Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: paul13 on May 04, 2014, 06:42:36 am
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My mate is starting up and is worried
because his neighbour is giving him grief
about running a business from home
van in drive, water tank in garage ect.
Does any one know the regulations on this
or where to find out where he stands?
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got nothing to do with his neighbor
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got nothing to do with his neighbor
+1
He stands where ever he likes. It's his house.
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Aslong as he is declaring his income and paying his taxes, whether he's trading as a sole trader or limited company, he can do whatever he likes from his home and it's got absolutely nothing to do with his neighbour.
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Second thoughts tell him not to bother, be as well quit now. Window cleaning is for loosers. No point upsetting the neighborhood for a pittance.
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Answers so far not strictly true (except Soupy's-pack it in ;D)
The terms of his lease or mortgage MAY prohibit customers coming to his house.
Like if he was running a bike workshop from the garage, customers would be coming and going, perhaps parking on the road, perhaps at unsociable hours.
This needs permission. It changes the use of a domestic home to business use.
Doing WC does not count. The water production is almost negligible and the clerical aspect is always permitted.
It doesn't have anything to do with his neighbour, correct, but he could be a snivelly little weasel and blab to the rental people or bank/BS who it does have something to do with.
Your mate might do well to dig out his mortgage terms (or lease/rental agreement) and clarify his terms.
He could tell his neighbour to 'do one' but in my experience it's always better to be at least polite, as you've gotta live next to 'em.
Saying 'thanks for your concern, I wasn't 100% sure what I was allowed to do. I've checked my paperwork and I'm fine. Thanks for the heads up though' will do much more for the neighbourly relationship than 'Sod off you nosey git'
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He's not "running a business from home" is he, as in having a business premises?
He goes to customers properties to carry out his work, unless of course they bring their windows to his house so he can clean them?
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PoleKing - sometimes you're good, sometimes you're very good.
This time you were very good!
;D
The neighbour thing is so true. Polite, appreciative but firm. Less chance of him dobbing you in to the water company etc.
In my first house in Avonmouth the land was 999 year leasehold from the "Diocese of Clifton" but the rent was £2.50 a year set in 1909! I stayed leasehold. Any restrictions didn't matter as my self employment was only clerical from home. (out of sight)
This house - the lease of the land was 999s year from the City of Bristol, set in 1928 at £14 per year but I had to seek permission if I wanted to run a business from home and there were restrictions.
Back in the 90's the council were selling off the leases to a private landlord, who couldn't put the rent up but could charge admin costs if you were late and enforce conditions that the council probably wouldn't or they would sell to you much later at a much higher price.
Anyway I bought my lease out for about £400 and it became freehold.
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PoleKing - sometimes you're good, sometimes you're very good.
This time you were very good!
;D
The neighbour thing is so true. Polite, appreciative but firm. Less chance of him dobbing you in to the water company etc.
In my first house in Avonmouth the land was 999 year leasehold from the "Diocese of Clifton" but the rent was £2.50 a year set in 1909! I stayed leasehold. Any restrictions didn't matter as my self employment was only clerical from home. (out of sight)
This house - the lease of the land was 999s year from the City of Bristol, set in 1928 at £14 per year but I had to seek permission if I wanted to run a business from home and there were restrictions.
Back in the 90's the council were selling off the leases to a private landlord, who couldn't put the rent up but could charge admin costs if you were late and enforce conditions that the council probably wouldn't or they would sell to you much later at a much higher price.
Anyway I bought my lease out for about £400 and it became freehold.
Awww shucks. 😊
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It will also depend if he lives in a plush estate, where there are restrictions on having work vehicles left on drives. One round here insists they have to be kept in the garages out of sight.
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It will also depend if he lives in a plush estate, where there are restrictions on having work vehicles left on drives. One round here insists they have to be kept in the garages out of sight.
yup same here no vans on drive or caravans and no working from home.
drive around today and you will see out of 40 houses prob 3 caravans, 2 boats, lots of works vans and on any given morning some of the fellas who are self employed and work from home meet up for a coffee at 11am - not me though as im just a scummy window cleaner and not proper like these I.T. tech / architect types ;D ... bit like that wimmins programme desperate housewifes .
Personally I would go and tell the neighbour to do one and keep his nose out :)
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It will also depend if he lives in a plush estate, where there are restrictions on having work vehicles left on drives. One round here insists they have to be kept in the garages out of sight.
