Can A Business Be Run From A Rented Home ?

[LINCARE]

Hi , my neighbours are running a car repair business from their rented home .They have vehicles on their drive and on the street . We can never park near our house and my son is disabled . I have spoken to two people at the council office and each have given me a different answer . Does anyone know if what they are doing is legal ? Many thanks

[woofgang]

Well it depends on the landlord, also if they are using the house for business they should be paying a business, not a residential rate. The parking is a different issue, no one has a right to park outside or near their home. Have you thought about applying for a disabled parking space?

[LINCARE]

I have tried to get a parking bay but my doctor won't sign the form to say that my son cannot walk more than 15yds , which on most days he can't . I know that no one has the right to park near their house but surely no one should have the right to have a queue of up to 10 vehicles awaiting repair ?

[EDDIE51]

They MUST have the landlords permission to do this. If it causes so many problems the other residents should put in their objections to the landlord, who should refuse permission. Find the landlord and get the other residents to sign a petition objecting to the business.

[Buenchico]

It's the planning department that you need to speak to. They wouldn't normally require people to apply for 'change of use' from a domestic property to a business one where, for example, someone was simply using a spare bedroom as an office (to which there were no customer visits) but a change that involves a difference to the appearance of the property (e.g. by having it surrounded by customer's cars) plus inconvenience to neighbours (e.g. through noise or parking problems) is definitely something that they should be giving their attention to.

[Peter Pedant]

if the property is rented - then it must be under a lease
Most of the leases have clauses that say no business can be run
I think this would be a lease-breaker
BUT

you dont have a right to see the lease....

complain to the landlord

[Peter Pedant]

Have you tried asking them to leave a space in front of the house so you can park ?

[Canary42]

You could always try torching a few - should get the council's attention ;-)

[Peter Pedant]

No you have to have money for that

one of the Tennants - [ Lord Glenconner's rowdy brood ] was in dispute with a Saatchi - and S's Roller went up in flames one night !!!

settled out of court ( Tennant paid probably )

[atalanta]

This exact thing happened to me some years ago. I wrote to the council asking for a reduction in Council tax on the grounds that the area was no longer residential but industrial. The "business" was stopped within a couple of weeks.