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The Knowledge - The Resource - Property

Before you sign a lease
Thousands of businesses fall into an age-old trap when taking out a lease on a commercial property. Anthony Sacks, a partner at law firm Rowe Cohen, says that the failure of many business owners to seek proper advice when they take out a lease often results in them being tied into a lease that is unfair and that can prove impossible to assign to a third party.

'People wouldn't dream of buying a house without getting a contract properly drawn up by a solicitor,' he said, 'yet they leave themselves open to all sorts of problems with their business properties and the reality is that there are far more pitfalls involved in leasing than buying.

'Crafty landlords often tell their potential tenants that they have nothing to worry about because they will be signing a standard lease. This is misleading, because there simply is no such thing as a standard lease when it comes to commercial property. Tenants should exercise extreme caution before signing anything.'

One of the most frequently used ploys of unscrupulous landlords is to insert restrictions in a lease, which make it virtually impossible for the tenant to sublet it in the future. This means that if your business flourishes and needs larger premises, or faces closure, you will find it nigh on impossible to rid himself of the lease, and will be committed to paying the rent for the duration of it.
Garden offices
For information on garden offices visit the Garden Offices section.
Inspection
Note that planning officers have the right to enter any property at any reasonable time to inspect it in connection with specific planning applications, or to check if there has been a breach of planning concent.

NOTE, however, that they must give 24-HOURS' NOTICE in writing before they can enter your actual house. The same goes for Rating Valuation officers.
Planning permission issues
What happens when things get sticky and the Council says you need to apply for planning permission for your home office? Well, before you concede, and before you agree anything, find out how you might be able to fight enforcement.

There are several guides in the How-To section of this website under Premises
Regulations
Two useful guides available for the Department of Environment are:
  • Planning - a guide for businesses
  • Planning - a guide for householders
W: www.direct.gov.uk
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
It will recommend chartered surveyors in your area over the phone, or provide a short list by post, to help you with property valuations, rating appeals, lease renewals, rent reviews etc.

RICS runs a Small Business Scheme to assist small businesses with commercial rent reviews. Under this scheme you and your landlord can get an independent expert to settle the amount of rent you have to pay. The expert will be an unbiased professional who can explain how the scheme works and will give both sides a fair hearing.

The scheme is run by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveryors (RICS) and the Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers (ISVA).
RICS Contact Centre, Surveyor Court, Westwood Way, Coventry, CV4 8JE
T: 0870 333 1600
F: 020 7334 3811
E: contactrics@rics.org
W: www.rics.org
Working from home
Planning permission is not needed from your local council if the character and use of the building remain essentially residential and the business activity is incidental to such residential use. If this is the case, it follows that:
  • You are allowed to work from home. You can use a room as your personal office;
  • You can run a business from home doing anything from hairdressing to dressmaking, music teaching to consultancy;
  • You can use the garage to repair cars or store goods connected with a business;
  • You can provide accommodation for a child-minding service or playgroup;
  • You can use part of the house for bed-and-breakfast accommodation.
But all these uses must be kept on a small scale. However, if the answer to any of the following questions is 'yes', you will have changed the character or use of your home, and may require planning permission.
  • Will your home no longer be used substantially as a private residence?
  • Will your business result in a marked increase in traffic or people calling?
  • Will the business involve activities unusual in a residential area?
  • Will your business disturb the neighbours at unreasonable hours, or be particularly noisy or smelly?


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