parking equipment at home

[briarthebear]

Hi all

My neighbour is starting to make a fuss about me having my mini digger and tractor parked at the rear of my house. I just wondered how I stand legally, am I liable for business rates etc. as most gardening/tree surgery businesses I know are run from home, with equipment stored in the grounds of the house. Including the two houses nearest to my neighbour and I, one has a ag contracting business and so stores most of the associated machinery outside his house and the neighbour in the other direction has a groundworks business and stores his equipment at his house.

It just grates a little as I have lived next to these people for 5 years and they've been more than happy to ask to borrow equipmment and ask me to do a favour, such as taking down trees for them, catching moles and mowing grass whilst they're on hols etc etc.

I think the best one was when last summer the lady of the house next door said she "didnt like looking at the top of the mini digger that she could see over the garden fence from her kitchen window and could I pay to store it somewhere else" then in the same breath she said...."we're going to build a carport and of course we'll need to borrow your digger to dig the holes for the posts!" I could believe my ears!!

[Hodge]

I had the same problem, the council served me with an enforcement notice as they said I was operating from home without permission.

[treequip]

From a planning perspective running a business from home is a perfectly legitimate enterprise, however operating a business from a domestic property is not.

 

This means you can use your property as your registered business address, do your paperwork and such like but you can’t (shouldn’t) use it for the storage of kit and materials.

 

For the most part the planners tend to turn a blind eye to all but the most extreme examples but have to act on complaints.

 

I don’t think they will charge non domestic rates, in order to do that they would probably need to re classify your property as commercial. The default setting is to stop the commercial activity and restore the designated use.

[Hodge]

You should take a look at the Deeds to your house as often there can be covenant prohibiting operating from home.

[gensetsteve]

if you have been operating for more than 6-7 years they may not be able to stop you if you apply for a legal certificate. If they do charge business rates just designate a 10ft sq area where you park the kit and pay for that yard space. If your turn over is low you will be excempt from business rates.

[Hodge]

if you have been operating for more than 6-7 years they may not be able to stop you if you apply for a legal certificate. If they do charge business rates just designate a 10ft sq area where you park the kit and pay for that yard space. If your turn over is low you will be excempt from business rates.

 

And you need to be able to prove that you have been operating for that length of time.

[Breezeblock]

And you need to be able to prove that you have been operating for that length of time.

 

does it matter if its been the one business

[gensetsteve]

And you need to be able to prove that you have been operating for that length of time.

 

goggle maps are normally out of date not sure if they have historic maps. worth buying an aerial shot every few years.

[Stubby]

At one point I had a small trailer with a ride on mower in it , a log splitter and an large tipping trailer . The big trailer was just there to do some maintenance on it . A bloke 2 doors down said that my opposite nieghbour had complained to him about the big trailer . I had just removed a shrub , roots and all for her , for free , so was puzzled . So I out and out asked her was there a problem ? She did not know what I was talking about !

[gensetsteve]

At one point I had a small trailer with a ride on mower in it , a log splitter and an large tipping trailer . The big trailer was just there to do some maintenance on it . A bloke 2 doors down said that my opposite nieghbour had complained to him about the big trailer . I had just removed a shrub , roots and all for her , for free , so was puzzled . So I out and out asked her was there a problem ? She did not know what I was talking about !

 

The bloke two doors down wanted to complain but did not have the balls so blamed the complaint on the neighbour. Had a similar thing with neigbour opposite who said another neighbour who we dont speak to had complained same thing.