Can we rent a residential property to use as an office?

elljay

Dear all, I've been working for a small national charity since the beginning of the year and we rent a small office and a couple of self-storage units, the total rent is around £8k p.a. + bills. This feels to be a lot for what we get and it occurred to me that you can rent a house for less than that, where we could keep all our stuff together in one place. For example my own 2 bed cottage is £390 per month so something similar would give us all the space we need as well as a far better rent. I've been looking at commercial property but it's horrendously expensive.

Is there any reason why we couldn't rent a house or similar? If there isn't why don't other people do it?

Thanks

Liz

fengirl_2

You would have to apply for permission to change the use of the property from residential to business use and many local authorities would not grant permission as it would deplete precious housing stock. Local people might also object. It can and has been done however, and I would recommend a chat with the local planning officer if you have a property in mind.

Pennywise

You need the landlords permission to use the property as a trade - most domestic leases don't allow a business to be carried on. Landlords tend not to like business use as the wear and tear is likely to be worse if the property is occupied for more hours, potentially with more people. Also, it can sometimes be harder to get rid of a business tenant than a private tenant - most business leases give business tenants automatic rights to lease renewal unless the landlord wants the property to live in himself - potentially nasty and could threaten his resale. Generally, though, most landlords are amateurs and simply wouldn't want the hassle of having to liaise with solicitors etc to draft a special lease for a business - far easier and cheaper to use an off-the-shelf one from WH Smith or copy&paste the lease for the previous tenant.

You may find that the national non domestic rates (business rates) could be extortionate and far in excess of council tax for the same property.

Likewise, power may also be a lot higher - business tariffs are higher than domestic tariffs, and you'll be heating and lighting a whole house rather than just a relatively small working area.

Why not just look for a less prestigious office/workshop - forget about the main roads and industrial estates - there are loads of small businesses working from the upstairs of shops, from garage units, even from residential basements. Keep your eyes open as most of the more peculiar units are rented out informally.

As an example, my business is in a house's basement - we have four rooms, kitchen and toilet, about 1,000 square feet in total, rent is just £50 per week, rates and water £700 per year and power £750 per year. Total cost less than £4,000 per year. We are on a main road, and because the house is set on a slope, we are "ground" level at the back, down a driveway from the main road, so whilst we are theoretically in someone's basement, we have plenty of light and ventilation from windows to the side and back. This wasn't ever advertised, it has been transferred from tenant to tenant by word of mouth. Not everyone would like the idea of being in a basement, but it works for us - plenty of space and a very good price.

Mike_by_the_Sea

Hi Liz

A less complicated option might be to approach some local charities that might have been bequeathed a house and might be prepared to rent some space to your charity or they may have space available in an existing property that they are using themselves. That has certainly happened with a couple of the charities in my area.

Good luck

Mike