Coz heaven forbid an unsuspecting fellow resident might hurt their eyes if the vision of a work vehicle were savagely inflicted upon them. ::)roll
'elmets! ;D
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Answers so far not strictly true (except Soupy's-pack it in ;D)
The terms of his lease or mortgage MAY prohibit customers coming to his house.
Like if he was running a bike workshop from the garage, customers would be coming and going, perhaps parking on the road, perhaps at unsociable hours.
This needs permission. It changes the use of a domestic home to business use.
Doing WC does not count. The water production is almost negligible and the clerical aspect is always permitted.
It doesn't have anything to do with his neighbour, correct, but he could be a snivelly little weasel and blab to the rental people or bank/BS who it does have something to do with.
Your mate might do well to dig out his mortgage terms (or lease/rental agreement) and clarify his terms.
He could tell his neighbour to 'do one' but in my experience it's always better to be at least polite, as you've gotta live next to 'em.
Saying 'thanks for your concern, I wasn't 100% sure what I was allowed to do. I've checked my paperwork and I'm fine. Thanks for the heads up though' will do much more for the neighbourly relationship than 'Sod off you nosey git'
As Darren has said above we have a clause over all of the properties in our small development of barn conversions which does not allow running of a business from any of the homes as Darren has already outlined .
Discussed this with our solicitor when we were purchasing our home and been a window cleaner and just using the house as a base and servicing customers at their homes this does not count as running a business from home as nobody calls to our home . Mike
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Thanks for the reply's everyone.
It is a joke but he will get grief off this neighbor but owns his house so no mortgage
so am I correct to think no conditions?
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Thanks for the reply's everyone.
It is a joke but he will get grief off this neighbor but owns his house so no mortgage
so am I correct to think no conditions?
Could still be clauses.
Probably not though.
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Clauses in his title deeds are unlikely. If he owns his own house why is he fannying about cleaning windows. Just tell him to quit, I would.
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It will also depend if he lives in a plush estate, where there are restrictions on having work vehicles left on drives. One round here insists they have to be kept in the garages out of sight.
the estate i am on has restrictions and covenants, we all pay a fee to the management company for grounds maintenance etc and it does have restrictions on it in regards to running a business from home but has been indicated it is more about customers coming to you rather than me going to them
Also if i broke the rules it is up to individuals / neighbours to sue me thru the courts in breach of these rules and as most of the people on the estate run businesses i dont think its going to happen, been here 8 years and no one has said anything but speak to neighbour explain then proceed
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Clauses in his title deeds are unlikely. If he owns his own house why is he fannying about cleaning windows. Just tell him to quit, I would.
Think he still needs money to pay bills and holidays ect.
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tell him to get a hit man for a couple of grand all sorted then lol !!!!! ;D
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Some great answers here, as pole king has nailed this subject right on the head there is not much more to add other than even when the mortgage is paid for outright, some conditions regarding the 'estate' may still be applicable ( a newish build area in our village prohibits any caravans or motor homes to be parked on the public road, front garden or driveway - they must be located in the rear garden or a storage facility )
Having said that the majority or business restrictions refer to customers arriving and leaving the premises so in this case you can 'run' a window cleaning biz from home as work is carried out on site.
Darran
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You should tell him to become a rug muncher or pressure washer. At least then people won't point and laugh at him.
His neighbour probably thinks having a window licker on the street lowers the tone, rightly so.
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Newer estates all have Restrictive Covenenats that usually prohibit using your house for business, parkeing commercial vehicles etc. There is one on my own house.
I asked the solicitor about it, and he enquired of the builder. The builder (a big house building co) said no flexibility whatsoever. They are legally enforcable as they are written into the deeds and have nothing to do with the mortgage.
In practice however, from what I've seen these covenants are widely ignored! I always keep my van tucked away in the garage (which is still breaking the covenant actually) but I can see at least 4 or 5 vans on drives just on my estate.
The only time this will cause a problem is if you really take the mick (like parking a 16 wheeler outside or running a shop out of your garage etc) and then even reasonable neighbors will probably complain.
Or if, as you have seen, you just get a nightmare neighbor who is determined to cause trouble.
Problem is, they do have the law on their side, and you can be forced to comply with the covenant. If it happened to me, I would rent a commercial unit, but so far I have been lucky not have idiot neighbours.
I agree with what's been said, it's better to try to smooth things out with a neighbor, because you basically don't have a leg to stand on.
