Massage and special treatments licensing

Operating a business from a residential property

You must meet the following requirements to operate any massage and special treatment activity from a residential property

Operating from a spare room

Operating a business from a spare room in a residential property for will require the following:

  • the applicant has the responsibility to check with planning as to whether permission is required to carry on a 'sui generis' business from a residential property as this is dependent on the property itself, the residential area as a whole and possible nuisance issues that the proposed business may have on neighbouring properties
  • separate toilet facilities should be adjacent to or at least on the same floor as the proposed treatment room – this should be for the sole use of the business operator and /or clients only and not accessed by family or friends
  • the treatment room should be a minimum of 5 square metres in size to allow the business operator to access equipment etc. and to move around the client safely whilst carrying out their activities
  • a fully plumbed in hand washbasin with hot and cold running water is required in the treatment room
  • floor coverings in the treatment room should be impervious for effective hygienic cleaning – that is, no carpets or rugs
  • all work surfaces should be of an impervious material to allow effective hygienic cleaning
  • wall coverings should be finished in a covering that allows effective hygienic cleaning – for example, painted without wallpaper
  • all furniture coverings in the treatment room – for example, couches, chairs, stools – should not be fabric covered and have an impervious covering for hygienic cleaning.
  • any surplus furniture and particularly any soft furnishings that are not essential for use within the treatment room should be removed
  • all equipment or records stored in the treatment room should be held within storage units/cupboards that allow effective hygienic cleaning
  • the room should offer suitable heating and ventilation as necessary for the comfort of clients and work activities of the business operator
  • the treatment room should have sufficient lighting to allow the business operator to carry on their activities in a safe manner
  • the business operator should carry out their activities in line with current covid-19 regulations and guidance and have a suitable risk assessment in place to do so
  • the business operator should have suitable public liability insurance in place, which will now almost certainly need to cover any COVID-19 risks

This list may not be inclusive depending on the property and activity involved.

In addition, you must comply with health and safety law for signage, for making sure clients can enter and leave safely, and so on.

Operating from an external building

Operation of any massage, special treatment, IPL, laser or skin piercing business from an external building of a residential property will require the following specific areas of compliance:

  • the internal working area of the proposed treatment room should be a minimum of 5 square metres
  • the treatment room should have a plumbed in hand washbasin with hot and cold running water
  • any other part of the building not used for massage, special treatments, IPL, laser or skin piercing activities should be separated by solid full height partition walls with no access to the treatment room
  • a separate toilet facility and plumbed-in hand wash basin with hot and cold running water should be installed adjacent to the treatment room, with an adjoining door where possible for the sole use of the business operator and clients, and should not be accessible from any other part of the building by family or friends
  • the internal toilet facilities inside the main residential property should not be designated as accessible by the business operator when working, or by their clients

Laser and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) applications

You must meet specific legal requirements for operating laser or IPL business activities from a residential property. These requirements are in addition to the standard massage and special treatments requirements – for example, engaging a laser protection adviser, laser protection supervisor, medical protocol, risk assessment, and so on.

As a business operator, it is your responsibility to arrange these.