Retail downstairs (bath store) - can this be converted into a restaurant etc

JReacher1

The amount of takeaways I see open up in commercial properties makes me think it’s not hard to get a change of use to allow you to serve hot food. Even if they don’t get it there are other options that I would not want to live over eg. A bookies, a massage parlour, a mini supermarket etc,  

It’s a big risk to buy a property above any commercial property. 

sourpuss2021

macman said:

sourpuss2021 said:

I’ve definitely also seen daytime coffee shops and delicatessens successfully apply for late night licenses and alcohol licenses. It’s probably the only way they’ve been able to stay in business when so many businesses are closing down.

Slightly different, in that these businesses are already licensed to sell hot takeaway food. A retail bathroom store is not.

Good point, though actually I don’t think the delicatessen or the cafe sold hot
takeaway food.  Maybe the cafe did toasted sandwiches, but not typically bought to take away.

However clearly they’re already different in usage class than a bathroom showroom.

user1977

sourpuss2021 said:

macman said:

sourpuss2021 said:

I’ve definitely also seen daytime coffee shops and delicatessens successfully apply for late night licenses and alcohol licenses. It’s probably the only way they’ve been able to stay in business when so many businesses are closing down.

Slightly different, in that these businesses are already licensed to sell hot takeaway food. A retail bathroom store is not.

Good point, though actually I don’t think the delicatessen or the cafe sold hot
takeaway food.  Maybe the cafe did toasted sandwiches, but not typically bought to take away.

However clearly they’re already different in usage class than a bathroom showroom.

Yes, incremental changes like that are obviously easier than a completely different use. But look at things as benign as bank branches, and how many of them have been turned into pubs or restaurants? One reason mortgage lenders get twitchy about commercial premises is that it is pretty easy for them to change to a "worse" neighbour, which is very unlikely to happen for properties surrounded by other residential properties.

MalMonroe

Ankku said:

Hello all,
Appreciate your help with this one.

I'm interested in a property in central London (zone 2). There is a bath store downstairs, do you know if this can easily be converted to a chicken shop etc.. What checks should I do? The area is residential, there is a paint store next to the bath store but coffee shops/grocery/restaurants are a bit further away (5-10 min walk from the property). The area is quite residential and the bath store has been there for 20 years. I'm slightly worried that it will suddenly close and turn into a restaurant which would hurt the property valuation. Do you know if shops like this are given a license or something that defines what the space can be used for?

Thank you! 

Hi, a store downstairs would make this flat very unattractive to me. 

It could be turned into absolutely anything at all. All the new occupiers need to do is apply to the council for the relevant permissions and planning consent. You may be consulted for your opinion but if there aren't many objections to the proposed plan then it could well go ahead and you wouldn't be able to stop it.

If it's in central London then I'd imagine that location really would appeal to people wanting to open something like a fish and chip shop or a 24 hour takeaway or something equally as convenient for hungry Londoners and tourists - but not so good for anyone living above it. Not only does hot air rise but also cooking smells and noise from people gathering round to access such premises. You can't really check anything until or unless new folk take over downstairs.

If the bath store has been there for 20 years though, that'd be another red flag for me, the owners of the business may be ready for retirement. 

From what you say, I think you already have reservations about this flat. I'd want to give it the widest berth imaginable. 

bouicca21

I wouldn’t want to live above commercial premises full stop.  Who can tell whether the bath store will close and be transformed into something else?  Coffee shops breed like rabbits.  There are loads in my area and you’d think the market would be saturated but, no, we have had 4 new ones open in the past month.  One was already a cafe, the other 3 were shops.  It’s as though the existence of a few cafes actually creates a demand for more

And on top of that we have a new restaurant, also in a former shop.  

They are all looking pretty successful, though one that opened up a few months ago has already closed.

Cedartree123

Under Permitted Development Rights, retail stores can change to a range of uses including restaurants  without the need for planning permission, unless the Council in question have an Article 4 Direction in place stopping it. Takeaways are classified differently, so would need planning permission - but that’s not to say that because it needs permission that permission won’t be granted, especially given the number of vacant retail units around. 

They may need planning permission to deal with external changes such as shop frontages or extractor fans etc, but the principle would already be done. 

So in short it could stay as a bath store forever, or it might change to another more problematic use before you even move in. Who knows…?

Martin_the_Unjust

………..and bath stores round here seem to go bust pretty regularly, wouldn’t surprise me if it was a different type of retail next week.

Vannaa

As someone who once rented a (cheap) maisonette above what was at the time an Indian restaurant and an electrical shop, I would  never buy above a commercial property. The electrical shop became the restaurant's function room - think Indian weddings until 11pm.