Healthcare Space Checklist in Ontario

Use this checklist when you have a specific healthcare property under consideration. For each item, record the evidence received, who will confirm it, the unresolved risk and the deadline for a decision. A listing description or verbal assurance is not a completed check.

For comparing neighbourhoods and alternative locations, start with Healthcare Site Selection. This page focuses on due diligence for the shortlisted unit.

1. Describe the Actual Operation

• Record the services, practitioners, staff, hours and expected appointment volume.
• List rooms, washrooms, storage, equipment and future expansion needs.
• Set the occupancy budget, improvement budget and required opening date.

Decision: Can the property support this operation, rather than a generic healthcare use?

2. Obtain Property and Use Information

• Obtain available floor plans, existing permit or occupancy records and relevant building information.
• Confirm the intended use with the municipality and appropriate professionals; identify any approvals still required.
• Review landlord or condominium restrictions, alteration procedures, signage and parking rights.

Evidence to retain: Written responses, the applicable documents and the identity of the person providing each confirmation.

3. Walk the Patient Route

• Visit at expected appointment times and observe parking and access.
• Walk from parking or transit through the entrance, elevator and corridors to the unit.
• Check wayfinding, drop-off, washroom access and practical access for patients with mobility needs.

Decision: Which access problems can be corrected, who controls the work, and what remains unresolved?

4. Test the Rooms and Building Systems

• Prepare a preliminary test fit showing required rooms, circulation, storage and equipment.
• Identify existing plumbing routes and the feasibility of new sinks or washrooms.
• Have the appropriate specialists assess electrical capacity, HVAC, ventilation and equipment requirements.
• Identify accessibility, fire and life-safety issues requiring professional review.

Evidence to retain: The marked plan, equipment information, specialist observations and a list of assumptions requiring verification.

5. Check the Commercial Terms

• Have legal advisers review the permitted use, term, renewals, assignment, guarantees and termination provisions.
• Confirm alteration approvals, fixturing access, rent commencement and any improvement allowance.
• Clarify repair obligations, ownership of improvements and restoration requirements.
• For a purchase, review the applicable ownership, condominium, financing and property due-diligence requirements with the relevant advisers.

Decision: Do the rights and obligations support the amount you plan to invest?

6. Price the Unfinished Work

• Separate reusable improvements from demolition and new construction.
• Include design, engineering, permits, equipment, signage, technology and carrying costs where applicable.
• Identify exclusions, allowances and costs that remain unpriced.
• Build the opening schedule around unresolved approvals and long-lead equipment, not an assumed construction start.

Use the Medical Clinic Build-Out Guide to organize the scope before requesting pricing.

Close the Checklist Before Removing Conditions

Mark each item as confirmed, outstanding or unacceptable. Give every outstanding item an owner and a deadline. Review any remaining uncertainty with the appropriate advisers before making a binding decision.

OntarioCRE provides brokerage services and preliminary property-feasibility guidance. Formal zoning, legal, design, engineering, code and municipal confirmations belong with the appropriate qualified professionals.

Request a Property Fit Review

Send Gary the property address or listing, proposed healthcare use, room requirements, budget and timing. Include any plans or landlord information already available so the review starts with the property rather than another generic search.

Request a Healthcare Property Fit Review

Preparing a Healthcare Property for Sale?

Organize leases, plans, improvement records and available building information before marketing. Identify which features are documented and which a buyer must verify. Clear records help buyers investigate the property without relying on unsupported claims about clinic suitability.

Request a Confidential Healthcare Property Sale Review