll be inspected, given a star rating and a licence of one to three years; in Scotland and Wales, licences run to the end of the year. Fees vary by council, from about £170 to over £700. Our licence cost guide has examples.
Step 5: insurance
Household insurance is unlikely to cover a boarding business. You'll want specialist cover for the dogs in your care, public liability and, if anyone helps you, employer's liability. Tell your home insurer too, because a business on the premises can affect your existing policy.
Step 6: decide how many dogs
Your licence sets your maximum, and your own dogs count towards it. The minimum staffing ratio is one person to ten dogs, and one full-time person to eight for the higher standard. But the number that works for you may be lower. Dogs from different households need a documented introduction with each other and with your own dogs, and some households will only board on their own. Many home boarders choose to take one family at a time, which is also an optional higher standard in the England conditions.
Step 7: what it can earn
Home boarding has very low overheads, because the building, heating and garden already exist. The ceiling is your licence and your energy. As an illustration only: four dogs at £35 a night, at 60% average occupancy across the year, is about £30,700 of revenue (4 × 365 × 0.6 × £35), before insurance, the licence, food, cleaning, wear on the house and tax. Peak weeks will be full; January may be very quiet.
Our article on whether dog boarding is profitable goes through occupancy in more detail.
Step 8: policies and paperwork
Home boarders need the same paperwork as a kennel, plus a few things that are specific to boarding in a house: consent from every owner before mixing households, a trial session, feeding arrangements if dogs eat together, crate use (no more than three hours in any 24, with consent), and what happens if a bitch comes into season. Our list of dog boarding forms has the fields to include.
Step 9: protect your own time
The hardest part of home boarding is that the phone never stops. Owners message at 10pm to ask about availability, change their dates and send vaccination certificates by text. Set booking and collection hours, take deposits so dates don't drift, and let people book themselves online so you're not answering the same questions at dinner.
Where KennelBooker fits
KennelBooker suits a home boarder as much as a kennel. Set your capacity to match your licence and the booking portal stops taking bookings when you're full. Owners book and pay a deposit online, upload vaccination certificates, sign your consent forms and fill in your questionnaire before they arrive, and you get a notification for every request, or you can approve them one at a time. If you add daycare, walking or sitting later, they're already in the same plan. Plans start at $49.99 a month, with a 14-day trial and no card needed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run a dog boarding business from home?
Yes. In England, home boarding is a licensed activity under the 2018 regulations, and your council sets the maximum number of dogs on your licence. You'll need a suitable home with a private, secure garden, insurance, and in many cases a conversation with your planning department, mortgage lender or landlord.
Can I run a doggy daycare from home?
Yes, but in England day care in your own home is licensed as home boarding, not as day care, so the home boarding conditions apply: a designated room for each dog or household, a private secure garden and a maximum number of dogs set on your licence.
Can I start a cattery business from home?
You can, but a cattery needs purpose-built pens that meet the licence sizes, sneeze barriers and a roof, which usually means building units in your garden. That normally needs planning permission as well as a cat boarding licence. See our cattery licence guide for the sizes.
Do I need a licence to pet sit in the owner's home?
In England, looking after a dog in the owner's own home is not a licensable activity, so pet sitters and house sitters don't need an animal activity licence. You still need insurance, and you'll be holding keys and personal information, so treat both carefully.
How many dogs can I board at home?
There's no national maximum in England. Your council sets the number on your licence, based on your home, your garden and how many people help you, and any dogs you own count towards it. The minimum staffing ratio is one person to ten dogs.