Legality of seeing patients at my office

Jobber_Jones

Can anyone advise please.

I am a registered therapist. I'm currently looking to rent a commercial property in central London in the hope to have a small office but to also see patients there.

No one seems to be able to clarify whether this is ok from a legal standpoint - can anyone advise?

Mistral001

Jobber_Jones wrote: »

Can anyone advise please.

I am a registered therapist. I'm currently looking to rent a commercial property in central London in the hope to have a small office but to also see patients there.

No one seems to be able to clarify whether this is ok from a legal standpoint - can anyone advise?

If the landlord is willing then there should not be a problem.

Are you thinking of anything in particular that could cause a problem?

seatbeltnoob

public liability insurance - protects you from any accidents in the workplace (where members of public have trips, falls and other hazards in the workplace).


You will need some sort of professional insurance as well. Some sort of indemnity insurance for professionals to protect you from lawsuits.

Flugelhorn

I looked into this once for an acupuncture business - there were some planning issues, ie people coming and going from the property etc - I think it came under D1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planning_use_classes_in_England

as it was we ended up using our own home so wasn't an issue

Undervalued

Jobber_Jones wrote: »

Can anyone advise please.

I am a registered therapist. I'm currently looking to rent a commercial property in central London in the hope to have a small office but to also see patients there.

No one seems to be able to clarify whether this is ok from a legal standpoint - can anyone advise?

Do you mean you work in a legally regulated field (like a dentist, doctor, optometrist, vet etc)?

Or is it an unregulated field of therapy, where anyone can legally set up practice? Have you simply chosen to be a member of optional "professional" body that has no statutory powers?

It could be an important distinction depending on both the planning consent and possibly the landlord / freeholder.

Some years ago I sold the remainder of the lease on a business premises and one potential buyer was an unregulated / alternative therapist. They had an established business but were unacceptable to the freeholder.

seatbeltnoob

Flugelhorn wrote: »

I looked into this once for an acupuncture business - there were some planning issues, ie people coming and going from the property etc - I think it came under D1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planning_use_classes_in_England

as it was we ended up using our own home so wasn't an issue

Actumuncture would be different than talking therapy, I can see a NLP/CBT practioner operating under a2 license.


B1 can be used if all appointments are pre-booked, and you don't see a high number of patients a day. 2-3 2hour blocks for instance.

Mistral001

If there are other tenants in the building who use the same front door then the landlord will be keen to keep them happy.

I have heard of a case where the landlord refused to let to solicitors and dentists. The objection to solicitors was that they could have various members of the criminal classes coming to and from their premises. The problem with dentists is that the sound of their drills have a habit of travelling quite a distance.

seatbeltnoob

Mistral001 wrote: »

If there are other tenants in the building who use the same front door then the landlord will be keen to keep them happy.

I have heard of a case where the landlord refused to let to solicitors and dentists. The objection to solicitors was that they could have various members of the criminal classes coming to and from their premises. The problem with dentists is that the sound of their drills have a habit of travelling quite a distance.

never heard of such narrow mindedness, but then that's landlords for you.


I was trying to rent a house, landlord was so uptight about the fact that I was self employed and wanted someone who was a professional. The property was beautiful, but it was on let for over 4 months. It's still on today. In the same area properties disappear off the market in weeks.


Had other remarks that tenant's salary has to be 30x the monthly rent etc.



No wonder Britain is property mad, and everyone wants to own their own home. Landlords are PITA, wont even let you put a picture up on the wall or they'll take your deposit.

Jobber_Jones

So I am a registered osteopath but I also offer alternative talking therapies.

From what I see I may need to find a building with D1 planning (medical) can anyone confirm?

jamesperrett

Around here we have osteopaths in retail premises.

Undervalued

Jobber_Jones wrote: »

So I am a registered osteopath but I also offer alternative talking therapies.

From what I see I may need to find a building with D1 planning (medical) can anyone confirm?

I can't answer your planning permission question but your local council should be able to.

However I would definitely check very carefully about any restrictions in the lease. In my case this was the stumbling block, planning was no problem.