Small Business, Housing Association & PO Box

Danny_Sorrell

cavework wrote: »

Danny, if you are only using the address as an office , ie for post, day to day running using your computer and phone , will not have a number of sign written vehicles parked there over night ,there really should not be a problem.
If you have customers visiting at this address or are doing work on behalf of the business at your address there is a major problem as you will not be insured

Cheers buddy.

cavework

I'm a girly Danny ...:eek:
Good luck mate ,you go for it

Danny_Sorrell

cavework wrote: »

I'm a girly Danny ...:eek:
Good luck mate ,you go for it

Sorry! Thanks Missy you help is much appreciated.

Savvy_Sue

Danny_Sorrell wrote: »

I thought the same thing. I've got to be honest. But I was advised in another post they may not let me as it is a business registered to the house address.

The only way to know is to ask them. They can't evict you for asking. And they should not unreasonably refuse you permission. What they are trying to avoid is you causing any 'nuisance' to your neighbours.

If you aren't having visits from customers, and you aren't storing supplies there, and you aren't parking a large white van on your drive or the street, you probably aren't going to cause any nuisance ...

Danny_Sorrell

Cheers Sue, I kinda thought the same thing.

PlutoinCapricorn

The rules about not running a business from your home exist to prevent health & safety problems, nuisance, inconvenience and danger to your neighbours and to avoid a change of use from residential to commercial.

If all you do at home is work online and deal with paperwork, there should be no reason for the Housing Association to object. If someone starts a limited company, their details can be found by anyone who uses Google. I found that many of my neighbours were company directors!

Danny_Sorrell

PlutoinCapricorn wrote: »

The rules about not running a business from your home exist to prevent health & safety problems, nuisance, inconvenience and danger to your neighbours and to avoid a change of use from residential to commercial.

If all you do at home is work online and deal with paperwork, there should be no reason for the Housing Association to object. If someone starts a limited company, their details can be found by anyone who uses Google. I found that many of my neighbours were company directors!

Thanks PlutoinCapricorn.

Just spoke to the HA, they don't want any business registered to their address, which is fair enough, so whats best in your experts opinion a virtual office, or a PO Box?

PlutoinCapricorn

I am a sole trader, and my home address and 'business' address are the same. I trade under my own name and work entirely online. I don't advertise - I get work from personal recommendations - so am not visible on Google.

If you are a sole trader, no one will know that you have a business registered at your home address - unless you advertise and/or use a "trading as" name and get mail addressed to that name.

Although I have no personal experience, an actual address seems better than a PO Box.

Danny_Sorrell

PlutoinCapricorn wrote: »

I am a sole trader, and my home address and 'business' address are the same. I trade under my own name and work entirely online. I don't advertise - I get work from personal recommendations - so am not visible on Google.

If you are a sole trader, no one will know that you have a business registered at your home address - unless you advertise and/or use a "trading as" name and get mail addressed to that name.

Although I have no personal experience, an actual address seems better than a PO Box.

Very true mate but I claim housing benefit is my mum is disabled. They ask for a business address. I can't put my home address you see.

That's why I need to go virtual office or po box.

Savvy_Sue

It could be worth going back to the HA, because in my mind (and in fact) there is a difference between being self-employed - which it sounds as if you intend to be - and registering a limited company.

If that's the case, then you're not 'registering a business' to their address. You're stating that you're self-employed, and correspondence should be sent to you at home.

If you ARE starting a ltd company, then my advice would be to get an accountant (because the accounts ARE more complex in that situation and you need to get it right) and ask if you can use THEIR address as your business address. Many won't charge for that.