How to start a home dog boarding business in England

Home boarding for dogs is one of the easiest pet-care businesses to start from your own home, but it is licensed, so there are steps to get right before you take your first booking. Here is the practical order of things.

1. Check you can board from your home

Make sure your home is suitable: a secure garden, somewhere each dog can rest and be separated, and no rules against it. If you rent, get your landlord’s written permission, and check the planning use of the property with your council.

2. Confirm you need a licence

If you board other people’s dogs overnight for profit, you need a home boarding licence under the 2018 Regulations. Only the smallest operations below the HMRC £1,000 trading allowance may be exempt, and the council decides. Do not take paid bookings before you are licensed.

3. Get insurance and register with a vet

Arrange public liability insurance and register with a local vet, who will need to agree a preventative healthcare plan. Both are expected by the council.

4. Prepare your documents

This is the part that holds most people up. You need written procedures, an emergency plan, risk assessments, a vaccination policy, booking and consent forms, and a plan of your premises. PetApproved builds the whole pack from a short questionnaire, mapped to each licence condition.

5. Apply and pass your inspection

Submit your council’s application form, the fee, your insurance and your documents, then book your inspection. Once granted, your licence runs for one, two or three years with a star rating.

6. Budget realistically

Budget for the council fee (varies widely), insurance, any home improvements the conditions need, and your document pack. A consultant to write your paperwork costs hundreds; doing the documents yourself with a guided pack is far cheaper.