Guide · Gyms

Gym memberships,
by the rules.

Ontario does not license gyms, but it does regulate how they sell memberships. The Consumer Protection Act, 2002 calls them personal development services, and its rules on terms, fees, cancellation and renewals reach straight into your pricing page and your online sign-up.

Published 2026-11-04 · Formory Marketing Group

Short answer

In Ontario, gym and studio memberships paid in advance over $50 are personal development services under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002. Agreements are limited to one year, members can cancel within 10 days for any reason, a single initiation fee is capped at twice the annual fee, and a monthly instalment option costing at most 25 per cent more is required.

Which law applies in November 2026.

The rules are in sections 29 to 36 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 and sections 27 to 30 of its general regulation, O. Reg. 17/05. Ontario passed a replacement, the Consumer Protection Act, 2023, in December 2023. Its page on e-Laws still says it is not yet in force and will come into force on a day to be named by proclamation, and the 2002 Act carries a note that it will be repealed on a day to be named.

The 2023 Act has a personal development section of its own: a one-year limit on contracts, one contract at a time, and no payment for services that are not yet available unless the member agrees in writing to use another facility meanwhile. The initiation fee cap and the instalment rules are not in that section; instead, the Act lets the province make regulations governing fees and charges for personal development services. Check again before you reprint contracts.

Who the rules cover.

Section 20 of the Act defines personal development services as services for health, fitness, diet and similar matters, modelling and talent, and martial arts, sports, dance and similar activities, along with the facilities and instruction for them. The province's page on joining a gym or fitness club names gyms, sports clubs, martial arts classes and dance classes.

The rules apply when payment in advance is required and the member's total potential payment is more than $50 (section 29(1); O. Reg. 17/05, s. 27). They do not apply to services provided on a non-profit or co-operative basis, by a private club primarily owned by its members, as an incidental part of other goods or services, by a supplier funded or run by a charitable or municipal organization or the province, or by a golf club (section 29(2)).

One year at most, one agreement at a time.

No personal development services agreement may run longer than one year after the day all the services are available (section 31(1)), so a two-year membership is out. An agreement that renews is treated as a separate agreement for each renewal of a year or less, and the renewal clause is valid only if you follow the notice rules below. Agreements that renew month to month, where the member can end on one month's notice or less, are exempt from those two rules (section 31(5)).

Under section 32, you may not sign a member to a new agreement while an existing one runs unless the new one is for distinctly different services. A different term or a different start date does not count, and a new agreement that breaks this rule is void.

Renewal notices go out 30 to 90 days ahead.

For an agreement that renews, section 30 of the regulation requires a written notice at least 30 and not more than 90 days before it expires, sent the way the agreement specifies: mail or personal delivery, email, fax or another method the member named. The notice must give the renewal date, say that the Act requires the notice, give your business address and other contact details, and say the agreement will not renew if the member tells you before that date. It comes with a copy of the agreement that clearly marks every change.

Under section 31(4) of the Act, the agreement is deemed not renewed if the member says so before the renewal. The province's consumer page adds that a membership renewed without notice is not a valid contract, and the member may give notice of cancellation and ask for money paid after the original contract ended.

Initiation fees and instalments.

You may charge a member only one initiation fee, and it may not be more than twice the annual membership fee (section 33). You must offer at least one plan that lets members pay the membership fee and any initiation fee in equal monthly instalments over the term, and the instalment total may not exceed the fee by more than 25 per cent (section 34). On a $600 annual membership, monthly payments can add up to no more than $750.

The Act sets no ceiling on paying in full upfront, but it restricts money taken for services that are not yet available. Pre-sale payments for a club that has not opened must go through a registered trust corporation acting as trustee, unless the member agrees in writing to use another of your facilities until it opens (section 36). The trustee confirms each payment to the member in writing.

The 10-day cooling-off period.

A member may cancel for any reason within 10 days after the later of receiving the written copy of the agreement and the day all the services are available (section 35(1)). If they never receive an agreement that meets the requirements, they may cancel within one year (section 35(2)). Notice may be oral or written and given by any means (section 92), and the prescribed rights statement tells members you have 15 days to refund.

The province reminds consumers that they may use the facility during those 10 days. A contract cannot take the right away: section 7 says the Act's rights apply despite any agreement or waiver to the contrary.

What the agreement must contain, online too.

Section 28 of the regulation lists what a written agreement must show. That includes both parties' names, your phone number and business address, the facility address, an itemized list of services with the date each is available, the total payable and the payment terms, the start and end dates, any renewal terms, and the names of the people who solicited, negotiated and concluded the sale. It must include the prescribed statement headed "Your Rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002", in at least 10 point type with a 12 point bold heading, on the first page or with a notice there saying where it is. The member and the gym both sign.

An online sign-up is still a personal development services agreement. The regulation switches off the Act's internet agreement sections for these agreements (O. Reg. 17/05, s. 16), so the gym rules above apply instead. Under the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000, s. 11(1), an electronic signature generally satisfies a signing requirement. Build the flow so the member signs the full agreement, receives it with the rights statement in a form they can keep (section 5(2)), and is charged only once that agreement exists: section 30(2) bars taking payment without one.

What the membership page should show.

Each plan's price, the initiation fee if there is one, and the monthly instalment option with its total. The term, and whether it renews monthly or yearly. A short line on the 10-day cooling-off period and how to cancel, with an email address. Promotions that are real: the Act treats a claim of a specific price advantage that does not exist as a false, misleading or deceptive representation (section 14(2), item 11). For a club still being built, how pre-sale money is held. Our notes on websites for gyms cover the rest.

This is a plain summary of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 and O. Reg. 17/05 as of November 2026, not legal advice.

Sources.

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Asked often.

Can we sell a two-year membership?

No. Section 31(1) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 limits an agreement to one year after all services are available. It may renew, if you follow the renewal rules.

How large can an initiation fee be?

One per member, and no more than twice the annual membership fee (section 33).

Do month-to-month memberships need renewal notices?

Not if the member can end on one month's notice or less. Section 31(5) exempts successive monthly renewals from the renewal rules.

When does the 10-day cooling-off period start?

From the later of the day the member receives the written copy of the agreement and the day all the services are available (section 35(1)).

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Gym memberships,by the rules.