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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I want to start a business in rented home

51 replies

Appleholic · 18/10/2022 07:27

AIBU? I looked at my rental agreement on my home and it said I cannot run a business from my home as it is residential. So I write to my landlord asking permission if I can run a craft business from home he says no way would break my tenancy agreement. He said I cannot trade from my home premises, I said what if I provide a service in people's homes eg cleaning, or nails etc he said fine as long as not trading from home. Because trading from my home affects shared building insurance and the lease is residential only.

How could I run a craft business still? Without breaching my tenancy.

Would it be reasonable to pay for a virtual office address and mail Po box service?

Does the rule mean I can't register my home address for hmrc even if I found somewhere else?? ( rent a room) for my crafting.

It's very stressful and confusing. Anybody with legal knowledge or business experience that can come up with solutions pls.

OP posts:
WahineToa · 18/10/2022 07:40

Yes you have to have an official business address that isn’t the home you rent and no business transactions can occur inside the home. You can make craft in the home, but you’ll need to make sure where you sell it or whatever is outside of it and your business mail goes elsewhere. As a director of your business your personal address can be your rental but for the official business address either use a separate office or you can actually pay for n official business address from companies that offer that service- your mail goes to them etc

Original poster
Appleholic · 20/10/2022 06:45

Thanks Wahine Toa. Anybody else on mum'snet with advice to add?

OP posts:
SavoirFlair · 20/10/2022 06:52

Appleholic · 20/10/2022 06:45

Thanks Wahine Toa. Anybody else on mum'snet with advice to add?

You don’t need any other advice beyond what @WahineToa said - there’s the facts.

if what you actually want is someone to come on and say “don’t worry about it OP loads of us do it” then I really can’t help you.

WahineToa · 20/10/2022 07:23

You’re welcome. That’s the law. I operated businesses from rentals for 16 years.

CourtneeLuv · 20/10/2022 07:37

WahineToa · 18/10/2022 07:40

Yes you have to have an official business address that isn’t the home you rent and no business transactions can occur inside the home. You can make craft in the home, but you’ll need to make sure where you sell it or whatever is outside of it and your business mail goes elsewhere. As a director of your business your personal address can be your rental but for the official business address either use a separate office or you can actually pay for n official business address from companies that offer that service- your mail goes to them etc

How does that work with selling online?

Would op for instance, not be allowed to process an etsy or facebook sale at home?

followacrowforacrust · 20/10/2022 07:53

Does it make a difference if you own your own house?

SBAM · 20/10/2022 07:58

@followacrowforacrust it can. You’d need to check your deeds, ours had a covenant about not operating a business, but it’s from when the house was built so I’m not sure who’d legally come along and enforce it now.

WahineToa · 20/10/2022 08:04

Does it make a difference if you own your own house?

Yes, you can operate a business from your own home, just not a rental. A food business needs special permission.

Processing an internet order is fine, it’s treated like a home office. You still can’t use the rental address anywhere though. Nobody would even know you’re taking online orders. The property just cannot be an official business address or a place people come to for any business related activity. You cannot have a food business from a residential rental though.

CourtneeLuv · 20/10/2022 08:17

Ok thanks 😊

followacrowforacrust · 20/10/2022 09:05

Thank you so much

Seeline · 20/10/2022 09:10

followacrowforacrust · 20/10/2022 07:53

Does it make a difference if you own your own house?

It will depend on the type of business. If it involves people coming to the house, or making noise above normal residential levels, or producing fumes/smells etc it is likely planning permission would be required before you could operate. This might not be granted.

TakeYourFinalPosition · 20/10/2022 09:11

You still can’t use the rental address anywhere though.

Theres a legal requirement to publish an actual address on email marketing and Facebook ads, etc. The last time I looked, it had to be somewhere legal notice could be served, and not a PO Box or virtual office (although it’d be nice if that has changed!). Does that not count as using the rental address?

Genuine question; I don’t run a business from a rental but don’t love having my home address…

WahineToa · 20/10/2022 09:18

Theres a legal requirement to publish an actual address on email marketing and Facebook ads, etc. The last time I looked, it had to be somewhere legal notice could be served, and not a PO Box or virtual office (although it’d be nice if that has changed!). Does that not count as using the rental address?

Yes it would and you can’t do that. I never encountered anything that specified I couldn’t use a registered business office address ( that wasn’t a PO Box ). We paid another company to use their registered business address. It’s a service you can opt for.

theDudesmummy · 20/10/2022 09:32

You can't use a PO Box but can use a virtual office service. I have for years, through Regus.

worriedatthistime · 20/10/2022 10:08

What about self employed builders , surely loads of them use home address and many may rent ?is it an absolute no to all kinds if you rent then ?

WahineToa · 20/10/2022 10:19

No @worriedatthistime did you read all the comments here explaining? You cannot use the rental address as your business address or conduct business with customers inside it. You can use a registered business address service instead.

Original poster
Appleholic · 20/10/2022 14:07

Wahine Toa
Can I use a virtual office address for registering as a sole trader / self employed? As I'm not allowed to use my residential address due to renting rules.

OP posts:
WahineToa · 20/10/2022 14:13

Yes. I paid a fee to a company that meant I could use a registered office address they owned. You do the same as a sole trader etc

Original poster
Appleholic · 20/10/2022 14:15

P.s I meant am I allowed to use a virtual office address to register as a sole trader with hmrc?

OP posts:
Original poster
Appleholic · 20/10/2022 14:16

Will hmrc allow a virtual office address to be used?

OP posts:
WahineToa · 20/10/2022 14:17

Registered office address is also known as virtual. It’s not necessarily where the business is, but another business operates out of it as a ‘registered/virtual’ address provider. It’s not TGAT expensive to pay for

Original poster
Appleholic · 20/10/2022 15:17

What does TGAT mean ?

OP posts:
WahineToa · 20/10/2022 15:45

Sorry! Autocorrect keeps doing that!! That. That is what I wanted to write, that! I don’t know what TGAT is meant to mean!

Original poster
Appleholic · 20/10/2022 19:57

Wahine Toa,

Ok thanks 😌

OP posts:
Longtimelurkerfinallyposts · 20/10/2022 21:18

"You cannot have a food business from a residential rental though."
That's not true.
You can register a food business from any address, and register with your local council (for environmental health reasons). It can be a residential house you own, or one you rent.
The OP in this thread cannot do this, because her landlord has been very specific in the tenancy agreement they've drawn up, but many other landlords would be fine with it.