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surely he can do whatever he likes on his own property!
i would also tell him to mind his own business!!
if he s just purifying water at home and filling his tank up in the van every evening and a bit of admin from the comfort of his sofa/desk he cant do anything.
what has it got to do with him anyway?
some people need a slap IMO.
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No he can't if he lives on a modern estate. They all have rules set in place particularly if the estate is still under construction. No caravans, no hedges above a certain height, no walls to be built etc etc. Sign written vans are not permitted either.
Generally after a few years the rules become ignored/relaxed. Somone wanted to rent a property on my estate a fewyears ago but couldn't because of his sign written van.
I've got away with it so far (three years) but the neighbours would be well within their rights to complain. Just depends how long the covenant is set for.
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That's all conjecture. No one has said whether or not there are covenants or burdens in place.
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who makes these rules?unbelievable! ::)roll
how an earth are you supposed to earn a living if you cant have a sign written van on your OWN drive used to make money to pay your rent/morgage?
the worlds gone mad!! :( >:(
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Not really a new thing. I thought it was a throw back to a bygone era, where farmers would sell off buildings but stipulate that the owner could not use the building as it was initially intended, thereby effectively setting up in competition.
I am surprised to hear that newer estates put these clauses in to be honest. Surely cutting potential buyers out of the equation is a bad idea? I could understand if they wanted to drive the prices up in an affluent area that stipulating 'no sign written vans' may put the price of each house up a bit, but on a normal 3 bed semi type estate this seems idiotic.
The OP is in Scotland, as far as I'm aware the rules for such things are slightly different up here. Best speak to a solicitor I reckon....
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.....or just quit.
Much easier.
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Our deeds (house built in 1922) have a covenant written into them that says we cannot have a fairground ride on our land. It made me wonder whether to buy the house.
Vin
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who makes these rules?unbelievable! ::)roll
how an earth are you supposed to earn a living if you cant have a sign written van on your OWN drive used to make money to pay your rent/morgage?
the worlds gone mad!! :( >:(
It's not a case of "rules". It's a matter of what you agree to when you buy your house. If you buy a house, you accept the terms of the deeds. And a covenant like that increases the value of houses, which is why they are put in. Like it or not, people will pay more for a house where they think they aren't going to have vans strewn around their lovely estate. So builders put the clauses in, people buy the house for a little more and everyone's happy.
If you don't read your deeds, it's not your neighbour's fault. They can't be applied retrospectively, so it's up to you to check when you buy.
Vin
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I rent my house (bungalow) privately, it's in a quiet cul-de-sac. I have no garage, so I leave my van (plain white Fiesta with ladders on top) outside on the kerb, while my wife's car is on the driveway.
Chap across the road works for a building firm and parks his Connect van similarly to me. I am unaware if there are any rules or regulations in my locality, but it's never caused any problems here.
John
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as I said it's the newer estates. Can't keep chickens either or any livestock.
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In fairness, I am actually quite glad about some of the restrictive covenants, as they do make the neighbourhood nicer. For example you're not allowed to park a caravan on the property, and IMO that's a good thing as they make the place look scruffy. Also, you are not allowed to keep animals other than small domestic pets.
This is a good thing, as anyone whose ever lived next to chickens will know!
Some neighbors of my wife's parents started repairing motorbikes out of their garage, and very quickly that became a major nuisance. It's good to know that if that happened here.
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Park on the road. That's owned by the council.....
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Park on the road. That's owned by the council.....
... True. However, our road is too narrow to avoid parking on the kerb. We are next to the end, and always leave enough room for any pedestrians to get through on the pavement.
As I said, it has not been an issue, and doesn't look as if it is about to become one.
John
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Aslong as he is declaring his income and paying his taxes, whether he's trading as a sole trader or limited company, he can do whatever he likes from his home and it's got absolutely nothing to do with his neighbour.
depends on where he lives and the by laws in place you wait until a council gets in mits in to you like they did with use when we had 5 vans parked in the street let a lone whats wrote in the deeds if he lives in a new house as some bluiders like bellway have in small print that no vans are to be parked on drives along with caravans ect ect ,
but heres a tip like what we used to stop a court case in its tracks if all comes on top , don't claim for any bills on the tax then hes classed as not trading FROM HOME because hes tradeing from the rear of the van job done ;D
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also if they start about vans being parked on new estates cut out two side window , in the middle of the van , you can get your sign writer to fully sign over the window so it looks like a van still so no worries there
fit in one rear seat then change it class from a com. van to a car diverted van or a people carrier then its court case over again remember where rules you can always get round them ;D