Running business from home

[forestboy1978]

Got a slight issue guys. You may be able to advise. 

 

Basically I build a large 6m x 3m shed in my garden. It is legal in the sense that it is less than 50% of the garden (35% ish) and at or below 2.5 meters in height. 

 

I knew I'd get a problem from one person and low and behold, just as I'd put the last lick of paint on the shed he has come round to complain some 2 months after it has been built. He said he's complaining to the council at which point I said, good for you, that's all that's needed to discuss and closed the door on him.

 

Some background on the smarmy prick. We fell out after he asked me to testify against his previous tenants in order for her to have her "children taken away from her". She was a battle axe but she was their mother and not evil so I told him to ***k himself, despite not liking her too much. He's really a piece of s**t so above all I want to come out of this on top on general principle.

 

Anyhow, only thing he might have me on is running a business from the premises. I do obviously store some tools and machinery in the shed and I use my pc for quotes etcetera. are there any bases that I need to cover. I haven't registered the premises for running a business or anything like that. Most of my work is off site. 99%+

 

thanks in advance.

[skyhuck]

Half the country run business from their home address. Taking calls, doing your accounts on the kitchen table etc, is absolutely fine. What you can't do is fill your drive or garden with work tools, logs, chip etc. 

[Mick Dempsey]

First of all forget if you like him, if he’s the devil or the Dalaï lama, that’s irrelevant.

 

Is it a council house? Are there conditions on the tenancy? How many vans are parked outside.

 

You say 99% of work is off site, what work do you do at home?

[forestboy1978]

Well my main business is off site. I am a consultant for a Hong Kong based cosmetics company in the evenings which is all admin stuff but apart from what I get paid which is all declared for tax purposes they have no way of knowing how much time is spent on that work. It's all PC based anyhow. 

 

The heavy physical stuff is off site apart from occasionally wheeling in my stump grinder or cement mixer etc.

 

I have a trailer attached to a van parked down the side of the house. Yes my drive is full of shit though but that can be cleared, and will be ASAP. 

 

 

[Mick Dempsey]

What a strange diversity of incomes! 

 

I can’t say with any authority of course, but if keeping a van and a few small bits of plant at your house is running a business from home with all that entails I’d be surprised.

 

cleaning the place up a bit is prolly a good idea.

[forestboy1978]

Oh sorry.. the property is owned outright. 

[forestboy1978]

1 minute ago, Mick Dempsey said:

What a strange diversity of incomes! 

Yeah I know.....

 

I am gonna clean up. It's all kept under a massive tarpaulin on the driveway but still there are 100s of feather boards and timber and concrete posts and crap under there. Been meaning to sort it out... this is the impetus I needed. 

 

Ta for input. 

[Squaredy]

You haven't stated that the shed is for running a business from.  If like most people's sheds it is used for storing loads of stuff, no-one is likely to come round asking exactly what each piece of kit is used for, unless you have really made your home look like a business.

 

All the council are likely to be interested in is whether you should have applied for planning permission.  If they feel you should have done, then they will make you apply for retrospective planning.  If the building is reasonably good looking and not out of place or out of proportion, and assuming you are not in an AONB or conservation area or the premises is listed they are unlikely to refuse.  Of course there are costs involved.

 

Bear in mind that most of the sheds and outbuildings people erect to the rear of their homes have no planning permission.

 

My guess is he won't ring the council, and if he does they won't be that interested.

[Shaunpaul]

If you're only loading/unloading tools, machinery etc to go to work then I wouldn't worry about it. Sure that's what every tradesperson in the country must do. However if you're repairing machinery on driveway, revving  up saws etc on a regular basis then I can see people having issues.

[forestboy1978]

The shed is a shed for storing shit in and yeah doing a bit of tool maintenance etcetera. 

 

Shed looks lovely but it takes up about 35-40% of the garden which is legal.